Summary: Spending money with a water locator can save you significant funds when it comes to drilling. Learn how this cost will help keep money in your pocket.

Ground water wells are an important part of any rural area. Whether the land is for residence, commercial or agriculture, a water supply is needed to provide services and amenities to that property. In most rural areas, this water is supplied through a ground water well. If this property is a new development, then a new well must be dug. The method and cost to drill this well will be determined by the difficulty to drill as well as the type of well that is installed. Drilling costs are quoted by the foot. You will pay a set fee for each foot of ground that is drilled regardless of if the driller strikes water. The goal, of course, is to locate an underground aquifer that will provide a reliable supply of usable water. While the drilling company will gather information prior to drilling, the drilling process itself still comes down to a carefully calculated guess.

How Deep is your Aquifer?

The main factor in the pricing, of course, is the depth of your well before an aquifer is located. While you want your well to be close to your buildings or area of use, you also want it to be drilled in an area that requires the least amount of drilling. This keeps your footage, and therefore your costs, to a minimum. You also need to follow the drilling guidelines of the well location in proximity to current wells, buildings and agricultural areas. This combination of requirements and needs does make locations limited, and finding the best location to drill a very skilled trade. If an aquifer cannot be located, then drilling is restarted at a new site, adding significant additional cost to the well owner.

What Moves your Water?


When an aquifer is located, the well is completed by attaching a pump and lines to continuously bring the water to the surface and supply the property with water. These pumps, lines and supplies will have their own costs. Some aquifers have drastically fluctuating water levels, and this will affect both the quality and quantity of water coming from your well.

Artisan wells are wells that are dug into a highly pressured aquifer. When one of these aquifers is drilled into, the water will flow to the surface without the use of a pump. These wells are more costly to fit as the water pressure must be contained and regulated. Accidently drilling into one of these underground sources will immediately increase the estimated cost of your well.

While it is always proper practice to get a well estimate prior to drilling, the final cost of your well can be significantly higher. The sediment that is drilled though, the location and depth of the aquifer and the setback requirements of the well itself will all determine the cost of the drilling. Once water is reached, the pump used to supply your property will also play a large part into the final well construction costs.

Here’s how to Save on Well Drilling Costs – Find the Water BEFORE you Drill

We locate water before you drill. By locating the water source prior to drilling, we can save you thousands of dollars by showing you where to drill in the right spot, the first time. Drilling a well is a highly calculated task, it makes sense to remove as many of the variables as possible in order to have a successful drill at the cheapest price possible. Does locating water cost money? Yes, it does. But it is much cheaper then drilling surprises after the job has been started. Are you planning on drilling a well? Contact us first. At American Water Surveyors, we can save you thousands of dollars, money that can go back towards your home, your company and your businesses.