WelldrillerMost building lots in the Wasilla and Palmer areas do not have water lines available to them.  So if you buy a lot you are going to have to drill a well.  Where will you put that well?  Is it better in the back of the lot or the front?

Before you even purchase the lot you need to do a little research.  If you go down to the Department of Conservation, (DEC), office on Bogard Road armed with the legal address of your prospective property, you will find some very good information.  The people there will help to find well logs in your area that show the depth of the wells and the amount of water each well produces.  If all the neighbors have good wells you know your chances of getting water are very good.  It’s not a guarantee however, you are always taking chances when you drill.

 In some areas people have drilled two or three wells before finding one with good water.  The dry holes are usually not reported to DEC but are just abandoned.  So it is possible that the neighbors could have one or more dry wells on their property without DEC knowing about it.  For that reason, it’s a good idea to dig a little more. Talking to the neighbors is an excellent way to find out about wells in the area.  They will normally tell you if they had a hard time getting water.  I am a little surprised about buyers reluctance to talk to people in the neighborhood as part of their due-diligence in purchasing property.

  Another excellent resource are the experienced well drillers in the area.  Some of the drillers have put in hundreds, perhaps thousands of wells in the Wasilla and Palmer area.  They will give you good advice about the chances of getting water. 

An excellent source is a map that is part of a report by Ted Moran and Gary Solin or the USGS.  It is a large pdf file but very interesting.   Click here and go get a cup of coffee while it downloads.  They were looking at the water table and water quality in the valley from Wasilla to Big Lake.   One of the interesting things this map shows is a contour of the water table throughout the valley.  They used data from 792 wells to map out the water table. These wells all have water…most wells do. 

The real secret is that in most areas in the valley the well driller pulls up and the owner and driller find the most convenient to place the well and that’s where it goes.  And it usually produces water.  If you want to have a dowser tell you where to drill I guess it won’t hurt as long as he does it free of charge. As the map shows, there is water down there…usually.

If you live on a mountainside, or in certain areas just south of the Little Susitna River,  all bets are off.  Even so, most people there also find water when they drill.  But some only find a little, they develop ways to make it work.  Next time we will discuss more about the USGS report on wells in the valley. Comment if you have more to add about wells.  Or call me at (907) 232–7900