Howard County, NE Water Table Trend
Is the water table dropping in Howard County, NE?
Howard County's long-term well puts the trend at 0.1 ft per decade, holding roughly steady, based on 99 measurements since 1954.
One well stands in for Howard 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 4.8 ft below land surface. Readings span 1954-07-01 to 2025-03-18, 99 measurements from USGS well USGS-410444098402501 (13n 12w22dca 1), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
Where Howard County ranks
Of the 1,449 US counties with a usable trend, Howard County ranks 582nd from fastest-rising to fastest-declining, 1 is the fastest-rising water table measured, 1449 the fastest-declining. About 6,572 people live in Howard County, Nebraska. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Howard County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
A dropping table says nothing about water quality
Whether Howard 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.