Cost of an irrigation well

[SubTropicRay]

What's the cost involved in opening up a well for irrigation?  Any other details would be appreciated if you've already done this.

Thanks,

Ray

[redant]

Must get approved by the local gov. Same areas will not approve a new well due to salt water intrusion.  cost can vary depending on how far they need to go and what they are drilling through.

I have a well for irrigation only, 100ft down (about). I think it was about $1,200 for the drilling. That did not include the pump and plumbing to use the well.

Was well worth the cost, I water 2.5 acres

[SubTropicRay]

Thanks Doug.  With all the nurseries near my .62 acres, I don't anticipate salt water issues.  But one never knows.

[redant]

Yeah I google earth'd pine Island, looks very nice, very open still.

[Alan_Tampa]

Pine island has problems with salt water intrusion.  Most growers there use city/county (they pay for it).

A little bird told me.  I believe him.

Alan

[cfkingfish]

Ray-

I had to go through this when looking at land on Rt. 74 East of Punta Gorda. Charlotte county wanted to drill 180 feet to be safe. This is 10 miles inland. Including permits, drilling, and pump, it was somewhere north of $5000. This was for 10 acres though.

[Gileno Machado]

I have two shallow wells in the beach property, and they have both been manually drilled and PVC revested (sand) to about 18 m deep. The water table there is superficial (~6 to 8 m deep), the water quality is good and the flow aboundant. Drilling and installing a well is cheap, but the energy cost for electropumping is not so much. No law against subsoil water use in Sirinhaém but in Recife we'd have to pay a lot and the potable wells are always very deep (150+ m).

Irrigation is essential for my garden cause the evapotranspiration is always high and the soil is very well drained (pure sand). The average rainfall in the beach Weather statistics is a little higher than in Recife but the precipitation also decreases a lot during the warmer summer months.

[Caribbean Palms]

Ray,

Here in Loxahatchee I was required to pay for a 'General Water Use Permit'  from the South Florida Water Management District AND obtain a well construction permit from the Palm Beach County Health Department before I could even have a well drilled....

The water use permit is good for 20 years and basically says it's OK to use the water that is under MY land! For the amount of paper work I had to submit (charts, graphs, tables, Exhitits 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6, & maps, (16 pages in all)), and time and aggravation, it would have been easier if I had hired a lawyer.

The water use permit was about $700.00 and the well cost around $2,000.00. I hired a local company that have been drilling in this area for years and they found an area of crystal clear water about 100 feet down.

I hope this process is easier in  your neck of the woods.

Good luck!

[SubTropicRay]

Mike,

It sounds like $700 of red tape bulls--t.  The same permit is required in Lee County.

Alan,

I've got a bee bee gun for that birdie.

Ray

[Alan_Tampa]

Ray, the Bookelia growers, (fruit growers mostly) had big trouble with saltwater intrusion.  Only a few sites on the north end have 'good' well water.  At least three big nursery and grove companies are using water they pay for.  I think Flying Eagle has some groves on wells and some on city/county whatever it is.  

Also, just dig the well.  The county can go suck eggs.  If they catch you, cry and wail and claim ignorance and they probably will make you get a permit after the fact- for the same money.

Also, when or if you get a permit, est. the cosy at a few hundred bucks -'cause your cousin owes you or some crap.  Worked for me for a roof permit.  So far so good.

The bird could get shot down, but lots of nonwell water used down there as far as my info goes.

Alan

[SubTropicRay]

Thanks all for the info.

[Mike Evans]

Ray,

You know where I live in St Pete.  I have a 230' well that I had to abandon because of salt water intrusion.  I then drilled a 100' well.  That lasted ~ 4months of pumping & that well got salt water intrusion > 2800ppm.  BTW, by this time all my non salt tolerent palms (Chamedoreas) were dead.  I now jetted in 12 well tips 15' down & connected to 1.5 hp pump.  I am at 17' above sea level.  I get good water, but not as much as I want.  During dry spells it really slooows down.  The deeper you drill around the coast the more salt you will get, since salt water is denser then fresh water.  Best bet is to talk to the locals about shallow wells, but so close to the coast & probably 6' above sea level, that may not be an option.  Keep us informed, I always like to know about well problems in FL.