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Well Abandonment & Plugging

An old well you no longer use is an open line from the surface straight down to the aquifer. We seal it for good, the way Florida rules require, and file the paperwork that proves it was done right.

Permits

Handled for you

Method

Grouted bottom to top

Paperwork

Completion report filed

Service area

All of Florida

When a Well Has to Be Plugged

Florida treats a well as abandoned when its use has been permanently discontinued, or when it is so damaged that it can no longer be used.

At that point, state rules call for the well to be plugged under a permit by a licensed water well contractor. A well you simply stopped using does not go away on its own. The casing corrodes, the cap cracks, and the open hole becomes a shortcut for fertilizer, septic effluent, and floodwater to reach the groundwater.

Not sure where your well stands? If you plan to use it again, it has to stay capped watertight in the meantime. If you never will, it needs to be plugged, because a cap alone leaves the open hole underneath. Hooking up to city water? Many owners keep a sound well for irrigation with its plumbing fully separate from the city line, though your utility may set its own rules. We will look at the well and tell you plainly which path fits.

Common Reasons We Plug Wells

The home is switching over to city water
A property with an unused well is being sold or bought
Land is being cleared or developed
A failed well is being replaced with a new one
The casing is too damaged to repair
A flowing artesian well can no longer be controlled
A forgotten well turns up during construction

How We Plug a Well, Step by Step

Every abandonment follows the same sequence set by Florida rules. We handle each step and document it.

Permit

Florida requires a permit before any well is abandoned. We prepare and file it with the water management district or the county health department that issues permits in your area.

Fill From the Bottom Up

We pull the pump and pipe, measure the depth, and clear obstructions. Then we fill the well from the bottom to the top with neat cement grout or bentonite, leaving no voids for water to travel through.

Cement Cap

The top of the well is sealed with at least 1 foot of neat cement grout. The finished plug keeps surface water from finding its way down the old borehole.

Completion Report

A well completion report goes to the permitting agency within 30 days. It is the official record that the well was sealed properly, and it belongs with your property records.

Protecting the Aquifer

Why Plugging Old Wells Matters

Around Okeechobee, the risk is documented, not theoretical.

United States Geological Survey studies of Okeechobee County named two likely ways brackish water gets into the shallow aquifer that most homes drink from: Floridan wells left flowing freely at the surface, and Floridan wells with corroded casings. Both let mineralized water from deep below rise and mix with the fresh water near the surface.

A properly plugged well closes that pathway for good, and it takes a hazard off your land.

Protects Drinking Water

Closes an open path into the same aquifer that supplies the wells around you.

Keeps Aquifers Apart

Stops brackish water from deep zones rising into fresh water through old, rusted casing.

Removes a Hazard

Open or rotted wellheads are a danger to children, pets, and livestock.

Clears the Way to Sell

An unused, unplugged well is one more item for a buyer’s inspector to flag.

Flowing Artesian Wells

Some Floridan wells flow on their own, pushed to the surface by natural pressure in the aquifer.

Florida law requires every flowing artesian well to have a valve that controls its discharge. Letting a well run nonstop without a control is not allowed, civil penalties can apply, and a well whose poor-quality water threatens the aquifer may be ordered plugged.

Plenty of older ranch and grove wells were never fitted with a proper control, or their valves and casings rusted out long ago. Whatever shape yours is in, there is a fix.

Valve It

We install or replace a control valve so the well flows only when you open it, which keeps you on the right side of state law.

Repair It

We fix leaking wellheads and damaged casing that let water escape around the valve or into shallower zones.

Plug It

If the well is no longer needed, or the casing is too far gone, we plug it to Florida standards under a permit.

Statewide Service

For Developers, Land Clearing, & Real Estate

Old wells turn up on a lot of Florida land that has been farmed, ranched, or built on. We plug them one at a time or a whole site at once, anywhere in the state.

Developers & Contractors

When wells turn up on a development site, we permit and plug every one of them and schedule the work around your clearing and grading. One contractor handles the permits and reports for the whole site.

Land Clearing & Farm Conversions

Retiring pasture, grove, or dairy ground often means retiring its wells too: old irrigation wells, stock wells, and windmill wells that no longer have a job to do.

Real Estate Sales

An unused well can slow down a closing. We plug it under permit and file the completion report, so buyers, agents, and inspectors have the documentation they need.

Questions About Plugging a Well?

Capping versus plugging, city water hookups, flowing wells, and what plugging costs. Our FAQ page covers it.

Need water? Let’s talk.

Call for a free estimate on a new well, a pump or tank, water treatment, and more. Emergency service is available around the clock, and we travel anywhere in Florida.