Yes, and out past the water main it's the usual way a homesite gets water. In Alabama, a licensed water well driller has to run the job and file paperwork with the state before and after. The county health department permits the septic drain field, which has to sit at least 100 feet from the well. Once the water flows, the well is all yours: the testing, the repairs, and the risk.

A Licensed Driller Has to Run the Job

Alabama licenses well drillers under Title 22, Chapter 24 of the state code. The "board" that law names is the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, or ADEM. Section 22-24-4 bars anyone from running drilling or repair equipment on a water well unless a licensed driller supervises. The statute's words are "under the supervision and management of a licensed water well driller."

The bar for that license is set in ADEM's water well rules. A driller has to prove at least two years of water well construction experience and score at least 70 percent on an exam. The license runs one year at a time, with a $200 annual fee set by Section 22-24-5. While drilling, the driller has to keep the license certificate posted near the well or carry it.

That gives you two easy questions for anyone who quotes you a well. What's your license number? Can I see the certificate? A driller who hesitates on either one has told you something.

The statute's definitions are written around people "operating a business to drill water wells." We wouldn't read that as an invitation to drill your own. If you're tempted, call ADEM's Water Well Standards Program and ask first.

The Driller Files Paperwork Before and After

Section 22-24-8 lists what has to happen for a well to be drilled legally. Before work starts, the driller files a notice of intent with ADEM. Within 30 days after the well is finished, the driller files a "report of well drilled." ADEM then has seven days to notify the local health authorities.

The Alabama Cooperative Extension System's handbook, Owning a Private Well in Alabama, calls this ADEM Form 060 and lists what it records. It shows the driller's license number, the well's location, the depth, and the completion date. It also records the drilling method, the pump, the capacity, the casing material, and what the bit cut through. Keep a copy with the deed. When the pump quits years from now, the next driller will want it.

ADEM's construction rules set a few minimums worth knowing. The casing is the pipe that lines the hole. It has to stand 1 foot above the ground and run at least 20 feet down, unless the county environmentalist approves less. Every new well gets disinfected with a strong chlorine solution. The driller also has to test the well's yield and report it on the completion form. Those rules were filed in 1990, so ask the driller what current practice adds.

The Well and the Drain Field Share the Same Ground

A road with no water main usually has no sewer line either. So the same acreage has to hold a house, a septic drain field, and a well, and the rules keep the last two apart.

Alabama rewrote and renumbered its onsite sewage rules in February 2023. Under the current Rule 420-3-1-.65, the setbacks sit in Table 4. That table keeps the drain field at least 100 feet from "wells and potable springs," and the septic tank at least 50 feet. ADEM's well rules recommend the same 100 feet from a septic tank or field lines. They suggest 150 feet from a barnyard or a sewage lagoon and 75 feet from primary electrical service.

A 100-foot radius around the well takes in about seven-tenths of an acre. On a 2-acre homesite that's a big bite, and the drain field still has to land on soil that passes the site evaluation. The extension handbook adds a rule about slope: a well "should not be placed downhill from a livestock yard, septic drain field, or near a frequently fertilized area." Groundwater tends to follow the lay of the land.

So sketch it before you buy. Put the drain field where the soil is good and the grade is gentle, then find a well spot 100 feet away, uphill if you can. Look at where the neighbors' houses sit as well. ADEM's recommended table measures from any septic tank or field lines, and it doesn't say only yours.

The soil is the first screen. LandScout scores parcels in Shelby County, and the USDA soil survey gives a drainage class for many of them. Of those, 93.7 percent sit in the drainage classes a drain field likes, according to the Shelby County numbers. That screen rules tracts out. Only the health department's permit rules one in. That's why what "the ground won't perk" means and how steep is too steep belong on the same checklist as the well.

What Drives the Cost of a Well

We won't quote a price per foot. No state source we found publishes one, and drillers price by the job. What we can show you is what moves the number.

  • Depth. The extension handbook says Alabama wells "can range from 15 feet to more than 1,000 feet deep." More depth means more drilling time and more pipe.
  • The rock underneath. Geology decides how much water a hole gives. The handbook notes that some drilled wells in shallow bedrock "will yield only 1 or 2 gpm" (gallons per minute), while the U.S. Geological Survey counts 5 gpm as adequate for a house.
  • A second try. The handbook warns there is "a chance that multiple wells will need to be drilled" to find one that produces enough.
  • Everything after the hole. That means a pump and its controls, wiring to the pump, and any treatment the water turns out to need. Power has to reach the well spot.
  • Years of upkeep. You'll pay for the pump's electricity, a yearly water test, and repairs for as long as you own it.

Ask a driller what nearby wells have needed. Depth and yield on the next ridge over are the best guide you'll get before the rig shows up.

Then weigh the driller's estimate against the utility's answer. A main extension is priced by each utility's own policy, and the service line past the meter is yours. Where the water line ties in covers the questions to ask the utility. It also tells of a landowner who laid a mile of line alone to save the fee. The leak bill came to about $2,000, with no contractor to stand behind the work. Get both numbers on paper, side by side, before your money goes hard.

Testing the Water Is Your Job

The Alabama Department of Public Health says so on its well water page. "If you obtain drinking water from your own well, you are responsible for ensuring it is safe." Your county health department can send an environmentalist to collect a sample. You can also collect it yourself, using containers the health department provides. There may be a fee to collect and a fee to test. ADPH says results usually come back about 24 hours after the lab receives the sample.

In Shelby County, that office is the Shelby County Health Department in Pelham. The extension service keeps a county-by-county list on its page about where to get well water tested. The health department test looks for bacteria, both total coliforms and fecal coliforms. For nitrate and other chemicals, the same page sends you to a certified drinking water lab, and ADEM keeps the list of certified labs. The extension handbook says bacteria samples should reach the lab within 24 hours of collection, so plan the drive.

The extension handbook lays out when to test:

  • After a new well is built, or an old one sits unused for a long stretch.
  • Once a year, for bacteria, nitrates, and anything of local concern.
  • After a flood, a broken well cap, or a septic problem.
  • When the taste, smell, or color changes.
  • When an infant lives in the house.
  • Before you buy or sell a place with a well.

A Private Well Is Yours to Own, Failure and All

The state licenses the person who drills the well. After that, nobody watches the water but you. The extension handbook notes that "no health authority in Alabama has jurisdiction over well water quality." If the pump dies, the cap cracks, or a test comes back positive for coliform, the phone call and the bill are yours.

ADPH's well water page gives the fix for bacteria: shock the well with unscented bleach, flush each faucet, let it sit overnight, flush again, and retest. Repeat until the test comes back clean. Keep every result in the same folder as the driller's completion form. A stack of clean tests is worth having when you sell.

The soil, slope, and flood fields for each tract you're weighing sit together on one screen, and the plans are on the pricing page.