How do I go about getting a well drilling permit?

First of all, the answer is yes, a permit is required for your drilling project. In California, by state law only a licensed C-57 contractor can pull a well drilling permit. We have shared in a few articles before and will share again, each respective county has different rules and requirements to permitting a well so its best to check with your local office for rules and regulations regarding your well project. We focus on drilling wells in North Eastern San Diego County, Riverside and San-Bernardino Counties. Here is a quick breakdown of major rules in each county, refer to the county websites referenced for the full list of regulations regarding drilling a water well. 


San Diego County:

Setbacks from Property Line: None

Setbacks from Sewer Lines:

Setbacks from Manhole Cover:

Setbacks from Septic Tank and Leach Field: 100 ft

Sanitary Seal installation: Minimum of 20 ft, residential projects sealed with bentonite chips or concrete slurry

Concrete Slab: Minimum 2’x2’x4” slab required on completed well system


Riverside County:

Setbacks from Property Line: 50 ft from all property lines

Setbacks from Sewer Lines:

Setbacks from Manhole Cover:

Setbacks from Septic Tank and Leach Field: 100 ft

Sanitary Seal installation: Minimum of 20 ft, residential projects sealed with bentonite chips or concrete slurry

Concrete Slab: Minimum 3’x3’x4” slab required on completed well system (in all directions from outside of well casing)


San Bernardino County:

Setbacks from Property Line: None

Setbacks from Sewer Lines:

Setbacks from Manhole Cover:

Setbacks from Septic Tank and Leach Field: 100 ft

Sanitary Seal installation: Minimum of 20 ft, residential projects sealed concrete slurry

Concrete Slab: Minimum 6’x6’x6” slab required on completed well system


As you can see each county has slightly different requirements here in Southern California. In addition to the items listed above to obtain a permit you must also provide the following information and remember only a licensed well driller can pull a well drilling permit, there are no homeowner exemptions to install wells and septics.


  1. Permit must be signed and approved by the property owner.

  2. Permit must include a description of the proposed well to be installed

  3. Permit must include a scaled drawing of the property showing well site location along with any items listed above within 500 ft of the proposed location. 

  4. Permit must include GPS coordinates of the proposed site. 

  5. Permit must include best management practices for fluid and additive containment while drilling.

  6. Permit must include proposed use of well (agricultural, residential, etc.


Applications for well drilling projects can only be submitted by a licensed C57 driller in the State of California, home-owner builders and general contractors cannot pull your drilling permit. Approval for well drilling permits can take 2-8 weeks depending on the scope of your project. Approval times are less when due diligence is done by your contractor to submit as much information as possible to the county when the permit is submitted. This may include septic records for yours and the surrounding properties. As a part of our service we pull septic records to meet these needs from county databases prior to permit submittal. If no such record exists or you have recently completed a septic certification you may be required to complete this item at your cost for a licensed septic provider C-42 who is also on the county’s approved list of contractors to provide this service at your expense. Often times older homes and properties do not have satisfactory records on file and this step will be required through the county permit process. The county may also require you to mark your property corners as a part of the permitting process. This again is completed at the property owner’s cost and is to protect your investment to make sure your proposed well lands on your property within the required setbacks. 


Have more questions? Send us an email here or give us a call at 951-763-2210

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What will my new pump look like when its done?

Image
 Often we are asked what will my new pump installation look like? Most of what gets installed in your newly drilled well is below the surface and you aren't able to see it but topside there are few things you should see. Here's a recent example of one of our new pump installations in a newly drilled well: First things first, your new well should have an outer casing liner coming out of the ground. The material of this casing is typically steel but we do see some companies who install a PVC conductor casing, check with your local county office for requirements for your area. Depending on the county in which your well was drilled the county requirements might differ. Some counties require a minimum of 12" above the cement slab, other counties have no requirement at all as to how high the casing should be. It's best to check with your local county Department of Environmental Health for standards specific to your area.  The same set of rules applies to the cement slab inst...
Read more

What Sets our Team Apart?

Image
 If you are reading this post then most likely you are looking at multiple bids for your well pump or well drilling installation. We believe in doing our own research as well when we hire contractors to work on our own home. Here at Heritage Well we believe the following should be considered when speaking with contractors to complete your project: Installation Quality, Contractor Communication & Service, Reviews and Pricing.  Installation Quality You may have read some of our other posts regarding our beliefs in installation quality before you stumbled across this article. If you haven't, check out this post for some examples of our well system installations.  We pride ourselves on the quality of our installations in all things WELL. This means we have high expectations and well designed processes for every step of your project. If you are drilling a well with us this starts from the very beginning in selecting the proper materials and method of drilling applicable f...
Read more

Low Well Water Pressure? 4 Possible Problems

Image
If you live in a home equipped with a well, then you may have taken the good water pressure in your home for granted until it diminished. Low water pressure can lead to showers that take longer and don't feel as refreshing, washing machines that take seemingly forever to fill up, and that chore of hand-washing dishes taking much longer than it used to. You may not immediately know the cause of sudden low water pressure in a home equipped with a well. Read on to learn about four common causes of this sudden decline in pressure. 1. Clogged Sediment Filter If your well is equipped with a sediment filter, as most are, then the key to why your home's water pressure suddenly dropped could be as simple as a clogged sediment filter. While how quickly your filter becomes clogged depends highly on the quality of your well water, a good rule of thumb is to change it every six months to not only maintain maximum water pressure, but also keep your water clean. However, some well owners need...
Read more