Below the water table all pore spaces are filled with water. If the surface of this saturated zone is at an elevation greater than the pressure head in a lower confined aquifer, leakage of water into the confined aquifer will continue until the two are in equilibrium. This saturated zone could be an adjacent aquifer, a region in the overlying confining layer, an aquifer above the confined aquifer or a combination of the above. Recharge could also come from an adjacent confined aquifer with a higher pressure head. Here are a few ways you can identify a confined aquifer.
Water levels drop rapidly when pumping starts and recover as rapidly when pumping stops.
Nearby wells could be completed in a higher or lower aquifer and show no reaction to pumping in a given well. Confined Aquifers in Nebraska One of the major confining layers in Nebraska is glacial till. Confining layers of clay and silt are found throughout Nebraska. Some confining layers are found where the bedrock has been tightly cemented, such as in the Ogallala formation. Confining layers may be encountered in many areas of Nebraska.