Good wells start with good contractors, and you should start your search by checking the licensed water well contractors in your area. Most city and county governments can provide you with a list of licensed contractors to call. Most licensed contractors also have to carry a bond as well, another reason to only deal with licensed well drillers.

As far as narrowing down the list, it’s not a lot different than hiring a contractor for any other job. Talk to friends and neighbors to see if they have a licensed contractor to recommend. Look for drilling contractors with experience and the proper equipment, as it’s not a job that can be tackled with tools rented from Home Depot or Lowes.

When you’ve found a drilling contractor you like, get everything in writing in a contract. Make sure that the type of materials and type of pump to be installed is specified, as well as the quality and quantity of water to be delivered, and the maximum depth the contractor can drill before needing to get express permission to proceed further. Also spell out who is responsible for site cleanup, who will install the pump, and any guarantees for workmanship and materials.

An average household uses 200-400 gallons of water per day, so keep that in mind when drilling a water well. That equates to a dependable yield of of 10-25 gallons per minute, if you want to have water for all household needs as well as for lawn and garden watering.

That said, you can get by on less, if your local aquifer won’t support flow rates such as that. Aside from conserving and limiting your water use, you can also install storage tanks to offset a well that produces far fewer gallons per minute. Most mortgage companies and banks require that if you use a well as your primary water supply that it must produce at least 5 gallons per minute, so that’s pretty much the absolute lowest acceptable level that you can get by with.

Keep in mind, too, that the flow rate you get from your well can vary greatly even from what a nearby neighbor gets. It all depends on the geology, so don’t assume that you’ll have the same level of groundwater as a neighbor, as that’s not always the case.

Like any construction project, the permits you need to drill a water well will depend on where you live and what the local and state guidelines require.

For the US, restrictions and guidelines can vary dramatically from state to state, and even within each state. Some local governments will allow homeowners within city limits to drill a water well if it’s to be used for landscaping water purposes only, while others ban all water well drilling altogether. For the cities that do allow water well drilling, most require a permit, but always check at your local city hall to get the correct guidelines before you start any major project such as drilling a water well.

If you live outside the city limits, there are typically many fewer restrictions, so you can often drill a water well without needing to get a permit. But again, restrictions vary widely depending on where you live, so always check with the proper local, county, or state departments to be sure you’re following the guidelines for the area that you live in.