SD · wells & permits

Water wells in South Dakota

Real drilling records, county depth medians, active contractors, and exactly what it takes to pull a well permit in South Dakota.

The permit, in plain language

No pre-drill permitgeneric

SD DANR

SDCL 46-6-9

Pre-drill gate: None — report after drilling
Fee: —
Who files: Driller or owner may file
Timeline: Varies

Confirm current fee with authority

Before the rig arrives

Confirm parcel allows a private well (vs required public water connection).
Select a licensed well contractor; obtain owner authorization as required.
No statewide pre-drill permit for typical domestic wells — confirm local/district overlays.
Still complete post-drill filing (registration / well log) on the deadline below.

After drilling: Completion report ≤30d within 30 days → SD DANR · filing link ↗

Forms: SD well application · Completion report ≤30d

Open the filing portal ↗

WellMap prepares estimate-backed quote packets and dual-party approvals. It does not issue permits and never auto-submits to government systems. The licensed driller (and/or owner where required by law) is the submitter of record. Verified 2026-07-14.

Top drillers on record

Contractor	Wells	Median depth
PULLMAN WELL DRILLING	3,717	192 ft
HURON DRILLING, INCORPORATED	3,414	145 ft
GEOTEK ENGINEERING & TESTING	2,839	17 ft
ALEXANDER DRILLING, INC.	2,654	240 ft
MAXIM TECHNOLOGIES, INC.	1,434	22 ft
THEIN WELL COMPANY, INC.	1,375	104 ft
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES, INC.	1,354	21 ft
STRETCH'S WELL SERVICE, INC.	1,315	184 ft
KNUTSON WELL DRILLING, INC.	1,304	220 ft
INDEPENDENT DRILLING CO., INC.	1,206	1165 ft

Get a depth estimate anywhere in South Dakota

County by county

Depth statistics across South Dakota

Medians from wells with verified total depth. Click a county for its permit authority, fee and filing channel.

County	Wells	With depth	Median	p10–p90
PE	6,104	6,094	45 ft	18–500 ft
BN	4,187	4,156	200 ft	18–1170 ft
BD	3,765	3,743	160 ft	18–1005 ft
SP	3,405	3,370	876 ft	44–1035 ft
LA	3,392	3,391	200 ft	32–700 ft
MA	3,261	3,252	25 ft	15–132 ft
MD	3,243	3,227	80 ft	21–790 ft
CU	2,923	2,921	200 ft	40–500 ft
CD	1,708	1,691	39 ft	15–200 ft
HD	1,658	1,642	243 ft	28–1350 ft
BG	1,618	1,615	50 ft	17–200 ft
RB	1,530	1,526	94 ft	22–299 ft
DN	1,432	1,428	105 ft	15–220 ft
FR	1,403	1,397	52 ft	19–560 ft
PK	1,330	1,330	200 ft	39–420 ft
SA	1,301	1,294	190 ft	100–960 ft
YA	1,193	1,180	102 ft	22–372 ft
TD	1,189	1,187	152 ft	35–269 ft
UN	1,162	1,159	111 ft	28–280 ft
FA	1,130	1,126	1080 ft	60–1478 ft
TU	1,096	1,093	95 ft	23–254 ft
KG	1,038	1,038	213 ft	16–1111 ft
HT	1,021	1,020	184 ft	15–425 ft
HU	1,019	1,018	50 ft	19–1308 ft
ED	995	989	962 ft	26–1520 ft
BU	966	964	86 ft	16–1321 ft
ML	964	962	200 ft	30–1034 ft
CN	956	956	146 ft	43–294 ft
GT	937	937	75 ft	18–200 ft
JE	909	908	147 ft	38–982 ft
HM	904	903	53 ft	20–200 ft
LN	885	882	110 ft	15–480 ft
HR	867	861	190 ft	50–500 ft
BL	857	856	800 ft	16–1020 ft
CL	852	851	102 ft	17–197 ft
CM	832	830	200 ft	15–900 ft
MP	830	828	154 ft	25–1477 ft
CK	807	806	120 ft	22–997 ft
DA	795	795	90 ft	18–385 ft
BH	771	766	210 ft	21–483 ft
MR	734	730	161 ft	25–900 ft
TR	725	720	100 ft	32–1310 ft
OL	719	718	100 ft	25–320 ft
AU	690	690	289 ft	26–905 ft
BT	674	671	140 ft	60–320 ft
BF	632	632	65 ft	20–1130 ft
LY	614	612	1144 ft	29–1665 ft
DW	581	579	84 ft	25–2261 ft
LK	575	574	50 ft	17–251 ft
SU	567	567	64 ft	16–1940 ft
WL	560	558	60 ft	22–217 ft
MY	529	526	31 ft	15–195 ft
CA	529	529	98 ft	25–309 ft
ZB	522	522	120 ft	24–280 ft
PT	487	484	46 ft	19–2197 ft
GY	473	473	75 ft	20–944 ft
HY	449	449	190 ft	21–1917 ft
MC	428	428	144 ft	15–286 ft
HK	387	387	40 ft	20–2603 ft
ST	381	378	60 ft	20–2443 ft