Stafford County, VA Water Table Trend
Stafford County's groundwater trend, from USGS's own readings
Over 23 years of USGS readings, the well tracking Stafford County's aquifer is holding roughly steady: 0.3 ft per decade.
One well stands in for Stafford 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 16.6 ft below land surface. Readings span 2002-12-23 to 2025-08-12, 16 measurements from USGS well USGS-382805077255801 (51r 7), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
Where Stafford County ranks
Of the 1,449 US counties with a usable trend, Stafford County ranks 420th from fastest-rising to fastest-declining, 1 is the fastest-rising water table measured, 1449 the fastest-declining. About 168,919 people live in Stafford County, Virginia. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Stafford County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
A dropping table says nothing about water quality
Whether Stafford 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.