Madison County, NE Water Table Trend
Madison County, NE: what the water table is actually doing
Madison County's long-term well puts the trend at 0.4 ft per decade, holding roughly steady, based on 84 measurements since 1951.
One well stands in for Madison 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 3.1 ft below land surface. Readings span 1951-01-18 to 2024-04-23, 84 measurements from USGS well USGS-420112097440401 (24n 4w25cc 1 Ne-Np-Swr-C), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
Where Madison County ranks
Of the 1,449 US counties with a usable trend, Madison County ranks 381st from fastest-rising to fastest-declining, 1 is the fastest-rising water table measured, 1449 the fastest-declining. About 35,579 people live in Madison County, Nebraska. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Madison County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
A dropping table says nothing about water quality
Whether Madison 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.