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Drilling a Water Well
Water Wells (Domestic/Irrigation)
A fillable form is now available for the Water Well Application-Permit (see link below). As part of the application process, please complete the fillable form, scan and send via email to [email protected] along with the necessary documents required by the application such as site plans, assessor’s parcel pages and any other documents as required as part of the permit application process. Permit applications that are incomplete cannot be processed.
If you are planning on building a home in a rural location with no access to public drinking water, you will have to drill a well on your property. Water well permits may only be applied for by a licensed well driller (see the following procedure).
The City of Roseville has separate permitting requirements and must be contacted if the well is to be drilled within city limits. Any wells planned within the City of Lincoln must first be approved by the City, prior to issuance of an Environmental Health permit.
To use forms marked as "PDF-fillable form," open the form you need by clicking on the appropriate link, click on the download icon in the upper right, rename the form, and save it locally (i.e. to your desktop). Close your website browser, and then open the PDF you just saved in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Now you can type in the fields and sign electronically. Be sure to save your changes, and then attach your completed form in an email to us.
Water Sampling
If you own a home with a water well, you may be required to sample your water to determine if it is safe to drink for the purposes of issuing and approving permits for Building, Planning, and Environmental Health. Sampling may be for bacteriological testing or chemical testing (nitrates, for example). Sampling must adhere to very strict protocol, so please refer to our water sampling guidelines (PDF) prior to attempting to take a sample.
Drinking water bacteriological testing samples must be submitted to a California Certified Environmental Laboratory (PDF). Please contact us.
Water Well Disinfection
There may be times when your well needs to be disinfected, such as:
- After construction of a new water supply or pipeline
- After making repairs to an existing water supply
- After a water system has been unused for several months
- After surface flooding of a well or storage tank
- When the results of a bacteriological test indicate contamination
- Before a new water supply (i.e. well) is used
Please refer to our detailed disinfection procedure (PDF) for more information.
Well Permits must be applied for by a licensed well driller with a C-57 license. Upon applying for a permit, the Driller shall provide the following:
- A vicinity map and clear directions to the property and well site.
- Plans and specifications for the proposed work, including method of sealing the annular space.
- Two copies of an accurate site plan, drawn to scale. Show the proposed well location and all features of potential contamination such as septic system, sewer line, animal feed lots or pasture, and property lines within 150 feet of proposed well site. Wells are required to be in compliance with set-backs from potential ground water hazards.
- A copy of the Assessor's plot map/parcel map.
- Location of any restrictions such as easements on the property.
- Any other information that enforcement agency finds necessary to complete the permit application.
- Submission of the appropriate permit filing fee.
Once the documentation has been reviewed and approved by our Specialists, drilling may commence. The permit must be on-site during the drilling process and the driller must comply with the permit requirements.
Resources
- Private Drinking Water Wells - United States Environmental Protection Agency
- Well Completion Reports - California Department of Water Resources (DWR)
- Dry Well Reporting System (ca.gov) - California Department of Water Resources Dry Well Reporting System
If you are the owner of a private water well you may request a copy of the well completion report, that was filed with DWR by the well driller. The California Water Code, Section 13752 prohibits distributing well completion reports to anyone but the current land owner, his/her legal designee, or a government agency, without the owner’s permission.