A Short Groundwater Quiz - Answer 3

Answer: (a) Increased water use and more pumping has lowered the water table. (b) There is less infiltration from rain and snow to replenish the groundwater due to the conversion of woodland to lawns and impervious areas (homes, and paved and gravel roads).

Why do the lawns matter? More water infiltrates into the duff layer and uneven ground of a forest than into a mowed lawn: more water runs off of a lawn, flowing to road ditches and eventually to streams and lakes.