Carteret County, NC Water Table Trend
Is the water table dropping in Carteret County, NC?
Carteret County's long-term well puts the trend at 0.9 ft per decade, declining, slower than most declining counties, based on 107 measurements since 1981.
This is one representative well, not a county-wide survey, the same grain limit every page here discloses.
Carteret County's source well, in detail
Depth to water at the last reading was 13.5 ft below land surface. Readings span 1981-09-30 to 2024-07-16, 107 measurements from USGS well USGS-344323076451301 (Ct-153 Nc-139 Camp Glenn Rs X17j5 Castle Hayne), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
How Carteret County compares nationally
Carteret County sits at rank 1068th of 1,449 ranked counties, ordered rising-to-declining, so a low number means a rising water table and a high one means fast decline. Carteret County, North Carolina is home to about 70,259 people. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Carteret County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
If you own a well in Carteret County
A dropping water table means a residential pump has to reach deeper and work harder, which shortens its life. In Carteret County, that trend is real, not assumed: 0.9 ft per decade over 43 years.
Depth and quality are separate questions
This page answers a depth question, not a quality one. A well in Carteret County can be stable in depth and still worth testing for quality, or declining and still test clean, the two are measured separately, and only a direct test settles the second one.