Well Drilling in Seneca County, NY

• Coverage includes Seneca Falls, Waterloo, Romulus, Fayette, Varick, Ovid, Lodi, Interlaken, Covert, Junius and Tyre.
• Crews work along NY 414, NY 89, NY 96A, US 20 and the Thruway (I-90) on the county's north edge.
• The Seneca County Health Department in Waterloo handles drinking water protection for the county.
• Before you call: if the house is near a barnyard or manure storage, measure the distances, since Table 1 distances can decide where the well can go.

• New domestic wells on farm and lake parcels
• Replacement wells for old dug wells near barns or septic fields
• Pump and pressure tank work
• Yield testing for home sales and new construction
• Bacteria testing after spring runoff or flooding
• Decommissioning old dug wells

• Local depth: at the USGS median of about 66 ft, the site calculator's formula gives $3,150–$8,790 for a complete well. At the 75th percentile (about 115 ft) it gives $4,375–$11,975, and at the 90th (about 175 ft) $5,875–$15,875. 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 test: 10 NYCRR Appendix 5-B section 5-B.4 calls for a stabilized yield test of at least four hours, which is part of the drilling bill.
• Shallow wells: 10 NYCRR Appendix 5-B, Table 1, says separation distances go up 50% when water enters the well less than 50 feet below grade, which can push a well to a different spot on the lot or to a deeper casing.
• Shale water can carry sulfur or salt at depth, so treatment equipment can add to the job after drilling.

• Step 1, local rules: ask the Seneca County Health Department and your town code office what they require before drilling; NYSDOH says local health departments administer well rules. Fees are local, so the site calculator keeps its $200–$500 permit line as a placeholder.
• Step 2, contractor: New York requires a DEC-registered well driller, and wells are built to 10 NYCRR Appendix 5-B, part of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations.
• Step 3, siting: 10 NYCRR Appendix 5-B, Table 1, sets 50 feet from a septic tank and 100 feet from an absorption field, 100 feet from a barnyard or animal pen and 200 feet from manure storage.
• Step 4, yield: section 5-B.4 calls for a four-hour stabilized yield test.
• Step 5, testing: NYSDOH recommends testing for bacteria every year and for other contaminants every three to five years.

• Glacial till over shale: USGS site records for Seneca County code wells to glacial deposits and to the Devonian bedrock, including the Hamilton Group shale. Groundwater in the bedrock aquifer moves along fractures in the shale, and many older wells near the lakes draw from the till layer instead.
• Reading the log: in the north of the county, near Seneca Falls and Waterloo, wells often finish in glacial till and outwash or in limestone and shale bedrock close to the surface; toward the south, along the lake slopes near Ovid and Lodi, wells drill into Hamilton Group shale and the bedrock aquifer, where yields are lower and sulfur water is more common. Water in the shale moves through fractures, so two neighboring wells can differ.
• USGS site records (n=611 with depth): 25th percentile about 40 ft, median about 66 ft, 75th percentile about 115 ft, 90th about 175 ft.
• Farms and fields: manure spreading and barnyards are common neighbors, and 10 NYCRR Appendix 5-B, Table 1, puts manure spreading at 200 feet unless a nutrient plan allows 100.
• Census ACS counts about 16,194 housing units with a median year built of 1959, one of the older housing stocks on this site, so many wells are old and some are dug.

Seneca Falls · Waterloo · Romulus · Fayette · Varick · Ovid · Lodi · Interlaken · Covert · Junius