Rice County, MN Water Table Trend
Rice County's groundwater trend, from USGS's own readings
Rice County's long-term well puts the trend at 0.9 ft per decade, rising, getting shallower over time, based on 9 measurements since 2009.
One well stands in for Rice 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 83.2 ft below land surface. Readings span 2009-07-27 to 2026-08-11, 9 measurements from USGS well USGS-442554093101801 (Pdcj-U19 111n20w12cdbdca01 000042465), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
Where Rice County ranks
Of the 1,449 US counties with a usable trend, Rice County ranks 266th from fastest-rising to fastest-declining, 1 is the fastest-rising water table measured, 1449 the fastest-declining. About 69,025 people live in Rice County, Minnesota. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Rice County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
A dropping table says nothing about water quality
Whether Rice 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.