Water Well Program

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Well Permits & Final Requirements

A permit is required for the installation, modification, or abandonment of water wells, test holes, cathodic protection wells, geothermal heat exchange wells, and monitoring wells. Well final inspection is required to give approval to use the well.

Forms used for Well Permit Application: Please visit Forms & Application Page

Well Final Requirements:

Agricultural Well Permitting Information

BACKGROUND

On March 28, 2022, Governor Newsom issued Executive Order (EO) N-7-22, which was replaced later by Executive Order (EO) N-3-23 on February 13, 2023. This order required additional review and analysis of applications for new groundwater wells. The EO was effective immediately and, among other things, created a new review process for issuance of permits for wells in medium and high priority groundwater basins. Yolo County is a high priority basin.

In response to EO N-7-22 (and EO N-3-23) Yolo County Environmental Health (YCEH) worked with a hydrogeologist from Luhdorff & Scalmanini, Consulting Engineers (LCSE) to develop a Technical Memo (TM), which contained temporary well permitting procedures for agricultural wells. The YCEH TM was most recently approved by the Board on April 9, 2024.

On September 5, 2024, Governor Newsom issued a new EO N-3-24 that rescinded certain provisions of prior EOs related to the drought, included the well permitting procedures required by EO N-3-23.

On October 22, 2024, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors adopted an urgency ordinance which temporarily extends the majority of the well permitting procedures which were enacted in compliance with EO N-7-22 and EO N-3-23.

AGRICULTURAL WELL PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS

All new agricultural well permit applications must include a site map and table of all know active wells within a radial distance equal to the minimum separation required for the well, as present in Table 1 below, plus 500 feet. Click here for a handout that has an example of what is required.

All replacement wells must be accompanied by a well abandonment permit application.

If a permit application is not able to be approved due to the inability to meet the minimum well separation distances, the applicant has the option to submit a report by a professional geologist or hydrogeologist (licensed in the State of California) including associated information concluding that the proposed well will not interfere with the function and operation of nearby wells.

Table 1. Minimum Well Separation Distances

Pumping Capacity (gallons per minute)	Minimum Well Separation Distance (feet)
*Wells Within the Valley Floor Areas of the County*
<500	250
500-999	500
1000-1499	1000
1500-1999	2000
≥2000	Report Required
*Wells in the Upland Areas of the County*
<15	500
15-99	1000
≥100	Report Required

Information for Well Drillers

Information for Well Owners

Frequently Asked Questions

What do I do with an old unused well on my property?

Cover the well with a watertight, bolted-on cover. This will prevent contamination from polluting the ground water and prevent any child from becoming injured from it. A well designated as an abandoned well must be destroyed.

Can I destroy my own well?

The owner of the well can obtain the permit to destroy or drill a well, but a C-57 State licensed well contractor must do the abandonment.

Who works on wells?

Licensed well contractors with a valid C-57 are qualified to drill and destroy wells. See our Contractors List for a listing of contractors known to do business in Yolo County.

Can you test my drinking water well for agricultural chemicals?

Yolo County Environmental Health Division (YCEH) cannot test for agricultural chemicals or other organic chemicals. Consult an Environmental Health Specialist for chemicals that may be found in the ground water of your area, then contact a state certified drinking water lab for analysis. For a fee, YCEH can test for coliform bacteria and nitrates. Contact us for more information on water testing, or to arrange to have us test your water for Coliform bacteria or nitrates. For information about the Coliform test: what it is, how to get it, what it means, and what to do if the test is positive, see our Coliform Testing Questions and Answers Page.

How long is my well permit good for?

Yolo County Code section 6-8.804 (b) states that well permits expire and become null and void if the work is not commenced within 120 days (4 months) after the date of permit issuance or if the work is suspended or abandoned for a period of 120 days any time after the work is commenced.

Under Yolo County Urgency Ordinance 1569 the well permit term has been temporarily extended to two years from the date of issuance.

Renewal of a permit may be granted for a period of two additional years provided no changes have been made or will be made to the original plans and specification for such work. The fee to renew the permit shall be one half of the current permit fee provided the renewal request is made prior to the expiration of the permit. The permit can be renewed one time.

All well permit renewals are subject to the compliance with the County’s well permitting procedures that may be in effect at the time the renewal is approved.