Drilled a well and found no water: what happens next?

A hole that comes up dry, or with only a trickle, is a hard moment in a well project, but it is a known risk and it usually leaves you with choices. This page sets out the realistic options and the information you need before choosing one. The money side (who pays for the footage already drilled) is covered separately in who pays if a new well is a dry hole.

Is the well really dry? Find out what you have

"No water" can mean very different things: a truly dry hole, a hole with a little water that may be enough with storage, or a hole whose yield has not yet been measured properly. Ask the driller for three facts in writing:

• Total depth drilled and what the cuttings showed at each depth.
• Static water level, the depth to water after the hole has rested.
• Measured flow during a test, and how long the test ran.

A quick flow check is only a snapshot. A true yield test that measures the static level, drawdown and recovery is a job for a licensed well contractor. Water Systems Council: wellcare Guide to Evaluating Water Wells (for home inspectors) See well pump tests for what a good test report shows. [WSC-INSPECTOR source note]

Why does one well find water and another doesn't?

Groundwater is widespread, so widespread near the surface that it would be hard to drill a well and not find some water. Determining the depth and extent of water-bearing layers, though, takes hydrologic, geologic and geophysical knowledge. USGS: Water Dowsing In fractured bedrock, water may be found only in the cracks of the rock, so a hole that misses the fractures can be poor even when a neighbor's is good. Penn State Extension: Water Well Location by Fracture Trace Mapping [USGS-DOWSING source note] [PSU-FRACTURE source note]

What are the options when a well driller didn't find water?

Deepening is not a guaranteed fix. In a 6-inch well, each extra 100 feet of water-filled hole adds about 147 gallons of storage, but deepening can also bring significant changes in water quality. Penn State Extension: Using Low-Yielding Wells [PSU-LOWYIELD source note]

Can a new well with low water still work?

A low-yielding well is one that cannot meet the home's peak demand, and Penn State Extension describes two broad fixes: reduce peak water use, or increase storage in the system. Intermediate storage tanks are commonly sized by a rule of thumb of about 100 gallons per household member. Penn State Extension: Using Low-Yielding Wells Read low-yield well options and how many gallons per minute a well should produce before deciding the hole is a loss. [PSU-LOWYIELD source note]

A worked example: choosing between options

Suppose a hole reaches the contract's maximum depth with a measured flow of about 1 gallon per minute after development. That is well below the roughly 6 GPM minimum that Penn State Extension suggests for most single-family homes. Penn State Extension: Water System Planning — Estimating Water Needs The choices look like this: [PSU-NEEDS source note]

• Add storage. One gallon per minute steadily is about 1,440 gallons over a full day, more than the 200 to 400 gallons a family of four typically uses. With an intermediate storage tank and a booster pump, that can be enough. The question is whether the well sustains that rate, which only a longer test shows.
• Drill deeper. Worth it if nearby reports show better water below and the cost per foot past the maximum is known. It adds borehole storage even if it finds no new water.
• Move. Worth it if the property has a spot with clearly better prospects, and if the contract prices a second hole reasonably.

Write down the numbers for each option before deciding. The cost calculator can compare the extra footage, and well pump tests explains how to confirm the sustained yield.

Seal anything you abandon

If you move to a new location, the abandoned hole must be sealed so it cannot carry surface contamination into the aquifer. Requirements and who may do the work are set by your state or local authority; in Montana, for example, the owner must hire a licensed contractor rather than do it themselves. Montana DNRC well-owner guide (revised 2007) [MT-DNRC source note]

Before the next attempt

Write down the decision point you will use this time: a maximum depth, a minimum yield you will accept, and what each option costs. If you need a second opinion from another contractor, the vetting questions and quote checklist keep the comparison fair.