New wells and well drilling around Wichita

Sometimes the pump is not the problem: the old well has filled with sand, the casing has failed, or a new house is going up on acreage with no water at all. Drilling a new well around Wichita involves more paperwork than a pump swap, and who issues the permit depends on where the property sits.

Who permits a new well

The Wichita fee is from the city's well page, the county fee from MABCD's permit page, and the Harvey County figures from KDHE's survey of county well permits. Butler County did not appear in that KDHE list, so permit rules there should be confirmed by the driller before work starts. Wells meant to irrigate more than two acres may also need a water appropriation permit from the Kansas Department of Agriculture, according to the City of Wichita.

Who can drill it

Under the county code, only someone holding a Kansas water well contractor license, carrying $300,000 in liability insurance and registered with MABCD can construct, rebuild, plug or treat a well. The one exception is an individual working on land they own, for a well that serves only their own home. Wichita has the same idea: only state-licensed contractors registered with the city may drill new wells there. KDHE issues the state license after a written exam and requires annual renewal and continuing education.

Where it can go

Sedgwick County's water well code (Sec. 27-84) sets minimum distances from a new well:

• 50 feet from sewer lines, septic tanks, lateral fields and subsurface drip fields (10 feet from a sewer line built watertight)
• 50 feet from privies, seepage pits, fuel, fertilizer or pesticide storage, feedlots and barnyards
• 25 feet from the nearest property line, with narrow exceptions for cooling or lawn wells on fully sewered lots
• No ponded surface water within 50 feet, and not in a ravine or drainage path

In a mapped floodplain, the casing has to finish at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation. Wells within 1,000 feet of an area that EPA or KDHE has confirmed as contaminated can face extra construction, testing or monitoring conditions, or a denied permit.

Saltwater areas

KDHE's water well program publishes a saltwater contamination advisory for parts of Kansas affected by historic oilfield brine, and both Sedgwick and Harvey counties are on its list. In those mapped areas the Permian bedrock can hold very high chloride, and the overlying sand and gravel can be salty too. KDHE says wells should not be built in the mapped areas at all. An experienced local driller will know whether your property is near one. The groundwater guide has more on the Burrton chloride plume west of the Wichita well field.

Paperwork when it's done

1. The county requires an inspection after the work and a copy of the drilling log within 30 days.
2. A WWC-5 water well record goes to KDHE, with a copy to Environmental Health for wells inside Wichita.
3. The new well's water must be tested for at least bacteria and nitrate before the county approves it for use.
4. An abandoned old well on the property must be plugged under KDHE's K.A.R. 28-30 rules, with its own county permit.

Once water is flowing, the pump and tank choices on the replacement page apply to a new well too.

Questions people ask

Do I need a permit to drill a well in Sedgwick County?

Yes. MABCD requires a permit before a well is constructed, reconstructed, plugged or treated. Inside Wichita the permit comes from the city's Environmental Health office instead.

How close can a well be to my septic tank?

At least 50 feet from the tank and lateral field under Sedgwick County's water well code.

Do I need a water right for a house well?

The City of Wichita notes that wells irrigating more than two acres may need a Kansas Department of Agriculture water appropriation permit. Ask your driller how that applies to your planned use.