Nelson County, ND Water Table Trend
Nelson County's groundwater trend, from USGS's own readings
Nelson County's long-term well puts the trend at 3.6 ft per decade, rising, getting shallower over time, based on 231 measurements since 1948.
This is one representative well, not a county-wide survey, the same grain limit every page here discloses.
Nelson County's source well, in detail
Depth to water at the last reading was 8.5 ft below land surface. Readings span 1948-07-24 to 2021-07-28, 231 measurements from USGS well USGS-480138098074101 (153-058-32dbb), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
How Nelson County compares nationally
Nelson County sits at rank 80th 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. Nelson County, North Dakota is home to about 3,007 people. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Nelson County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
Depth and quality are separate questions
This page answers a depth question, not a quality one. A well in Nelson 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.