Well Drilling in Pend Oreille County, WA

• Coverage includes Newport, Diamond Lake, Sacheen Lake, Usk, Cusick, Ione, Metaline and Metaline Falls.
• Crews work along US 2, SR 20, SR 211 and SR 31 up the river valley.
• Northeast Tri County Health District's Newport office covers the county.
• Before you call: mark the septic tank, drainfield and reserve area, since WAC 173-160-171 measures from all three, and note any floodway on the lot.

• New wells on lake and timber lots
• Replacement wells for shallow wells near lakes
• Pump and tank work, including freeze repairs
• Group B small water system wells, which need health district site approval
• Bacteria and nitrate testing
• Decommissioning old wells

• Local depth: at the USGS median of about 122 ft, the site calculator's formula gives $4,550–$12,430 for a complete well. At the 75th percentile (about 240 ft) it gives $7,500–$20,100, and at the 90th (about 393 ft) $11,325–$30,045. 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.
• Glacial gravels: valley wells in sand and gravel are often shallow and screened; upland wells may drill through till into rock, which adds footage.
• Setbacks on small lake lots: WAC 173-160-171 sets 100 feet from a drainfield and its reserve area, which can force a well to the far side of a small lot.
• Distance from Spokane-based crews and winter road conditions add mobilization cost up the valley.

• Step 1, rules: Washington Department of Ecology rules in the Washington Administrative Code, chapter 173-160, govern well construction, and a licensed driller does the work and files the well report.
• Step 2, siting: WAC 173-160-171 sets five feet from buildings, 50 feet from a septic tank or distribution box, 50 feet from a sewer and 100 feet from a drainfield or reserve area.
• Step 3, flood: the same rule says a well must be protected from the 100-year flood and kept out of the floodway, relevant on river-bottom lots.
• Step 4, public wells: for a Group B system, Northeast Tri County Health District requires a well site evaluation and design approval before construction.
• Step 5, records: keep the well report the driller files with Ecology. The site calculator budgets $200–$500 for permit and notice costs; confirm the current amount with Ecology.

• River-valley alluvium and glacial outwash: USGS site records for Pend Oreille County code most wells to alluvial and glacial sand and gravel along the river and lakes, with rock wells in the uplands.
• Reading the log: along the Pend Oreille River valley, wells usually finish in glacial outwash and alluvium, sand and gravel with good yields; on the benches east and west of the river, wells pass through till into granite and metamorphic bedrock, where water sits in fractures. Lakeside lots near Diamond Lake and Sacheen Lake often reach the shallow aquifer zone but need the full drainfield setback.
• USGS site records (n=273 with depth): 25th percentile about 63 ft, median about 122 ft, 75th percentile about 240 ft, 90th about 393 ft.
• Landfills: WAC 173-160-171 sets 1,000 feet from a solid waste landfill boundary.
• Census ACS counts about 8,113 housing units with a median year built of 1985.

Newport · Diamond Lake · Sacheen Lake · Usk · Cusick · Ione · Metaline · Metaline Falls