Questions & answers about using various methods to locate a water well or well casing.

This article series describes how to find a water well at a property. We describe a series of steps and methods that can help find the well when its location is otherwise not obvious.

Page top photo courtesy of InspectApedia reader JC cited below.

Water Well Location - how to find the well

These questions & answers about how to find the water well or how to find the well opening were posted originally at WELL LOCATION, HOW TO FIND - be sure to review the suggestions offered there.

On 2019-02-11 by (mod) - I cant' find my well anywhere

Judy the article WELL LOCATION, HOW TO FIND has my very best suggestions for finding a well - I don't know anything at all about your specific property.

Try those steps and let me know what you find and what questions remain.

On 2019-02-11 1 by Judy

We can not fine my well any were 757-417-5248

On 2018-09-02 by (mod) - well vent usually marks well casing location

Some well caps require venting to the atmosphere so that might be what you're seeing.

Depending on where you live the cap might be below the frost line - especially on a U.S. residential well from the 1970's.

Since the well casing vent is most-often routed straight up above ground from the well casing I expect you'll find your well cap below exactly where you are digging.

Let us know what you find and we can comment further.

Watch out: do not bury the top of the well vent and be sure it's screened to keep out bugs and debris - lest it contaminate your water well.

On 2018-09-01 by John Chrisinger

Purchased an older home (1974) in the woods and need to find well cap.

We’ve located a vent pipe and dug down about 18”. Is this vent pipe attached to the well cap and just buried very deep?

Should we keep digging deeper?

On 2018-04-14 by (mod) - I cant find the well pumper

Ulysses

It's entirely possible that an above-ground well pump was simply removed: follow your water pipes from point of entering the house.

Do you see a pressure tank?

Are there electrical pump controls mounted there or on the wall nearby?

Are there electrical wires and pipes leaving the building at that location?

Do you know if it was a deep well? (More than 27 ft?) If so a submersible pump may be in the well.

Did you try the suggestions in the article WELL LOCATION, HOW TO FIND? That's our best-organized advice.

On 2018-04-14 6 by Ulysses

I have a well to my home but I cant find the well pumper it was taking off years ago so im trying to locate the well and find out were I can hook the pump to it.

On 2017-12-20 by RIta

It appears there may be an unknown tie-in to a water well on our property.

Recently, tenants noticed that the storage tank was very full in the early afternoon, but by dusk in was near empty! How would we go about trying to find such a thing? This is not the first incident we have encountered.

On 2017-11-09 by (mod) - Who do we contact to find the well location on a home?

Anon

Sometimes a well location is recorded on surveys, or recorded in county or town records. Else you'll need an onsite plumber or home inspector who might have their own procedure or may follow the suggestions in the article above on this page.

On 2017-11-09 by Anonymous

Who do we contact to find the well location on a home my son bought 4 months ago in boone, nc?

On 2017-08-14 by (mod) - We cannot find the well on our Vineland NJ property

Terry,

Sorry that it's a struggle to find your well - though nice to hear from Vineland NJ again - birthplace of ex wife No. 1.

It's often the case that a well or other site feature is not installed "as planned" since during installation the contractor may encounter an obstacle that requires a site location change.

If your home is actually connected to the well then finding it will be pretty easy. You need a local plumber who has equipment to trace buried pipes. When a pipe is plastic, as may be the case for a well, you can still trace the pipe by inserting an appropriate signal wire into the pipe from the house end, then following the wire with a detector outside.

At SEPTIC TANK LOCATING EQUIPMENT - https://inspectapedia.com/septic/Septic_Tank_Locating_Tools.php we describe that approach.

If the home is not connected but well piping remains it may still be possible to trace piping to the well by digging just enough to find the well pipe near the home, or by using a metal detector or in the most-troublesome case, ground-scanning radar.

Depending on the age of your home I might not rule out

- that the well was abandoned and filled in (or just capped which isn't a great idea)

- that there was no well on the property and instead water was from a neighbor's well

On 2017-08-14 by Terry

We cannot find the well on our property went to the Vineland city nj health department pulled up the drawings and the drawings aren't even right.any ideas

On 2017-04-06 by (mod) - not likely that a drilled or bored well would explain indoor dampness and mold

It's not likely that a drilled or bored well would explain indoor dampness and mold - unless there is a piping leak in the building.

Typically a well is a 6-inch diameter round casing.

Even if left un-capped that wouldn't wet a home unless it were an artesian well pushing water up on its own. If you had an artesian well under your home you'd find water pushing up from it into the structure - not likely.

But how to find a well - is described in the article above.

On 2017-04-06 by Mrs Kim Prentice

I believe there is an unused well from many years ago on the land where I am living.

The problems I have are manifold because everything is so damp and mouldy inside my ground floor flat. Can you tell me where I can find this unused well?

On 2017-03-23 by (mod) - To find the chromium level in your neighborhood's water suppl

Jolee,

To find the chromium level in your neighborhood's water supply you'll want to check with a local water testing lab to ask their recommended sampling and testing procedures.

Take a look at step #4 in the article WELL LOCATION, HOW TO FIND where we've added a link to an article on well numbering in California.

At the bottom of that document [a PDF that you can download as well as read online] you'll see the California water management district offices - contact the office nearest you.

On 2017-03-23 by Jolee

How do i find out my well number? I need to find out the chromium level in my neighborhood. How do i go about doing that? My address is 3156 Esplanade Chico, Ca 95973

On 2017-03-13 by (mod) - wells in Lake Havasu area are quite deep - how to find yours

Miriam:

Indeed in Lake Havasu, depending on just where you are, water wells can be quite deep.

A local plumber can help you see where your well equipment is located and where the water lines leave your building.

You may need help from a well driller to recognize the well casing though usually it's visible above ground.

Close to you is Valley Well Drilling, Address: Topock, AZ 86436, USA Phone:+1 928-768-7111

And there are a number of well drillers in Kingman AZ such as

Central Arizona Pump, LLC No reviews · Well Drilling Contractor Kingman, AZ, USA +1 928-529-2176

A-1 Arthur's Well Service Mohave County Kingman, AZ, USA +1 928-753-2048
and several competitors who all seem to be fighting over using the name "A-1 ..."

A-1 Well Services & Supply Inc Kingman, AZ, USA +1 928-757-9355

and
Brown Drilling Kingman, AZ, USA +1 928-757-1920

On 2017-03-13 by miriam matulich - who do i contact to locate my water well? I live in Lake Havasu, az?

who do i contact to locate my water well? I live in lake havasu, az? thank you.

On 2017-02-23 by (mod) - distance between multiple wells on same property

I have not seen a regulation specifying a required separation between water wells on the same properly.

A well driller needs sufficient space for the drilling equipment and may want to avoid driving over and damaging existing buried pipes or wiring. Typically that's 10 to 25 fdt. 3-10 meters.

However there are quite a few other well separation or protection distances.

See details at WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES

On 2017-02-23 by C marshall

How far apart should property wells be.

...

Continue reading at WELL LOCATION, HOW TO FIND or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

Recommended Articles

• SEPTIC CLEARANCE DISTANCES
• WELL CLEARANCE DISTANCES
• WELLS CISTERNS & SPRINGS - home
• WELL DEPTH, HOW TO MEASURE

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WELL LOCATION, HOW TO FIND FAQs at InspectApedia.com - online encyclopedia of building & environmental inspection, testing, diagnosis, repair, & problem prevention advice.

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INDEX to RELATED ARTICLES: ARTICLE INDEX to WATER SUPPLY, PUMPS TANKS WELLS

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