Well Drilling in Erie County, NY

• Coverage includes Holland, Colden, Sardinia, Springville, Wales, Marilla, Boston, Eden, Brant, North Collins, Collins, Alden, Newstead and Clarence.
• Crews work along I-90, US 219, US 20, NY 400 (the Aurora Expressway) and Route 16 into the Southtowns.
• Before you call: the Erie County Department of Health, 503 Kensington Ave., (716) 961-6800, can tell you what it needs for a new well or a sale.

• New domestic wells in the Southtowns
• Replacement wells for old dug wells
• Pump and pressure tank replacement
• Yield and water testing for property transfers
• Sulfur and iron treatment on shale wells
• Decommissioning wells when a home connects to public water

• Local depth: at the USGS median of about 60 ft, the site calculator's formula gives $3,000–$8,400 for a complete well. At the 75th percentile (about 100 ft) it gives $4,000–$11,000, and at the 90th (about 155 ft) $5,375–$14,575. 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.
• Yield: New York's well standard, Appendix 5-B, wants a stabilized pumping test of four hours or more (section 5-B.4), and drillers bill that time with the well.
• Near-surface water: under Table 1 of Appendix 5-B, setbacks grow by half for wells that take in water within 50 feet of the surface, which on a small Southtowns lot can mean deeper casing or a new spot.
• Shale water in the south of the county can carry sulfur, iron or methane, so treatment can add to the job.

• Step 1, local rules: the Erie County Department of Health inspects wells for property transfers and new construction; fees are local, so the site calculator keeps its $200–$500 permit line as a placeholder until you confirm.
• Step 2, driller: hire a driller registered with the state DEC; construction follows Appendix 5-B of Title 10 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
• Step 3, distances: Appendix 5-B, Table 1, puts a well at least 50 feet from a septic tank and 100 feet from a leaching area, matching the county department's guidance.
• Step 4, pumping test: plan for the four-hour stabilized test in section 5-B.4 before the well is put in service.
• Step 5, testing: the county department recommends testing every year for coliform bacteria and nitrate.

• Glacial sand and gravel over shale and limestone: USGS site records for Erie County code 345 wells to sand and gravel aquifers, 316 to bedrock and 126 to the Onondaga Limestone.
• Reading the log: in the north of the county, along the Onondaga escarpment through Clarence and Alden, wells drill into limestone and dolomite bedrock where water moves through fractures; south, toward Springville, Holland and the Cattaraugus Creek valley, wells pass through till into Devonian shale, with sand and gravel outwash along the river valleys forming the better aquifer zone. Shale yields are lower and water quality varies.
• USGS site records (n=1,188 with depth): 25th percentile about 38 ft, median about 60 ft, 75th percentile about 100 ft, 90th about 155 ft.
• Census ACS counts about 441,214 housing units with a median year built of 1957, so many rural wells, and some dug wells, are old.

Holland · Colden · Sardinia · Springville · Wales · Marilla · Boston · Eden · Collins · Newstead