well depth, well cost, money well spent?

[Thatguy]

"Water wells typically range from 20 to 600 feet (180 m), but in some areas can go deeper than 3,000 feet (910 m)."

If it's 50-50 that I strike water at a depth of X feet, what is a good value for X?

How about a value for X for which it is almost certain that I strike water?

How does the cost of drilling a well vary with the depth? I'd think the "setup charge" is pretty steep, regardless of the depth.

TIA

 

[Waterwelldude]

That is a wide open question.
It all depends on where you are wanting a well.
A 100' well can cost 1500.oo in one place and 15000.oo in another.

Is it rock, is it clay, is it sand, is it a combination of all three. There is no standard for pricing a well. Yes it may be by the foot, but with a few other variables that may come into play at one time or another that will add to or take away from the price.
There is no way to get a good answer for your question.


Travis

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Thatguy]

That is a wide open question.
It all depends on where you are wanting a well.
A 100' well can cost 1500.oo in one place and 15000.oo in another.

Is it rock, is it clay, is it sand, is it a combination of all three. There is no standard for pricing a well. Yes it may be by the foot, but with a few other variables that may come into play at one time or another that will add to or take away from the price.
There is no way to get a good answer for your question.


Travis

OK.

More questions. . .

In a well drilling contract, who bears the risk of not hitting water?

If I paid $X to drill X feet and didn't hit water, should I pay another $X to drill another X feet on the (increased?) chance that I will hit water?
This is kind of a Slippery Slope.

To get one working well, do I have to drill 2 or 3?

Do they use ground penetrating radar or other means to increase the likelihood of a working well?

Can you recommend any well-drilling how-to reference books?

 

[Waterwelldude]

It all depends on where you are.

Say here for example, SE Texas. I can tell you your water is at 'X' feet. Now weather that water is any good, I can't say that. No water well driller can guarantee the quality of the water no matter where it is.
They can say "this should be good water, as it was a few months ago".

In central Tx I can't tell you there is water at "X" feet. I can take an educated guess,where water will be, but I can't guarantee there is water there. It is the home owner that takes the risk in that situation with most drillers.

There are a few well drillers that still use water witchers. I have seen them use a witcher and guarantee water. How much?? they can't say

It all comes down to where you are in the word.


If I paid $X to drill X feet and didn't hit water, should I pay another $X to drill another X feet on the (increased?) chance that I will hit water?


That depends on the driller and the contract you worked out with him/her.
Was it your decision to go that deep or his?
If it was yours, yes you would more than likely have to pay, but deeper does not always mean there is water there either.

We have people call all the time and say "I want a 200' well." We ask them where do you need the well.
Some times you can't have a well at the depth you want, not here anyway. In a 5sq. mile range, the wells can go from 125 to 700'.




Travis

 

[hosky]

Just a quick note that might be of use. I live in the MS delta and just had a 520` well drilled last Friday. Cost me a shade under $12000.00. I have mostly clay and sand with some small gravel. I thought that was a high cost. But can you really put a cost on having water for your wife and family?

 

[Thatguy]

So far so good.

The (geometric) average price for a 100' well is √(1500)(15000) = $4700 with a probable range of $1500 to $15,000, the demand for water "is not very sensitive to a change in price", the "utility function" for water is high, well depth is dictated by the area with a range of 20 to 3000' but probably typically between 125' to 700'.

I definitely have to do some Web searches on this. . .

 

[Upper]

Thatguy,where do you get your def of probable? Upper

 

[hj]

well

There is no value for "X" which will guarantee you will get water. I worked at a house in Michigan, years ago, that was right across the street from a lake and they NEVER did find water with a well.

 

[Thatguy]

Thatguy,where do you get your def of probable? Upper

WAG? More likely than not? ". . .likely but not certain to be or become true or real. . ."

The more posters supply data on their wells the more accurate these likelihoods will be. With 10 or more responses, for wells that continue to work adequately, we might get a fair idea of who paid too much and who got a bargain.

BTW, from Hosky, $12k/520 = $23 per foot of depth and using his well price in the average gives (1000){[(1.5)(15)(12)]^0.3} = $5300 avg. price.

I'm on city water, it's $200 for 37,000 gals for 6 months for two of us, so this particular well would pay for itself in ~ 30 yrs. This brings up the question of the average life for a well.

 

[Thatguy]

For anyone having these [working] well depths in feet,

15
23
39
48
65
78
80
110
120
140
150
160
200
220
240
300
385
400
420
450
465
800

any prices you can post (one or more for each depth) will certainly be appreciated.

I think this data can be used to determine "reasonable" well prices.

 

[ChuckB]

I remember my dad use to charge

" $210 for the first 21 feet and 2.50 per additional foot."

but that was a long, long time ago

average well dept was 60-60 feet.

Chuck

 

[Thatguy]

I remember my dad use to charge

" $210 for the first 21 feet and 2.50 per additional foot."

but that was a long, long time ago

average well dept was 60-60 feet.

Chuck

Now it seems to be 1.5 kilobucks, minimum, with a 520' well costing ~$12K.

It occurs to me that the prices will have to be adjusted based on
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0883960.html
so I guess I should also ask for the location or zipcode
http://zipskinny.com/