Depth to water
Also called: static water level
The distance from the ground surface down to the water table in a well — the measurement that reveals whether an aquifer is holding or declining.
A rising depth-to-water number means a falling water table. Tracked over years at monitoring wells, it is the most direct evidence of whether withdrawals exceed recharge in an area.
It also drives cost directly: deeper water means deeper drilling, bigger pumps and more energy per acre-foot lifted, every year, forever.
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