Macon County, IL Water Table Trend
Is the water table dropping in Macon County, IL?
Macon County's long-term well puts the trend at 0.8 ft per decade, declining, slower than most declining counties, based on 26 measurements since 1980.
This is one representative well, not a county-wide survey, the same grain limit every page here discloses.
Macon County's source well, in detail
Depth to water at the last reading was 59.9 ft below land surface. Readings span 1980-12-12 to 2025-06-17, 26 measurements from USGS well USGS-400009088484601 (18n 3e-24.3f), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
How Macon County compares nationally
Macon County sits at rank 1045th 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. Macon County, Illinois is home to about 100,737 people. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Macon County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
If you own a well in Macon County
A dropping water table means a residential pump has to reach deeper and work harder, which shortens its life. In Macon County, that trend is real, not assumed: 0.8 ft per decade over 45 years.
Depth and quality are separate questions
This page answers a depth question, not a quality one. A well in Macon 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.