Drilling a new well on your lot

The septic system sets the first boundary

Where a lot has both a well and a septic system, Rule 62-6.005 F.A.C. (version effective 8 June 2026) sets the minimum gap between them. For a private potable well, which is a drinking-water well, the septic system must sit at least 75 feet away. For a non-potable water well the minimum is 50 feet.

When the lot is small, that setback fixes the positions of both the well and the drain field. It is about more than paperwork, because a failing drain field can contaminate a well on the same lot. We work on both sides, so we site the well with the existing tank and drain field in view and check the separation before the location is set.

Permit offices across the service area

Getting the permit is the first step for any new well, and which office you apply to is set by the county. For well construction, most of the service area sits under the St. Johns River Water Management District. The District delegates permitting through sixteen agreements with local health departments and one with the City of Jacksonville, which together cover every well in the District that it does not permit itself.

Within the St. Johns district, a well six inches or more in outside diameter at land surface is permitted by the District itself, not by the local office. Wells inside the delineated areas of Duval, St. Johns and Putnam are District permits too. Under Florida law, a delineated area is one with known groundwater contamination or one treated as vulnerable, and wells built there must meet extra construction rules.

Green Cove Springs and Macclenny each add a city step. For a well inside Green Cove Springs city limits, the District permit issued through the county health department has to go to the city building department, which then issues a written city permit. Within Macclenny city limits, the city’s Water Well Ordinance calls for a city permit before any drilling, and the city can only permit a well for the purposes its code allows.

• Clay, Nassau and St. Johns: the county health department, which permits on behalf of the St. Johns River Water Management District.
• Duval: the City of Jacksonville Environmental Quality Division for wells under six inches in diameter, under Chapter 366 of the city Ordinance Code and Environmental Protection Board Rule 8.
• Union: the county health department is not involved. Well permits come straight from the Suwannee River Water Management District under Chapter 40B-3 F.A.C.
• Baker: part of the county sits in each district (s. 373.069 F.S.). Properties on the St. Johns side get their permit from the Florida Department of Health in Baker County, and the districts are the ones to ask which side a given property falls on.

Aquifers, iron and sulfur

Most private wells here draw from either the surficial aquifer or the Floridan aquifer. Which one a well draws from shapes how deep it goes, how much water it yields and the chemistry of what comes out of the tap. It is one of several things that shape a new well, alongside where it can sit on the lot. The household’s demand then decides the pump.

Iron and sulfur are common locally. They are mostly a taste, smell and staining problem rather than a health one. We do not sell or fit treatment for them, so if the water calls for it, we will point you at the right trade.

Sizing the pump to the well, not the catalogue

We fit the pump, the pressure tank and the switch on the wells we drill.

The pump has to match the well and the house together. On the well side that means its depth, the static water level and the yield it can sustain. On the house side it means the fixtures, how many of them run at once, any irrigation, and the voltage and wire size out to the wellhead.

Bigger is not safer. An oversized pump draws the water down faster than the well refills, and then it runs dry.

Testing the water, and where our work stops

A water utility tests what it supplies, and none of that covers a private well. Once the well is yours, you are the only one checking it. Owners are usually advised to have it checked for bacteria and nitrates once a year, and a proper test means a lab analyses a sample. We do well water testing, so we can take that sample for you.

We do not sell or fit water treatment equipment. If the results point that way, we will tell you what you are looking at and point you at the right trade.

Our well work, and where it stops

We drill new wells and look after the ones already in the ground. That covers the pump, the pressure or bladder tank, the switches and wiring that go with them, water testing, and inspections for a home sale. We do not sell or fit water treatment equipment.

Treatment is a separate trade, and we would rather say so up front than leave you guessing. If your water needs it, call anyway. We will tell you what you are looking at and point you at the right trade.

Where we do this work

We handle well drilling across Duval, Clay, Nassau, St. Johns, Putnam, Union and Baker counties. Each area page covers the local ground conditions and which office issues the permit there.

Jacksonville · St. Augustine · Orange Park · Middleburg · Green Cove Springs · Ponte Vedra Beach · Fernandina Beach · Yulee

See every area we serve, all water well services, or who issues your permit.