# Township 31S26W, Meade County — how far the water table has fallen

> Depth to water for the 36 sections of township 31S range 26W, before development and in 2022–2024. Median change 21.3 ft.

## Township 31S Range 26W

**30** of the 36 sections here carry both measurements. The median section has **fallen 21.3 ft** since the aquifer was developed, against 18.2 ft across the whole surface.

### What has happened in township 31S26W

Median depth went from **82.8 ft** before development to
**111.5 ft** — a change of **21.3 ft**, over
30 of 36 sections. Deeper: 24. Shallower:
6. Sharpest fall, section 02 at
69.2 ft; largest rise, section 35 at 47.6 ft.

[Why some sections have
risen](/how-far.md).

### Section by section

*Township 31S Range 26W — depth to water before the aquifer was developed, against the 2022–2024 surface, in feet below ground. A plus sign means the water is deeper than it was; a minus sign means it is shallower. A dash means one of the two is missing; ≥ marks a change computed from a figure floored at ground level.*

| Sec. | Before | 2022–24 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | — | 153.8 ft | — |
| 02 | 77.2 ft | 146.4 ft | +69.2 |
| 03 | 75.7 ft | 142.9 ft | +67.3 |
| 04 | 51.2 ft | 103.7 ft | +52.5 |
| 05 | 26.5 ft | 57.2 ft | +30.7 |
| 06 | 21.6 ft | 42.9 ft | +21.3 |
| 07 | 22.7 ft | 51.0 ft | +28.3 |
| 08 | 32.3 ft | 69.0 ft | +36.6 |
| 09 | 64.4 ft | 119.5 ft | +55.1 |
| 10 | 81.7 ft | 142.9 ft | +61.1 |
| 11 | 74.8 ft | 137.4 ft | +62.6 |
| 12 | — | 139.6 ft | — |
| 13 | — | 120.2 ft | — |
| 14 | 82.8 ft | 126.3 ft | +43.5 |
| 15 | 93.2 ft | 134.9 ft | +41.7 |
| 16 | 76.1 ft | 116.1 ft | +39.9 |
| 17 | 55.7 ft | 86.9 ft | +31.2 |
| 18 | 37.2 ft | 63.8 ft | +26.6 |
| 19 | 78.4 ft | 99.1 ft | +20.7 |
| 20 | 88.2 ft | 108.6 ft | +20.4 |
| 21 | 110.4 ft | 126.8 ft | +16.4 |
| 22 | 117.0 ft | 122.6 ft | +5.6 |
| 23 | 105.3 ft | 107.3 ft | +2.0 |
| 24 | — | 94.5 ft | — |
| 25 | — | 62.6 ft | — |
| 26 | 116.8 ft | 75.3 ft | −41.5 |
| 27 | 137.1 ft | 99.3 ft | −37.8 |
| 28 | 116.9 ft | 116.2 ft | −0.8 |
| 29 | 105.6 ft | 118.1 ft | +12.4 |
| 30 | 94.9 ft | 111.5 ft | +16.5 |
| 31 | 102.1 ft | 116.0 ft | +13.9 |
| 32 | 102.8 ft | 111.7 ft | +8.8 |
| 33 | 99.0 ft | 94.4 ft | −4.6 |
| 34 | 102.3 ft | 68.5 ft | −33.9 |
| 35 | 82.5 ft | 34.9 ft | −47.6 |
| 36 | — | 56.3 ft | — |

[How to read a depth-to-water figure](/how-far.md).

### Who has drilled in township 31S range 26W

**87** wells in township 31S range 26W have a completion record. Busiest driller: **Bartel Well Drilling, INC**, 20. Oldest record, 1975. Median well 172.0 ft deep.

Sunk for **monitoring well/observation/piezometer** (36), **domestic** (30), **domestic, livestock** (14), **irrigation** (4).

[What a WWC-5 record covers](/about.md).

*Who filed well completion records in township 31S range 26W, busiest first. The last column is the median depth those wells were drilled to — a driller’s own record of how far down the water was.*

| Driller of record | Wells | Years | Median depth | Median water level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bartel Well Drilling, INC | 20 | 1976–2018 | 175.0 ft | 90.0 ft |
| Coranco Great Plains, INC | 16 | 2007–2008 | 18.0 ft | 10.4 ft |
| Terracon, INC | 14 | 1991–1992 | 20.0 ft | 12.4 ft |
| Audie L. Thornburg Contract Dewatering, INC | 5 | 2001 | 20.0 ft | 11.4 ft |
| Sw Windmill & Ww Srvc | 4 | 2022–2025 | 202.0 ft | 73.0 ft |
| Carl Hayse Water Well Service | 3 | 1998–2008 | 172.0 ft | 84.0 ft |
| Henkle Drilling & Supply Co. INC | 3 | 1975–1976 | 215.0 ft | 120.0 ft |
| Jantzen Water Well | 3 | 2011–2022 | 190.0 ft | 95.0 ft |
| Cornie Friesen Windmill and Supply CO | 2 | 1977–1984 | 184.0 ft | 80.0 ft |
| Crowdis Ww Srvc | 2 | 2022 | 181.0 ft | 80.0 ft |
| Minter-wilson Drlg. Co., INC | 2 | 1984–1987 | 235.0 ft | 30.0 ft |
| Reuben Bartel Well Drilling, INC | 2 | 2001 | 145.0 ft | 116.0 ft |
| Well Owner | 2 | 1995 | 137.0 ft | 86.0 ft |
| Bernard E. Carlile Water Well Service, INC | 1 | 1977 | 220.0 ft | 115.0 ft |
| Dan Hayse Water Well Service | 1 | 2004 | 140.0 ft | 38.0 ft |
| Dunham Drilling, INC | 1 | 2014 | 150.0 ft | 47.0 ft |
| James C. Houser | 1 | 1991 | 100.0 ft | 80.0 ft |
| Jantzen Water Well LLC | 1 | 2024 | 200.0 ft | 127.0 ft |
| Layne-christensen CO | 1 | 1984 | 25.0 ft | 9.0 ft |
| Pratt Well Service, INC | 1 | 2007 | 25.2 ft | 9.1 ft |
| Southwest Windmill | 1 | 1997 | 0.0 ft | 0.0 ft |
| Southwest Windmill and Water Well Service, INC | 1 | 2011 | 212.0 ft | 131.0 ft |

*Wells by decade drilled, with the median depth reached and the median water level the driller measured on arrival.*

| Decade | Wells | Median depth | Median level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 7 | 193.0 ft | 102.0 ft |
| 1980s | 8 | 160.0 ft | 73.0 ft |
| 1990s | 24 | 25.0 ft | 15.1 ft |
| 2000s | 33 | 20.0 ft | 11.6 ft |
| 2010s | 6 | 200.0 ft | 111.0 ft |
| 2020s | 9 | 181.0 ft | 80.0 ft |

*What the wells were sunk for, and how deep each purpose went.*

| Purpose | Wells | Median depth |
|---|---|---|
| Monitoring well/observation/piezometer | 36 | 19.2 ft |
| Domestic | 30 | 165.0 ft |
| Domestic, Livestock | 14 | 181.0 ft |
| Irrigation | 4 | 215.0 ft |
| Public Water Supply | 1 | 235.0 ft |
| Oil Field Water Supply | 1 | 220.0 ft |
| Environmental Remediation, Recovery | 1 | 24.2 ft |

*The ten deepest wells on record in township 31S range 26W, by the depth the driller reached. The water level is the one measured on arrival, which is a reading at a point — unlike the surface figures above. The first column is the WWC-5 record number.*

| Record | Year | Depth | Water level | Purpose | Driller |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 419905 | 2008 | 260.0 ft | 84.0 ft | Domestic | Carl Hayse Water Well Service |
| 39386 | 1984 | 235.0 ft | 30.0 ft | Public Water Supply | Minter-wilson Drlg. Co., INC |
| 451877 | 2011 | 225.0 ft | 111.0 ft | Domestic | Jantzen Water Well |
| 39490 | 1976 | 222.0 ft | 132.0 ft | Irrigation | Henkle Drilling & Supply Co. INC |
| 39492 | 1977 | 220.0 ft | 115.0 ft | Oil Field Water Supply | Bernard E. Carlile Water Well Service, INC |
| 305722 | 1999 | 216.0 ft | 70.0 ft | Domestic | Bartel Well Drilling, INC |
| 39489 | 1975 | 215.0 ft | 100.0 ft | Irrigation | Henkle Drilling & Supply Co. INC |
| 100200 | 1995 | 214.0 ft | 119.0 ft | Domestic | Bartel Well Drilling, INC |
| 447974 | 2011 | 212.0 ft | 131.0 ft | Domestic | Southwest Windmill and Water Well Service, INC |
| 381209 | 2006 | 210.0 ft | 98.0 ft | Domestic | Bartel Well Drilling, INC |

### Buying or drilling in township 31S range 26W?

The median section here has moved 21.3 ft. What that means for one quarter section takes someone on the ground. Tell us where; we pass the request on.

We are nobody's agent and have no arrangement with any firm today. [What we do with this](/privacy.md).

This township sits in [Far western Kansas](/region/far-western-kansas.md). **Meade County**, on 100 % of 87 well filings — [inferred, not given](/about.md).

### Townships with a comparable number of sections

- [29S10W](/township/29s10w.md) 0.0 ft
- [24S18W](/township/24s18w.md) 14.5 ft
- [30S10W](/township/30s10w.md) -3.0 ft
- [16S25W](/township/16s25w.md) 0.0 ft
- [29S42W](/township/29s42w.md) 114.7 ft
- [32S18W](/township/32s18w.md) -137.2 ft
- [29S13W](/township/29s13w.md) 2.9 ft
- [10S26W](/township/10s26w.md) -15.2 ft
- [31S18W](/township/31s18w.md) -89.3 ft
- [23S17W](/township/23s17w.md) 11.2 ft
- [28S27W](/township/28s27w.md) 77.1 ft
- [29S14W](/township/29s14w.md) 1.7 ft
- [19S13W](/township/19s13w.md) 2.3 ft

Neighbours by the count of measured sections, not a ranking: the list slides with the township, so each of the 256 township pages is reachable from the others. [All of them](/township.md).

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Página: https://ks-water-table.pages.dev/township/31s26w/
Fonte: Kansas depth to water, predevelopment against 2022-2024 — Kansas Geological Survey, joined to WWC-5 well completion records
Recolha: 2026-08-23