Well Drilling in Eaton County, MI

• Coverage includes Charlotte, Eaton Rapids, Grand Ledge, Olivet, Bellevue, Potterville, Dimondale, Vermontville, Mulliken and Sunfield.
• Crews work along I-69, I-96, M-50, M-100 and M-43 between Lansing's western edge and the Barry County line.
• The Eaton office of the district health department is at 1033 Health Care Dr. in Charlotte.
• Before you call: know whether the well will serve more than one home or a barn, because the Barry-Eaton District Health Department prices permits by yield class and system type.

• New domestic wells into the Saginaw sandstone
• Replacement wells for older, shallow drift wells
• Pump and pressure tank swaps on farm wells
• Larger-capacity wells over 70 GPM for barns or irrigation
• Water testing for bacteria and nitrate
• Plugging wells left on farmsteads

• Local depth: at the USGS median of about 186 ft, the site calculator's formula gives $6,150–$16,590 for a complete well. At the 75th percentile (about 293 ft) it gives $8,825–$23,545, and at the 90th (about 410 ft) $11,750–$31,150. The site calculator's method is depth × $25–$65 per foot, plus permit $200–$500, pump $900–$2,500 and tank $400–$1,500. It is an estimate, not a quote.
• Permit: the Barry-Eaton District Health Department schedule lists $390 under 70 GPM, $455 over 70 GPM and $423 for a Type III public well. That is above the $200–$500 range's low end, so budget toward the top.
• Rock depth: most Eaton wells finish in sandstone below the glacial drift, so casing length depends on how thick the drift is at your lot.
• Yield class decides the permit tier; a barn or irrigation well over 70 GPM costs more to permit and to pump.

• Step 1, permit: apply to the Barry-Eaton District Health Department before drilling. The FY2027 schedule lists $390 for a residential well under 70 GPM.
• Step 2, no shortcuts: the same schedule says work started without a permit is charged double the fee.
• Step 3, siting: Michigan Rule 325.1622 sets 50 feet from a septic tank, a disposal field, a buried sewer and an animal yard, and 150 feet from an agricultural chemical storage or mixing area, a common issue on Eaton County farms.
• Step 4, construction: the driller follows Michigan's Water Well Construction and Pump Installation Code, which Michigan Rule 325.1622 is part of, and files the well record.
• Step 5, records: keep the permit and well record with the deed papers.

• Saginaw sandstone: USGS site records code 53 of the county's wells to the Saginaw aquifer, the Pennsylvanian sandstone of the Michigan basin; the rest are mostly glacial drift wells. Groundwater in the sandstone bedrock moves along bedding planes, and the clay till layer above it helps protect the aquifer in the south of the county.
• Reading the log: the Saginaw aquifer is the main bedrock aquifer here, sandstone layers within the Pennsylvanian formation, and the glacial till above it thins and thickens across the county. Along the Grand River corridor near Grand Ledge, sandstone outcrop is close to the surface; to the south and west, toward Olivet and Bellevue, the drift is thicker and some wells stop in the glacial aquifer.
• USGS site records (n=83 with depth): 25th percentile about 120 ft, median about 186 ft, 75th percentile about 293 ft, 90th about 410 ft.
• Farm chemicals: Michigan Rule 325.1622 asks for 150 feet from fertilizer or chemical mixing areas and 300 feet from oil and gas wells, both of which turn up on rural parcels here.
• Census ACS counts about 47,753 housing units with a median year built of 1977.

Charlotte · Eaton Rapids · Grand Ledge · Olivet · Bellevue · Potterville · Dimondale · Vermontville · Mulliken · Sunfield