What Does It Cost to Plug an Abandoned or Flow Well?
What drives the price of plugging an abandoned or free-flowing well.
The honest answer is that it depends on the well, and the difference between an easy one and a difficult one is substantial. A shallow, static, accessible well is straightforward work. A deep flowing artesian well with deteriorated casing under a driveway is a different job entirely.
Rather than quote a number that may have nothing to do with your situation, this page explains what actually drives the price. Once you know the variables, the estimate makes sense instead of arriving out of nowhere.
What Determines the Price
Depth
The single biggest factor. A well has to be filled with grout from the bottom to the top, so the deeper the well, the more material goes into it and the longer it takes. A shallow surficial aquifer well and a deep Floridan well are not comparable jobs.
Casing diameter
Volume increases quickly with diameter. A six inch well holds roughly four times the grout of a three inch well at the same depth. Large diameter agricultural and irrigation wells sit at the expensive end for this reason.
Whether the well is flowing
A free flowing artesian well, which many owners call a flow well, is under pressure, which means grout placed into it wants to come back out. Controlling that flow before and during plugging takes additional work, equipment and sometimes specialized materials. Flowing wells cost more than static wells and the difference is not small.
Condition of the casing
Corroded, collapsed or separated casing complicates everything. If the casing has failed partway down, the grout can escape into the formation rather than filling the well, and the approach has to change.
Obstructions
Many abandoned wells have something in them. Old pump parts, dropped pipe, debris, or material a previous owner poured in while trying to deal with it themselves. All of it has to come out before the well can be properly filled, and what comes out is rarely known until work starts.
Access
The equipment has to reach the well. A well in an open yard is simple. A well behind a fence, under a deck, inside a structure, between buildings or on soft ground that will not carry a rig adds time and sometimes requires a different approach.
Depth of burial
Wells that have been buried or built over have to be located and exposed first. On older properties the records are often wrong or missing, and locating takes longer than the plugging does.
Number of wells
Agricultural and commercial properties frequently have several. Multiple wells on one site are more efficient per well than a single well visit, since mobilization is shared.
The permit
A permit is required before any well is abandoned. We handle the application as part of the job.
Why We Do Not Quote Over the Phone
We can usually give you a sense of the range once we know the depth, the diameter and whether it is flowing. What we will not do is commit to a firm number for a well nobody has looked at.
The reason is obstructions. A well that appears simple can turn out to have forty feet of dropped pipe in it, and a quote given without knowing that is a quote that changes partway through the job. We would rather look first and tell you accurately.
What Makes a Job Cost More Than Expected
What Is Included
When we quote an abandonment, the price covers the permit application, the equipment and crew, the grout, the plugging itself, cutting the casing below grade where applicable, backfill at the surface, and the completion documentation.
That documentation matters. It is what you hand to a title company, a buyer, a lender or a permitting authority to show the well was properly abandoned by a licensed contractor.
Getting an Accurate Number
We come out, look at the well, and give you a written estimate. If you know the depth and casing size from old records or a prior permit, that speeds things up considerably. If you do not, that is normal and we will work it out on site.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can you not just give me a price?
Because the depth, diameter, flow and condition of the well drive the cost, and those vary enormously. We can give a sense of the range once we know a few details, but a firm number requires looking at the well.
Is a flowing well more expensive to plug?
Yes, meaningfully so. A free flowing well is under pressure, so the flow has to be controlled before grout will stay in place. That takes extra work and sometimes specialized materials. It is also the type most worth addressing promptly.
Does the depth of the well really matter that much?
It is the biggest single factor. The well is filled from bottom to top with grout, so depth determines both the material volume and the time involved. A deep Floridan well is a far larger job than a shallow surficial well.
What if there is something stuck in the well?
It has to be removed before the well can be properly filled. Old pump parts, dropped pipe and debris are common in long abandoned wells. We assess this before quoting where possible, since it affects the price.
Is it cheaper to plug several wells at once?
Yes, per well. Mobilizing equipment to a site is a fixed cost that gets shared across multiple wells. If you have several on one property it is worth doing them together rather than one at a time.
Does the permit cost extra?
The permit is part of what we quote. We handle the application rather than leaving it with you, and the cost is accounted for in the estimate rather than appearing afterward.
Can I save money by filling it in myself?
No, and it usually costs more in the end. Filling a well with soil, sand or concrete does not meet the state standard, leaves the well legally abandoned, and makes proper plugging harder because the material has to be removed first.
Will I get documentation when it is finished?
Yes. You receive documentation showing the well was plugged by a licensed contractor under permit. That is what a title company, buyer, lender or permitting office will ask for.
How long does it take?
A straightforward well is usually a single visit. Flowing wells, deep wells, obstructed wells and wells that need locating take longer. We will tell you what to expect once we have seen it.
Get an Accurate Number
We come out, look at the well, and give you a written estimate that accounts for what is actually down there.