Drinking Water & Well FAQs

See our page on Well Site Applications and Review. This page details all the steps you'll need to go through to get the well site approved and the well water accepted as a source of drinking water.

For a new well, see our Well Site Applications and Review webpage. This page details all the steps you'll need to go through to get the well site approved and the well water accepted as a source of drinking water.

You can find a state-approved lab on the Department of Ecology’s website. For more information about testing well water, visit our Water Testing page.

You can find a licensed well driller using the Department of Ecology licensed driller search site.

Abandoned wells may be found in old pump houses, storage sheds, old detached garages, basements, under porch steps, near cisterns and windmills, or in small building structures. Hand dug wells can often be found in lowland areas near surface water. For more information on abandoned wells, visit our Maintaining Your Well page, and select the Abandoned Wells tab.

If you have an abandoned well that is no longer in use, it is a safety concern, and you are required to decommission it. You will need to contact the Department of Ecology and a licensed well driller to do this. For more information on this requirement, see the webpage on Maintaining Your Well and click on the Abandoned Wells tab.

Alberta, Canada's Working Well program created a resource called Cross Connections and Your Well that describes ways you can prevent contamination of your well from cross connections. (Note: Any area-specific rules or contact information listed in this resource does not apply to Snohomish County residents.)

A building permit from Snohomish County Planning and Development Services (PDS) will NOT be issued until you've shown the Health Department that all residential connections will have an adequate and potable water supply. This is a requirement of the Growth Management Act. View our Drinking Water Requirements for Building Permits webpage for specific details and what steps you need to take to meet this requirement.

The Health Department staff member will be an Environmental Health Specialist (EHS). They can enter your property for the purposes of reviewing your application at any time per Snohomish County Board of Health Code 1.05.080. They will knock to see if someone is home, notify you of their presence and reason for visiting, and request access to your property. However, if no one is home they will still proceed with their review. They may need to walk around areas of your property to check site conditions and look for possible contamination sources.

Approved Individual Water Supply Site Inspection applications are valid for 2 years from the date approved. Once the 2 years is up, you may renew for an additional 2-year period by following these steps. (You can continue renewing for 2-year periods, following steps 1-3 as needed.)

1.  Within 30 days of expiration, resubmit a well site application to the Health Department.
2.  Pay the renewal fee.
3. The Health Department will review and approve for renewal if everything looks good.

• Well construction requirements are detailed in WAC 173-160 Minimum Standards for Construction and Maintenance of Wells
• Drinking water requirements are detailed in Title 6 Snohomish County Board of Health Code (SCBHC)

To appeal application decisions, please refer to chapter 1.20 Snohomish County Board of Health Code (SCBHC). An administrative appeal must be filed in writing with the Environmental Health Division Office within twenty-one (21) calendar days from the date of your application decision. 

Download, complete, and save the "Request for Appeal" form to your computer/device. Send an email, attaching your completed Appeal Request and supporting documents, to SHD-EHQ@snoco.org.