The effectiveness of your home's ground is in part a function of basically having most, if not all, of the right chemical elements (some 80+ different ones) present in sufficient amounts in the soil where your ground rod has been driven. But, it's overall effectiveness for how well your system performs rises and falls as those chemicals are actually in the presence of moisture. That's why, ideally, the ground rod should be deep enough to penetrate the ground water level. The US spec is generally 8ft, but often that ends up being insufficient in many areas. Arid climes are more difficult to get good ground in than wet ones and, with good grounding conditions or otherwise, often systems sound better after a good, 2 or 3 day, gentle soaking rain. Regards. John