Groundwater Mining.
Excessive pumping of water from an aquifer may result in an areawide lowering of the water table. This will eventually occur anywhere more water is pumped than is recharged by infiltrating precipitation. Overdrafting an aquifer can result in changes in groundwater quality, a reduction in groundwater availability (and hence the loss of water supply to current and future wells), and perhaps even a permanent loss of the aquifer's capacity to store water. Many states use the water right process to manage groundwater quantity and to ensure that overdrafting does not occur.