The Water Table

If you could dig deep enough into the ground, you would eventually reach water. The level where the ground becomes completely soaked is called the water table. It is an important source of drinking water for millions of people. The water table rises and falls depending on how much rain an area gets.

Water Underground

Rainwater does not just stay on the surface. It soaks down through the soil and fills up tiny spaces between rocks and sand underground. The top of this underground water is the water table. In some places it is only a few feet below the surface. In dry areas, it can be hundreds of feet deep.

Why It Matters

Many people get their drinking water from wells that reach down to the water table. Farmers also pump groundwater to irrigate their crops. When people use too much water, the water table can drop. This makes wells go dry and can cause the ground to sink. Protecting the water table is important for our future.

Fun Facts

• About 30 percent of all the fresh water on Earth is stored underground as groundwater.
• In some places, the water table is so close to the surface that basements can flood.
• Groundwater can be thousands of years old, having seeped underground long ago.

Did You Know?

Some parts of California's Central Valley have sunk more than 28 feet because so much groundwater has been pumped out!