Drinking Water & Groundwater

Private Wells

Public Wells

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

In accordance with Sections NR 812.09(4)(a) & (b), Wisconsin Administrative Code, prior department approval is necessary for the construction, reconstruction, or operation of a high capacity well system, school well or wastewater treatment plant well. Prior approval is also necessary before a high capacity well or well system can be operated after a change of ownership.

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.

  • High Capacity Well Application Guidance
  • Dewatering Well System Guidance
  • Accurately Locating High Capacity Wells Using GPS


    • 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:

  • Form 3300-256 - Application for High Capacity Well Approval
    • (Use this form for school wells and wastewater treatment plant wells)
  • Form 3300-257 - Application for a single well with a capacity of Less than 70 gallons per minute on a high capacity property.
  • Form 3300-258 - High Capacity Dewatering Well application


    • 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

    In some printing situations, you may need to change page scaling under the File/Print menu to get the form to fit properly on the page.

    The above listed forms include blank graph paper for the applicant to use for sketch maps and diagrams. Some computer configurations may not be able to print the graph paper due to memory limitations. Other paper (graph, lined, blank, etc.) can be used for sketch maps and diagrams instead of the graph paper that is provided.

    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.

  • Form 3300-204 High Capacity Well Pumpage Report
  • Form 3300-204 Instructions Pumpage Report Instructions
  • Guidance for Measuring or Estimating High Capacity Well Pumpage
  • Adding additional wells to your High Capacity Well Inventory
  • Frequently Asked Questions about Pumpage Reporting

    • 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.

  • Print a copy of NR 820
  • Press Release
  • Trout Streams
  • Print a copy of NR 102

    • 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.

  • Find information about well filling and sealing
  • Search for completed Will Filling and Sealing Reports
  • Grants available for well abandonment

    • High Capacity Well Inventory

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

  • High Capacity Well Ownership Change Form
  • High Capacity Well Inventory Frequently Asked Questions
  • Search for a High Capacity Well

    • 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:

    Paul Kozol
    (608)267-9787

    NR 820 and well locations -

    Lawrence Lynch
    (608) 267-7553

    George Mickelson
    (608) 267-7652

    Construction Dewatering Approvals -

    Paul Kozol
    (608)267-9787

    General high capacity well issues -

    Mark Putra
    (608)267-7649

    Last Revised: Wednesday October 14 2009