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.

  1. Sampling
  2. Well Disinfection
  3. Apply for a Permit
  4. Resources

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.