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Construction Permits for Private Wells and Geothermal Systems

Example of a private well construction permit

How to apply for a Permit

To apply for a private well construction permit, contact your local County Health Department using this contact list:

Well construction permits are required for all water supply wells, and for all geothermal systems - closed-loop and open-loop - that are 20 feet or greater in depth. For private water supply wells - wells that serve less than 25 individuals or fewer than 15 water service connections - the construction permits are issued by your local county health department (except for Osceola County).

*Osceola County does not have the authority to issue private well construction permits. For permits in Osceola County - please contact Erik Day to obtain your permit: erik.day@dnr.iowa.gov or 515-402-7981.

Permitting Process

  1. Contact your local county health department (except for Osceola County*) to get their current application and ask questions about their local permitting policies and fees.
  2. Submit an application for well construction to your county health department along with their application fee. Each county sets their own application fees.
  3. The county will review your application to ensure completeness.
  4. The county will review the location relative to sources of contamination.
    1. If your proposed location is near a contamination source or site, your application will be sent to the DNR for further review. 
    2. The DNR  review will take an average of 3-4 weeks to complete, but may take longer.
  5. Your application will be approved or denied by the county in writing.
  6. The county issues your permit - please ensure you have received a permit before proceeding, as required by 567 IAC Ch.38.
  7. You may proceed with well construction.
  8. The county and DNR must be allowed to visit the proposed well site before, during, and after well construction, as required by 567 IAC Ch.49.
  9. For household wells, you must allow the county to collect a water sample between 10-30 days after construction, as required by 567 IAC Ch.49.

In some cases, the Iowa DNR will work with counties to collect permitting information and perform an environmental review and then perform the permitting at the state level. 


Public Wells - If your well serves 25 or more individuals or has 15 or more water service connections, your well project requires a Public Water Supply Construction Permit issued by Iowa DNR Water Supply Engineering (WSE). Additional information on public water supplies can be found at the WSE web page. Local county private well programs cannot approve or issue any public water supply construction. In order to obtain a public water supply construction permit, the water supply owner must use a design engineer to establish a specification and design that adheres to the Ten States Standards for Public Water Works (2012), and work with WSE to ensure the design and construction fulfills the required standards

Other Permits Required for Private Wells

  1. DNR - Water Use Permit - required for using 25,000 gallons or more at least one day per year. 
    1. Link: Water Use and Allocation website
  2. DNR - General Permit #6 (GP6) - required when water produced during well drilling will reach Waters of the United States (WOTUS).
    1. Link: General Permit #6 website
    2. Link: GP6 Well Siting Tool - use to check distances to surface water to see if you project will need to adhere to GP6.
    3. Link: Field Office Notification Form - if you need to abide by GP6, you must notify the DNR Field Office prior to well construction
  3. DNR - General Permit #9 (GP9) - required for temporary dewatering wells and residential pump-and-dump geothermal systems.
    1. Link: General Permit #9 website
  4. DNR - Flood Plain Permit - required if your well will be constructed in a floodplain.
    1. Link: Flood Plain Management website
    2. Link: Flood Plain Development Permit website
    3. Link: Flood Plain PERMT Tool - check to see if a permit is required
      1. Step 1: Check the box that says “Other Structures, Obstructions, Fill, Spoil, Deposits
      2. Step 1: Then check “other.”
      3. Step 2: Then select your project location on the map or by entering the address.
      4. Step 3: Click “Get Results”
  5. EPA - Underground Injection Control (UIC) Permit - required for any injection or discharge into the subsurface (including open-loop geothermal)
    1. Link: EPA Region 7 UIC Program Website

Examples of wells that require a private well construction permit include:

  • All types of water supply wells including, drilled, augered/bored, and sand point wells used to supply water for: households, livestock, processing/commercial needs and all types of irrigation purposes,
  • recreational-use wells for lakes or pond water supplies, or to provide water for a fountain or other water feature,
  • industrial water supply wells providing plant process water or machine or process cooling water,
  • heat pump water supply and return or injection wells,
  • GHEX (geothermal) loop boreholes - both vertical and horizontal loop placements when the loop depth is 20 feet or greater in depth,
  • groundwater monitoring, contaminant monitoring or piezometer wells 20 feet or greater in depth that are not installed to meet a state clean-up or monitoring requirement.*,
  • groundwater level monitoring wells,
  • temporary (in place at least 7 days) or permanent dewatering wells, and
  • dam or levee relief wells.

Any property owner who plans to construct a private water supply well must agree to place the well in a location free from known surface and subsurface contamination, have the well constructed to meet or exceed state construction standards based and the type of well needed and the well location, and have the water tested at least once to determine the quality of the groundwater.

For monitoring wells and dewatering wells, the wells must be designed to protect the groundwater, constructed using industry standards, include adequate well head protections for the time they will be left in place, and be properly plugged when no longer needed.

All well services in Iowa - including well construction and renovation or rehabilitation, pump installation and pump repairs, pressure switch and pressure tank replacement, and geothermal borehole construction requires a Iowa DNR Certified Well Contractor be present on the job site and in direct charge at the time well services are being performed. The rules for well contractor certification can be found in 567 Iowa Administrative Code Chapter 82.


Dewatering Wells

Groundwater dewatering wells are used to lower the water table for construction activities. The following is required for dewatering wells:

  1. Private Well Construction Permit
  2. Water Use and Allocation permit or minor non-recurring use permit
  3. General Permit #9
  4. A DNR certified well driller must be onsite at all times that well services are being performed.

Trench dewatering has the same requirements as groundwater dewatering wells, except they do not require a private well construction permit.

Monitoring Wells - Iowa DNR private well construction permits are always required for monitoring wells except for wells installed as part of a Iowa DNR requirement for an underground storage tank site (UST), leaking underground storage tank site (LUST), contaminated site, or landfill site. All monitoring well construction must be performed under the direct supervision of an Iowa DNR Certified Well Contractor who is onsite and in direct control of the well services being provided. When any monitoring well is no longer needed, it must be properly plugged with bentonite products or neat cement, the casings removed to a depth of four feet below surface grade, and one Iowa DNR Form 542-1226 filed with the department for each monitoring well plugged.

Geotechnical Investigation Boreholes - Iowa DNR private well construction permit is not required for any borings for geotechnical investigations, nor is a certified driller. A well construction permit and Iowa DNR Well Contractor Certification is required if your geotechnical investigation includes placing well casings or screens in any boreholes to monitor or collect groundwater samples. Any investigation boreholes that are positioned in areas that will not be immediately excavated must be properly plugged with bentonite products or neat cement.

Geoprobe® Style Boreholes - Iowa DNR private well construction permits are not required for Geoprobe® style boreholes as long as temporary or permanent well casing is not installed in the borehole. Example, when sampling of groundwater through the probe tip without using any casing. If your boring(s) will place any casing in the ground, you need to obtain well construction permits before any probe work is started and have a Iowa DNR Certified Well Contractor on-site during the installation. All probe holes must be properly plugged with bentonite products or neat cement as soon as the sampling work is completed.

Cathodic Protection Wells - Iowa DNR private well construction permits are not required for cathodic protection wells. Cathodic protection wells are common and installed to protect metallic objects in direct contact with the ground from electrolytic corrosion. Objects like pipelines that carry petroleum, natural gas, and water, and their related storage facilities; power lines; telephone cables; and switchyards. In addition, cathodic protection wells are sometimes used to control electrolytic corrosion in large water supply wells. Even though construction permits are not required for cathodic installations, the installation contractor is still responsible to ensure that each borehole is constructed using the best industry standards - including bentonite products to seal between potential aquifers and the upper borehole, and the use of safe materials that will not contaminate drinking water supplies.