or groundwater table
Surface of a body of underground water below which the soil or rocks are permanently saturated with water.
The water table separates the groundwater zone (zone of saturation) that lies below it from the zone of aeration that lies above it. The water table fluctuates both with the seasons and from year to year because it is affected by climatic variations and by the amount of precipitation used by vegetation. It also is affected by withdrawing excessive amounts of water from wells or by recharging them artificially. See also aquifer .