WA · wells & permits

Water wells in Washington

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

The permit, in plain language

Files onlineverified landing

WA Dept of Ecology Well Construction

WAC 173-160-151; RCW 18.104

Instrument: notice_of_intent
Fee: $200
Who files: Driller or owner may file
Timeline: NOI ≥72h before drilling

$200 <12in casing / $300 ≥12in; decommission $50; EcoEPay +3% card

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.
File notice_of_intent online via the authority portal (deep-link below).
Do not drill until authorization is issued (or notification accepted, per regime).

After drilling: Well report ≤30d (My Driller Portal) within 30 days → WA Dept of Ecology Well Construction

Forms: WA well application

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

No contractor statistics for Washington yet — several states publish drilling records without contractor names, and a few aren't in bulk form at all. See data & methodology.

Get a depth estimate anywhere in Washington

County by county

Depth statistics across Washington

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
Douglas	364,035	345,176	20 ft	10–62 ft
Grays Harbor	146,200	136,707	22 ft	10–117 ft
Jefferson	112,910	107,914	22 ft	10–126 ft
Clark	62,295	58,457	40 ft	12–238 ft
Kittitas	46,664	44,851	21 ft	12–93 ft
Spokane	43,539	40,329	112 ft	15–400 ft
Klickitat	42,971	41,838	80 ft	12–390 ft
Cowlitz	39,644	37,332	42 ft	12–300 ft
Kitsap	38,034	36,388	35 ft	11–216 ft
Thurston	37,701	35,499	48 ft	13–160 ft
Island	26,751	25,411	20 ft	10–120 ft
Franklin	23,439	21,906	57 ft	15–200 ft
Asotin	22,691	21,345	50 ft	12–315 ft
Ferry	18,933	18,629	60 ft	12–340 ft
Benton	17,822	16,918	52 ft	12–200 ft
King	16,577	15,402	136 ft	19–420 ft
Garfield	16,129	15,474	77 ft	15–230 ft
Columbia	15,023	14,190	117 ft	20–375 ft
Chelan	14,270	13,636	55 ft	15–323 ft
Okanogan	14,123	13,330	110 ft	25–400 ft
Pierce	12,923	12,304	21 ft	12–30 ft
Walla Walla	8,155	7,674	82 ft	15–305 ft
San Juan	6,109	5,934	225 ft	16–505 ft
Pend Oreille	5,471	5,200	118 ft	27–400 ft
Grant	5,066	4,746	24 ft	10–110 ft
Clallam	4,232	4,067	58 ft	10–350 ft
Whitman	3,916	3,503	40 ft	13–310 ft
Lincoln	3,661	3,417	197 ft	19–516 ft
Adams	3,155	2,861	200 ft	12–884 ft
Skamania	2,843	2,704	120 ft	20–469 ft
Lewis	451	440	41 ft	10–170 ft
Stevens	392	374	177 ft	28–440 ft
Snohomish	355	350	20 ft	5–30 ft
Mason	353	331	49 ft	12–203 ft
Yakima	312	294	30 ft	12–170 ft
Skagit	265	254	22 ft	10–354 ft
Whatcom	205	192	27 ft	15–198 ft
Wahkiakum	50	37	110 ft	46–233 ft
Pacific	46	43	50 ft	20–202 ft