Drilling within Incorporated Areas
Would you believe we just recently completed a project for a single house domestic and irrigation water supply, and it's less than a mile North of the Bellevue Town Square?
Depending upon lot size, set backs, utility locations, proximity to landfills, and municipal codes, you CAN have a well drilled for domestic and/or irrigation use within the limits of most cities.
Legal Restrictions
First thing to do is to call the local health district (if your city has one, King and Snohomish County Health Districts both reference state setbacks when it comes to water wells located within the city limits). Also, you should check with City Hall and the local codes, to see if there are any rules about having a well drilled. Plus, check with your home owners association, reference the covenants and restrictions attached to your property. If all of the above checks haven't put the kebosh on your pipe dream, we can probably legally drill the well. The next concern is setbacks.
Setbacks
A water well is a water well, as far as the Department of Ecology is concerned. This means that the rules are the same, regardless of whether or not someone is drinking the water. The Department of Ecology mandates that wells must observe a 100 foot setback from drainfiels and perforated sewage lines, 50 feet from non-perforated sewage/sewer lines & septic tanks, 10 feet from buildings, 5 feet from property lines, and a minimum of 1000 feet from the borders of permited landfills, or 1000 feet from the property line of an unpermited landfill.
Utility Locations
The locations of all utilities on the property are primarily a concern because we don't want to damage anything by either driving over it or drilling into. Also, by knowing the location of all the sewer lines, we can determine where the well can be sited at.
Can We Locate the Well For You?
Absolutely, but it's not as cheap as doing your own leg work. Also, another solution is to contact Steven at SNR Company or Bruce Johnson at Concept Engineering, either of whom can arrange a site visit, have the utilites located, and have the codes/restrictions looked up for you.
