A: What is the cost to drill a well within the Fraser Valley?  If you are drilling a well in one of the Fraser Valley communities including Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Yarrow, Sardis, Clearbrook, Harrison Lake, Hope, Langley, Fort Langley, Surrey, Vancouver, Aldergrove, Cloverdale, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Albion, Whonnock, Ruskin, Mission, Dewdney here are the well drilling cost guidelines.

Local Water Well Pros provides quick access to well drilling cost estimates online for the Fraser Valley.  

We drill water wells throughout the Lower Mainland with a highly skilled crew of well drillers, successfully completing many drilled water wells and environmental projects though-out British Columbia each year.

Please request the cost to drill a well in the Fraser Valley online, we don’t require a prior sales visit to your drilling site.  We have ample data for all areas of the Fraser Valley available giving us the ability to provide online well drilling estimates quickly.

When requesting the cost to drill a water well online we request that you provide some information about the property on the well drilling cost estimator form at the top of this page, we typically respond with a detailed well drilling estimate the same day.

The Fraser Valley well drilling cost will depend on many factors. The well drilling cost per foot will depend on the depth and diameter of the steel water well casing.  6″ diameter water wells are the standard size for domestic water wells in BC and almost all of Canada.

The cost per foot to drill a well in the Fraser Valley is typically $47.00 to $55.00 for 6″ cased well, this includes the drilling and casing cost combined. When drilling for water in rock well casing is generally not required reducing the well drilling cost to a range of $35.00 per ft. on average.

There are additional costs when drilling a new water well, for example the new water well will require a surface seal that will cost $800.00 or more, a drive-shoe at $250.00 and maybe a stainless steel well-screen installation at 1350.00 per 4′ section and more than one may be required and water well development which is typically in the range of $250.00 per hour.

We recommend and may even require that the new well be lined to prevent the newly drilled well from collapsing  at $15.00 per per foot.  The above costs are an accurate current estimate of the well drilling costs in the Fraser Valley and most of BC.

Are these all the costs of drill a well in British Columbia?  No, not at all!  If a Fraser Valley well driller anticipates flowing artesian conditions you may expect additional water well drilling costs substantially adding to the final cost of drilling a well in the Lower Mainland of BC.

When preparing to drill a well in the Fraser Valley it’s very important to request an accurate well drilling cost estimate for your specific area, there are so many variables that will finally determine the true of of drilling a water well on the British Columbia Mainland.  Each property should be well researched as we have access to a good amount of data for the most part.

It would not be unusual for a drilled water well in the Fraser Valley to be completed at less than 100′ – almost without exception well drillers in Fraser Valley will have a minimum well drilling charge of 100′.

Once a new well is drilled in the installation of a well pump system will be required, it difficult to give the estimated cost of a new well pump system, once the well is drilled and the well depth, yield, and trenching distance etc. is known it becomes much easier to know the the cost of installing a new water well pumping system into a water well.

As you can see drilling a new well is costly but can also be a very good investment and increase the value of your real estate with a good producing water well.

When preparing to drill for water the first you may be asking is, “what is the local well drilling cost”, what you may not realize is…  the cost to drill a water well can double or even triple fast!

How would that happen you ask?  By drilling a dry well!  How would most people ever know where to drill a new well on a property?  Always keep in mind that well drillers are paid by the foot and although we have many excellent well drillers in the province of BC, what is almost always lacking is the expert guidance on where to drill a new well.

Fortunately, people are reluctant to drill a well without knowing what the chances are of locating water for more information on water site selection.

A: Most properties with a requirement for a water well will typically have the right to drill a well on the property in the Fraser Valley, while you may not need to have a well drilling permit at this time there may be municipal bylaws within a community that must be considered when preparing to drill a water.

British Columbia Ministry of Environment Regulations – Water Well Set-back Regulations for the Fraser Valley

Fraser Valley Water Wells Should Not Be:

1) Within a horizontal distance of 3 m (10′) of an existing building.

2) Within a horizontal distance of 30 m (100′) of any probable source of contamination or point of waste discharge to the ground, such as a privy vault, cesspool, septic effluent field, manure heap, stable or pig sty; or

3) Within a horizontal distance of 120 m (400′) of any cemetery or dumping ground.

4) Drilled within 50′ of a neighboring well – dug or drilled

Many wells in the Fraser Valley are not deep, in fact many wells will be far less than 200′ deep.

If a water well is located near potential sources of contamination it is vulnerable and can become contaminated with the possibly of causing serious illness or even death.

British Columbia Water Well Regulations & Ministry of Environment set-backs for water wells in the Fraser Valley are required to protect water resources from becoming contaminated from a multitude of possible sources.

To understand comparable well drilling depths, it’s best to locate the BC Ministry of Environment set-backs and refer to your local resources including well drilling reports, resources are available at BC Water Well Search and Fraser Valley Municipal Bylaws.

Potential sources of water well contamination include waste discharge to the ground, such as privy vaults (also known as an outhouse or pit toilet), cesspool (“overflow” pits), underground storage tanks, septic tanks an effluent field, stable or pig sty, manure heap, fertilizers and pesticides, runoff from urban areas, even a cemetery or landfill sites.

A drilled water well in or any of the Fraser Valley communities should be located on higher ground when possible to protect the well head from normal or seasonal flooding and possible surface drainage.

Both shallow wells and deep water wells located anywhere in the Fraser Valley may also become seasonally vulnerable and should be located away from surface drainage ditches and other possible sources of contamination.

A: Modern drilled water wells in British Columbia should last for a long time with the current well drilling methods and water well construction materials.

A drilled well in theory could last up to 100-years in some areas although it would certainly not be common in the Fraser Valley area. There are numerous variables to consider, it’s important to evaluate a property and consider the importance or properly siting a new water well prior to drilling.  Water well siting may help yield as much water a possible, if local aquifer conditions change a properly cited water well will hopefully still remain productive.

A: An artesian well in the Fraser Valley is a water well that taps into a confined aquifer. Under artesian pressure, water in the well rises above the top of the aquifer, but does not necessarily reach the land surface.

A flowing artesian well is one that has been drilled into an aquifer where the pressure within the aquifer forces the groundwater to rise above the land surface naturally without using a pump.

Flowing artesian wells can flow on an intermittent or continuous basis and originate from aquifers occurring in either unconsolidated materials such as sand and gravels or bedrock, at depths ranging from a few meters to several thousand meters.

All flowing wells are artesian, but not all artesian wells are flowing wells.  Learn more about flowing artesian wells in the Fraser Valley.

A: Not a lot is required to maintain a water well.  The well water should be tested at least annually along with periodic water well disinfection & flushing as required to maintain a clean healthy well.  Many well owners wisely conduct an annual maintenance inspection of the complete water system. Preventative maintenance can reduce water well expenses and equipment damage.

Home Water Treatment System for Your Water Well

 Common Water Issues and Contaminants

• Hard Water: contains dissolved calcium, magnesium and, often, iron (Fe).
• Cloudy Water: murky or greyish looking water is typically caused by dissolved or solids that remain in suspension.
• Chlorine – Taste and Smell: chlorine often used as a disinfectant to kill harmful bacteria in water itself or the piping system that transports the water.
• Bad Taste and Odors: “rotten egg” (H2S), earthy flavor and metallic tastes.
• Water Stains: often caused by hard water, iron (Fe), dissolved minerals or naturally occurring acid in your water, or a even combination of them.
• Limescale: chalky white marks and stains from fixtures, it’s difficult to remove and builds up over time.

Home Water Treatment Systems

• How Water Softeners Works: hard water is softened by removing the calcium and magnesium with a process known as ion exchange.
• How a Reverse Osmosis System Works: water pressure and a semi-permeable membrane removes contaminants from water typically down to a sub-micron level.

Water Quality Issues and Local Water Testing

• Well Water Treatment: if your Fraser Valley home is provided water by a private water well, you, and only you, are completely responsible for the safety and quality of your water.
• City Water Treatment: although disinfected, city water can still  have water quality issues.  Many people choose to remove the chlorine from their water.
• Importance of Water Testing: why is independent water testing important? Because it’s important that you understand your water and insure it’s quality and safety.Thousands of Fraser Valley homes rely on home treatment systems and water filtration.  Water treatment is best designed for water demands and water quality.

  If you need more information regarding your water, an estimate for water treatment, or help to understand a water chemistry report please feel free to submit your information and questions.  We typically respond quickly.

Or contact Local Water Well Pros at 604-670-3033

A: Groundwater has generally been the best choice for a stable, safer, and cleaner water source on most local properties.  Local Water Well Pros is very familiar with the local aquifers throughout the Fraser Valley of British Columbia.

A: Consult with a local well drilling company that has an extensive track record in the area. Hire a driller who has been in the drilling industry for a long time.

At Local Water Well Pros, we make sure all our well drilling contractors have a safety program, insurance, and workers compensation coverage for their employees with a highly proven success rate of quality drill wells.

Prior to ever drilling a well site selection is vital, many people are not aware that there is always risk of drilling a dry well in the Fraser Valley.

A: Local Water Well Pros drillers are educated and certified under the BC well drillers apprenticeship program must abide by or exceed the water well drilling regulations for British Columbia.

A: Local Water Well Pros provides a full range of water well services. Once the well has been drilled you many be anxious to get your well in service as quickly as possible.  We advise and help our customers through each step of the well drilling process such as well pump installations, water tanks, water treatment & well water testing. 

A: Turn off the well pump breaker at your breaker panel and call Local Water Well Pros as quickly as possible, we can either advise you over the telephone to resolve the issue or arranged to have a technician service your water system.

A:  Rotary air drilling is just what it says.  A large compressor to clean-out the borehole.  This is the cleanest and preferred well drilling method used today in the Fraser Valley well drilling industry.

Air rotary is a drilling method used to for deep boreholes in rock formations.

Borehole advancement is achieved by rapid rotation of a drill bit which is mounted at the end of the drill pipe. The drill bit “cuts” the formation into very small bits, called cuttings.