Buchanan County, MO Water Table Trend
Buchanan County's groundwater trend, from USGS's own readings
Over 37 years of USGS readings, the well tracking Buchanan County's aquifer is rising, getting shallower over time: 1.7 ft per decade.
One well stands in for Buchanan County's whole aquifer here, the honest simplification every page on this site carries.
What the well actually measured
The most recent reading put water 24.4 ft below land surface. Readings span 1989-03-22 to 2026-03-16, 100 measurements from USGS well MO005-374254094524501 (St. Joseph), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
Where Buchanan County ranks
Of the 1,449 US counties with a usable trend, Buchanan County ranks 155th from fastest-rising to fastest-declining, 1 is the fastest-rising water table measured, 1449 the fastest-declining. About 83,574 people live in Buchanan County, Missouri. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Buchanan County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
A dropping table says nothing about water quality
Whether Buchanan County's water table is rising or falling is independent of what's actually in the water. Depletion can concentrate naturally-occurring minerals, so it's worth checking directly with a water test rather than assuming a depth trend says anything about quality.