Well Drilling in Marion County, FL

• Marion County places on the Census Bureau's 2020 place list include the cities of Ocala, Belleview and Dunnellon, the towns of McIntosh and Reddick, and census-designated places such as Marion Oaks, Silver Springs Shores, Silver Springs, Rainbow Springs and Ocklawaha. Ask DOH-Marion which district covers your parcel.
• DOH's Well Permitting Agencies list for 2026 gives DOH in Marion County as the Marion agency.

• Construction, repair, modification and abandonment permits from DOH-Marion
• Plugging abandoned and incomplete wells
• Pump, pressure tank and water conditioning installs
• Yearly bacteria and nitrate testing of private wells

• Permit fee, SWFWMD side: the 2026 agreement lets DOH-Marion 'charge and retain well construction permit fees, in accordance with Sections 373.109 and 373.309, F.S, and at a minimum in accordance with Rule 40D-1.607, F.A.C.' That district rule, last amended August 17, 2014, sets permit application fees for well construction or repair of $50 for non-public supply wells, $130 for public supply wells or wells built to public supply standards, $100 for non-public supply potable wells in areas delineated under Chapter 62-524 and $500 for public supply wells in those areas. It exempts from these fees applications for permits to abandon water wells, and any resubmittal of an application that was denied or withdrawn within the preceding twelve months or upon the conclusion of any administrative or judicial process to challenge a denial. The posted agreement copy omits its Appendix 2 fee schedule, so ask DOH-Marion for its current fees. Any new or increased fee must be adopted by the Marion County Board of County Commissioners.
• Permit fee, SJRWMD side: DOH-Marion sets a schedule of permit fees that 'shall not exceed the cost to the FDOH-MC for permit processing, and for monitoring and inspecting wells for compliance with the permit and enforcement.' Statewide, s. 373.309(1)(e)7., F.S., bases fees for well construction permits and clearance for use on actual costs related to 'potable water well permitting and clearance for use' and sets a schedule under which the well construction permit fee may not exceed $500 and the clearance fee may not exceed $50.
• Water use permits: if a well's withdrawal needs a district water use or consumptive use permit, DOH-Marion holds the well permit until the district issues that permit or concurs in writing (SWFWMD agreement) or notifies DOH-Marion in writing that the well permit can be issued (SJRWMD agreement). Rules 40D-2.041 and 40C-2.041 set when one is needed, so ask the district about large irrigation wells.

• Licensing: s. 373.323, F.S., says anyone who wants to be in business as a water well contractor must hold a license issued by a water management district. A license from one district counts in all of them, and the license number has to be shown prominently on each piece of drilling equipment the contractor owns, leases or operates. Both Marion agreements keep contractor exams and licensing with the districts, and the SWFWMD agreement has DOH-Marion confirm a valid Florida contractor license before it issues a permit.
• Who may do the work: under s. 373.336(1)(b), F.S., it is unlawful to construct, repair or abandon a water well, or to run drilling equipment for that purpose, unless the worker is a licensed water well contractor's employee or works under one's supervision, or falls under an s. 373.326 exemption. That section lets a district grant an exemption for undue hardship, only as far as needed to relieve it and without impairing the law's intent and purpose, and covers the owner-built well in the FAQ below.
• Pumps: s. 373.303(2) leaves 'the installation of pumps and pumping equipment' out of the definition of well construction. Under s. 373.323(10), a licensed water well contractor may put in, fix or modify pumps and tanks under the Florida Building Code, Plumbing (its Section 614), and may also install pumps, tanks and water conditioning gear for every kind of water system.
• Completion reports: Rules 40D-3.411 (SWFWMD) and 40C-3.411 (SJRWMD) each give 30 days from completion of the work to file the state well completion report form. They also set no-work report and field-log duties and differ on who files, where and on which forms, so check the one for your district.
• Grouting: the SWFWMD side follows Rule 40D-3.517 and the SJRWMD side follows Rule 40C-3.517. Each sets grout materials and placement, and each has exceptions and material limits that turn on well size and use, construction method and site conditions, so read the rule for your part of the county or ask DOH-Marion before work starts.
• Plugging, SWFWMD side: Rule 40D-3.531 requires a well construction permit before any well, including an incomplete well, is abandoned. Read it together with the grouting rule, Rule 40D-3.517, for who may do the work, materials, notice and observation terms, or ask DOH-Marion.
• Plugging, SJRWMD side: Rule 40C-3.531 calls for plugging abandoned wells as set forth in Rule 40C-3.517(9) except where the district specifies otherwise, with the work done by a licensed water well contractor, and makes the property owner responsible for ensuring that all abandoned wells on the property are properly plugged by a licensed water well contractor. It also sets separate plugging duties and deadlines for incomplete or unsuitable wells; read the rule or ask the district.
• Septic distance: Rule 62-6.005, F.A.C. (formerly numbered 64E-6.005), places onsite sewage systems established after the rule's effective date no closer than 75 feet to a private potable well or multi-family water well, 100 feet from a public drinking water well serving a facility with an estimated sewage flow of 2,000 gallons per day or less, 200 feet from one serving more than 2,000 gallons per day, and 50 feet from a non-potable well. Lots platted and recorded or approved from January 1, 1972 to before January 1, 1983 that fall short of the statute's lot area, dimension or density requirements have separate options, none allowing less than 50 feet to a private potable well. Subsection (8) sets its own distance for one component, notwithstanding the rest of the rule: an effluent transmission line made of schedule 40 PVC must be set back not less than 25 feet from private potable wells, irrigation wells or surface water bodies when installed.

• The same 1994 report says the Hawthorn Formation over the Ocala Limestone, where present, ranges from a few to more than 100 feet thick in eastern Marion County, while in much of western Marion it has been eroded away and what remains commonly caps hilltops. It describes sinkholes as actively forming in the basin, especially where overburden has been dug out of the limestone for detention or retention areas, and as much less prevalent east of the Oklawaha River, where the Hawthorn is continuous, than west of it.
• Springs: SJRWMD calls Silver Springs a first-magnitude spring located in Marion County. SWFWMD describes the Rainbow River as a first-magnitude spring system that originates in Marion County, puts the Rainbow springshed at approximately 735 square miles across a significant land area in Alachua, Levy and Marion counties, and reports nitrate concentrations higher than historical levels in many springs in the Rainbow River system.
• Delineated areas: Rule 62-524.430 lists Marion County maps of delineated contamination areas named Belleview, Lady Lake, Lake Weir, Ocala East, Ocala West and Oxford, each dated 11/94. On the SWFWMD side those permits stay with the district, while the SJRWMD agreement lists Chapter 62-524 among the rules DOH-Marion administers.

Ocala · Belleview · Dunnellon · McIntosh · Reddick · Marion Oaks · Silver Springs Shores · Silver Springs · Rainbow Springs · Ocklawaha