High Capacity Well Information

Section NR 812.07(53), Wisconsin Administrative Code defines a high capacity well system as one or more wells, drillholes or mine shafts on a property that have a combined approved pump capacity of 70 or more gallons per minute. A property is defined as contiguous or adjacent land having the same owner.

High Capacity Well Applications

Application Fees for High Capacity Well and Construction Dewatering Well System approval requests.

An applicant requesting approval for construction or operation of a high capacity well or well system must submit a $500 application review fee made payable to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, along with the high capacity well or dewatering system application. Applications and fees should be mailed to the address listed in the upper left hand corner of the application forms or in the instruction packages found below.

Application Forms

An application for a high capacity well system, well for a school or well for a wastewater treatment plant should be made on the appropriate form, as follows:

Paper copies of forms may be requested at (608) 266-0821, or by faxing a request to the Private Water Systems Section at (608) 267-7650, or by mail to the Private Water Systems Section, WDNR DG/2, P.O. Box 7921, Madison WI 53707-7921. Paper copies of the requested form will be mailed to the requester the next business day.

Printing Instructions

Pumpage Reporting

Section NR 820.13 requires that owners of high capacity wells record pumpage data on a monthly basis and report the information to the Department annually. Reports of annual pumpage for a given calendar year must be submitted no later than March 1 of the following year.

For 2007, pumpage reporting forms will be mailed to owners of irrigation wells in November. Owners of all other types of high capacity wells will receive reporting forms in January 2008. Pumpage reporting for 2007 is due no later than March 1, 2008.

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• Instructions
• Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

New Groundwater Quantity Protection Rule

NR 820, Wisconsin Administrative Code, took effect September 1, 2007. It establishes review criteria for high capacity well applications involving wells proposed to be constructed near springs, trout streams, outstanding resource waters, and exceptional resource waters, and involving groundwater withdrawals with high water loss.

Well Filling and Sealing Information

Unused wells and wells that are not properly filled and sealed pose a great threat to the safety and quality of groundwater drinking water supplies.

High Capacity Well Inventory

We will continue to update the high capacity well database with information supplied by the well owners.

A High Capacity Well Success Story

A Class 1 trout stream and a quarry in Vernon County should both get the groundwater they need as the result of a creative solution engineered by state groundwater specialists, a willing company and persistent neighbors.

Press Release

Article from February/March 2007 issue of the Wisconsin Natural Resources Magazine, by Cindy Koperski

Cook Creek Presentation by Cindy Koperski, Bill Furbish and Dave Hart [PDF, 1.2MB]

Contacts

For more information on High Capacity Wells:

High capacity well engineering reviews -

NR 820 and well locations -

Construction Dewatering Approvals -

General high capacity well issues -