Common questions from homeowners on private wells around Springfield, answered with sourced figures where they exist. If yours is not here, call us at (417) 929-5558 and ask.
WellDrillingCosts.com publishes one estimate that we use as a reference: $10,000 to $34,000 for a complete well 200 to 500 feet deep. Actual quotes depend on depth, casing, rock and the pump package, and a well that goes past 500 feet is outside that estimate. The pricing guide walks through the factors.
Based on DNR well records through 2016, county medians are about 470 feet in Greene, about 520 in Christian and about 345 in Webster. Around individual towns the medians run from about 305 feet near Marshfield to about 535 near Republic, so the countryside you live in matters as much as the county.
Counting household wells within 5 miles of each town in DNR records, Republic and Nixa run deepest at about 535 and 530 feet. Marshfield and Fair Grove run shallowest at about 305 and 365 feet.
For anyone being paid, yes. Drillers and pump installers who charge for their work must hold a permit from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, as the DNR well installation FAQ explains. DNR issues separate permits for drilling wells and for installing pumps.
Yes. Landowners who drill a well on their own property do not need a permit, but DNR says they must follow every other part of the well rules, from construction standards to plugging. Read DNR's guidance before starting, and keep notes on the depth and casing you set.
It lists where the well is, how deep it was drilled, how much casing was set, the water level and yield at completion, and the rock layers drilled through. A record is filed for every well drilled in Missouri after July 31, 1987.
DNR offers an online well search built on its Wellhead Information Management System, and the records are also published on data.mo.gov. If your well predates July 1987, there may be no record, and an inspection can fill in what is known.
Expected depth and the charge for extra footage, casing length, the pump's size and setting depth, the tank, the hookup to the house, disinfection and the DNR processing fee. We list each on its own line so you can see what every part of the job costs.
Short cycling usually comes from a pressure tank that has lost its air charge or a torn bladder inside it. A sticking pressure switch can do the same. Either is a surface repair, and fixing it soon spares the pump from needless starts that shorten its life.
It watches the water pressure and turns the pump on when pressure falls to a low setting and off when it reaches a high one. Burned contacts or a clogged sensing tube can stop it from working, which can look like a pump failure.
Watch the gauge while a tap runs. If pressure falls steadily, the pump may be worn or the water level may have dropped; if it swings up and down quickly, suspect the tank or switch. A clogged filter or sediment screen can also cut pressure inside the house.
It can. Sinkholes, caves and losing streams carry surface water underground with little filtering, and USGS mapped about 2,500 sinkholes in Greene County. A well with sound casing and a tight cap is better protected, and regular testing shows what is reaching the water.
Good times are when you move in, after any repair that opens the well, after flooding or a very wet spell, and whenever the water's taste, color or smell changes. A bacteria and nitrate test is the usual starting point.
Do not drink the water until the well has been disinfected and a test comes back clean. Check the well cap and the area around the casing for damage, and have the pump and wiring looked at if water reached them.
Usually not. Each of those towns runs its own city well system, as do Willard, Strafford, Rogersville and Marshfield, and Fair Grove is served by a water district. Private wells serve the rural homes outside those systems.
It should be plugged, not left open. Missouri's plugging rules apply even to wells drilled before 1987, which are otherwise exempt from most well rules, and we can plug and record it for you.
Yes, in most cases. A well inspection checks the record, the cap and casing, the pump, tank and switch, the flow, and a water sample, which a general home inspection may not cover. Book it early so lab results and any repair quotes arrive before closing.
It is how far below the ground the water sits in the well when the pump has been off. In the same DNR records, the median is about 150 feet in Greene County and about 180 feet in Christian County, and the pump has to hang below it.
According to DNR well records, the median yield reported when wells were finished is about 45 gallons per minute in Greene County and about 40 in Christian and Webster. Individual wells vary widely, so we measure each new one and size the pump so it does not outdraw what the well can give.
Only if both need it. A tank that holds its air charge can stay with a new pump, but an old or waterlogged tank is worth replacing during the same visit, since it would shorten the new pump's life.