McDowell County, NC Water Table Trend
McDowell County's groundwater trend, from USGS's own readings
Over 16 years of USGS readings, the well tracking McDowell County's aquifer is holding roughly steady: 0 ft per decade.
One well stands in for McDowell 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 26.7 ft below land surface. Readings span 2010-05-12 to 2026-10-15, 120 measurements from USGS well USGS-354133082042201 (Mc-107 Near Pleasant Gardens Rs, Nc Regolith), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
Where McDowell County ranks
Of the 1,449 US counties with a usable trend, McDowell County ranks 629th from fastest-rising to fastest-declining, 1 is the fastest-rising water table measured, 1449 the fastest-declining. About 45,269 people live in McDowell County, North Carolina. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how McDowell County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
A dropping table says nothing about water quality
Whether McDowell 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.