Drilling FAQ

Yes! The State of Wisconsin has an online source to look up and view water well reports. 

Here is that link: https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/wellconstructionpub/#!/PublicSearch/Index

Our drill rigs are setup in the best possible way for finding water where many other drillers cannot. We use dual rotary drilling meaning we use air, rotate the steel casing, and also rotate a drill bit at the same time. Because of this we can raise and lower the casing within small windows and capture water producing areas in the realm of inches not feet. Hitting a boulder doesn't damage the pipe or stress welds, we simply drill the pipe straight through it!

Many wells we drill if you used mud rotary you would drill right past a small section of well that is water producing and not even know it. We can watch our cuttings in real time and with the pull of a lever raise and lower the casing in search of the shallowest well possible for our customers.

Yes! We do perform hydrofracturing. Depending on your area, well output may be limited. You can judge well depth and output by looking at surrounding wells using the link mentioned in the previous question. If we believe it is a strong possibility, we will often quote this during the estimation process. 

For more information about hydrofracturing, please click here.

In order to work safely we need room to work. The trucks that perform the well drilling are basically oversized semi trucks that ideally are parked side by side. An area around 30 ft wide and 40 ft long that is as level as possible, accessible without getting stuck, and has no overhead obstructions is ideal. In some scenarios we can work differently to accommodate you.

We cannot drive on pure sand, soft ground, or anything that truck weighing 60k lbs wouldn't be able to drive on. We are not responsible for driveway building or site prep unless it has been discussed prior and quoted during a pre drilling site visit. Site conditions may delay your well's completion. The better your site prep, the sooner we can drill your well!

Well drilling operations can be quite messy! We do our best to contain the mess but we are going to be driving heavy trucks on your yard and will leave behind a pile of sand, gravel, rock cuttings, and water. Because well drilling is usually followed up with trenching and hookup to your home, the cleanup can be addressed at that time.

During well drilling, buildings and vehicles nearby may be exposed to cuttings, dirt, and water being expelled from the rig. Positioning our equipment to protect your property is a priority of ours but we are not responsible for damage to driveways, yards, buildings, or property due to normal drilling operations. If you have concerns, please address them during the estimation process so we can quote additional protections if needed.

Water quality issues from things such as iron, smell, taste, bacteria, iron, manganese, nitrates, and any others are not a requirement of a legal well and we cannot guarantee water quality. We have drilled thousands of wells in our service area and can sometimes estimate what the water will be like and help you make informed decisions and discuss options to avoid problem water.

Most wells perform just fine with the use of a household water conditioner installed by someone with experience in treating water. We do not provide or service water treatment equipment.

When hiring a well driller you are hiring them for their experience and expertise and trusting that they have your best interest in mind. In some ways, it is a trust fall. As honest well drillers when we find a usable quantity of water, we do not keep searching. Going deeper than necessary creates additional mess, wasted time, and higher prices for every customer. 

For example: If we add another 10 ft and drill to 50ft we may find clay and mud and then have to decide whether to keep going deeper for water again or go back to the 40ft. Either one of those options means more cost to the customer for water that may or may not be better because we cannot be certain of the quality regardless.

Unless we are trying to avoid a problem such as high nitrates or replacing a well that has a higher than health standard we are not testing the water as we drill.  The issue is that while drilling we are injecting a bunch of air and water in the drilling process so results aren't always the most accurate. Also, the water composition can change with usage so it isn't always accurate to test water in that way in the first place.

If we are hired to drill your well, and we notice water that we feel will be hard to fix with water treatment we will typically keep drilling. However, as mentioned above we have the best of intentions but we are not responsible for the quality of your water.

Drilling conditions can change in a matter of feet apart. Some areas we are confident that we will find water at similar depths and other area's are hit or miss. This doesn't mean the well driller who drilled your neighbor's well made a mistake or had any bad intention.

In some areas the solid bedrock can vary and in order to produce a legal well we have minimum casing depth requirements. If we cannot find water prior to the bedrock, you will be drilling a rock well and taking whatever water comes in through cracks in the rock.

We have a large backlog of customers, it is in our best interest to get to every one of them before winter comes. We prefer to get jobs done to our high standard and quickly so we can get to the next person who is leaving voicemails wondering when we can get to their job.

We look at wells in the surrounding area when quoting and try to make you aware of what kind of well depth you would be looking at as an educated guess.

We do not believe in witchcraft, goblins, ghouls, or the paranormal. So no, someone walking around your yard with sticks pretending to know where we will find water is silly. We take a strong stance against them because we have seen them cost our customers thousands in water system cost by drilling the well sometimes hundreds of feet from their home.

Think about this: The static water level is as close as a couple in the ground feet meaning the ground is saturated at that depth. If someone tells you their sticks say there is water at 50 feet...how did they see past the saturated earth that is known to exist at 8 feet if you dug a hole?

Also, why aren't they millionaires in California finding water in desperate areas? Instead they are wandering around your yard for beer money.