Changes in groundwater level changes prior to earthquakes have
been reported back to early historic times (Martinelli, 2000). This is
not surprising, because water is essential to human life and the use of
wells to provide water for human settlements has been important
going back to the beginning of human civilization. Any unusual
changes in groundwater levels, particularly dug wells that either drop
significantly in level or even go dry, would be noted and be a cause for
concern. Unfortunately, most such reports are anecdotal rather than of
a careful scientific measurement, and so they would not be reflected in
the database accumulated in this study.