Oliver County, ND Water Table Trend
Oliver County's groundwater trend, from USGS's own readings
Oliver County's long-term well puts the trend at 2 ft per decade, declining at a typical pace for a declining county, based on 286 measurements since 1968.
This is one representative well, not a county-wide survey, the same grain limit every page here discloses.
Oliver County's source well, in detail
Depth to water at the last reading was 208.8 ft below land surface. Readings span 1968-01-16 to 2023-06-05, 286 measurements from USGS well USGS-470642101162701 (142-084-24bba (Center Well)), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
How Oliver County compares nationally
Oliver County sits at rank 1185th 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. Oliver County, North Dakota is home to about 1,882 people. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Oliver County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
If you own a well in Oliver County
A dropping water table means a residential pump has to reach deeper and work harder, which shortens its life. In Oliver County, that trend is real, not assumed: 2 ft per decade over 55 years.
Depth and quality are separate questions
This page answers a depth question, not a quality one. A well in Oliver 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.