Drilling a new water well
Water well drilling for your property
We assess your lot, drill the hole, seal the casing, and file the report the Province requires.
Nanaimo Well Drilling provides water well drilling across Parksville and the Regional District of Nanaimo. We build your drilled well under the Groundwater Protection Regulation with a surface seal at least 5 m long. We extend your casing at least 0.3 m above ground and attach a well identification plate. We submit your construction report to British Columbia within 90 days for GWELLS.
You'll see us drilling, but that's the easy part of a new well. Where we put the hole, how deep the ground makes us drill, and filing the paperwork afterward decide how the job turns out. A buyer, a lender or a rezoning application will ask for that paperwork later.
We drill by the foot, so the total follows the depth. Most of the price depends on depth to bedrock, how far into it we drill, casing length, screening in sand and gravel, and rig access. You pay a set price for the surface seal, the ID plate, and the report, but every hole varies in depth.
Where on your lot can the well actually go?
Two set distances in the rules decide where we can put your well. You must keep a septic system 30 m from a water well, and put a new water well 15 m from any existing one. On a small rural lot with an existing septic field, those two distances leave a small spot, so we find that spot before booking the rig.
When is a well finished?
The Groundwater Protection Regulation sets strict standards for how we build your well. A water supply well needs a surface seal at least 5 m long and at least 2.54 cm thick in the annular space. We bring your well casing up at least 0.3 m above the ground level. We fit a tight cap so surface water, dirt, animals, and people cannot get inside your well. We disinfect your well as soon as we finish drilling it. Every step matters, and we build your well to follow every single part of the standard.
What paperwork do you end up with?
When we finish drilling, we attach an official ID plate from the comptroller to your well where you can see the number clearly. We send the construction report to the Province within 90 days, so it gets listed in GWELLS, the public database. Having no record is common for older wells, but that missing history causes problems when you go to sell the house. We file your paperwork right away so you always have a full record on your property.
Who's allowed to drill your well?
Rules say only drillers on the provincial register kept by the Deputy Comptroller of Water Rights can build wells in BC. We are listed on both public registers, for well drillers and well pump installers.
What do you get with a new well?
Bedrock well
We put steel casing through soil and rock debris, then drill into solid fractured rock, which is how most wells here are built.
Sand-and-gravel well
Where sand and gravel sit near the surface, we put down a screen to give you a shallower well with more water.
Wellhead completion
Surface seal, casing stick-up, secure cap, disinfection, identification plate and the filed report.
How do we drill your new well?
- 1
Records and site walk — we pull the existing GWELLS records for the aquifer and measure every setback on the ground.
- 2
Drilling — we run casing through topsoil and gravel, then drill deeper into rock or set screens depending on what sits under your property.
- 3
Surface seal and wellhead — we place the seal, leave the casing standing above grade and fit the cap.
- 4
Development and disinfection — we clean up and disinfect the well before we hand it over to you.
- 5
Plate and report — we attach the identification plate on completion and file your construction report within 90 days.
What's under your part of the Island?
How deep your well needs to go depends entirely on what's under your property. Under Cedar and Yellow Point, Aquifer 162 is DeCourcy Formation sandstone with a median depth around 50 m and a median yield near 2 US gallons a minute. Just west in Cassidy, sand and gravel sits at a median 13 m depth and yields roughly 20 US gallons a minute. In Errington, wells go through Haslam Formation shale to a median 60 m depth for about 3 US gallons a minute. On Gabriola Island, wells reach a median depth near 34 m into Nanaimo Group rock. We check which of those your property sits on before we quote.
People also ask
Can a homeowner drill their own well in British Columbia?
Not a drilled well. The Groundwater Protection Regulation requires a registered well driller to construct your well or supervise the work directly. Anyone can dig a shallow well up to 15 m deep, as long as the work meets every rule in the regulation.
Does a household well need a water licence?
No. Using well water for your home does not require a licence or provincial water fees and rentals. Business, farm, or commercial water uses need a licence, and the deadline for old non-domestic users to register was 1 March 2022.
How deep will the well have to be?
Nobody knows before drilling. Aquifer records give you a fair idea of what to expect, like 50 m depth at Cedar or 60 m at Errington. Yours could come in above or below that.
What happens to the well record?
We file the construction report with the Province within 90 days so it enters GWELLS, the public database. Anyone can look up a well record afterwards.
Related: pump systems, what the Province requires of a water well, what drives the cost of a water well, and water wells in Errington and Coombs.
Find out what is under your property.
Free written quotes across the rural Regional District of Nanaimo and in Parksville.