New Irrigation Well in a Ground Water Management Area Moratorium
A producer farms 120 acres in a designated Ground Water Management Area. The existing irrigation well is 50 years old, produces about 600 gpm, and has no flow meter. The producer wants to add 80 acres by drilling a new 800-gpm well on a 40-acre parcel. The GWMA rules prohibit new irrigation wells unless they are replacement wells; require 1,000-foot spacing between irrigation wells; and require flow meters and annual reporting. The proposed site is 700 feet from a neighbor's irrigation well and 1,200 feet from the producer's old well. The producer argues that the old well will be abandoned after the new one is drilled, so the project should count as a replacement. The producer has already flagged the site and wants you to drill next week before the fall planting.
1. Does the proposed well qualify as a replacement well under the GWMA rules?
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Probably not on these facts. A replacement well normally replaces an existing well at or near the same location, for the same use, and at the same approximate capacity, and the old well must be properly abandoned so it is not left as an unsealed conduit. Here the proposed well is on a different 40-acre parcel, adds 80 irrigated acres, and is 1,200 feet from the old well. Calling the old well abandoned after the new one is drilled does not make the new well a replacement; the sequence and location matter. The 700-foot distance to the neighbor's irrigation well also fails the 1,000-foot spacing rule. The producer should expect denial if the application is framed as a new irrigation well.
2. What should you and the producer do before any drilling, and what application facts matter?
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Before drilling, obtain the GWMA rules and the Natural Resources District's groundwater rules, and meet with the NRD and NeDNR staff. File the appropriate application for a replacement well or variance with a site map, GPS coordinates, distances to all nearby wells, the old well's registration and condition, proposed pump capacity, acreage to be irrigated, and a plan to abandon the old well. Do not drill while the application is pending. If the producer claims the old well is inadequate, document yield, static level, and mechanical condition. The spacing issue may require a variance or a different site; flow-meter and annual reporting requirements will apply to any approved well. The driller should not accept a drill-now-paper-later instruction, because the as-built well may not be eligible for approval later.
3. If the new well is denied, what compliant alternatives remain?
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Options include rehabilitating the existing well through screen cleaning, development, or pump repair and keeping irrigation within the existing acres; installing a flow meter and improving efficiency; leasing or purchasing land that already has an approved irrigation well; applying for a variance if the rules allow one and the producer can show no impairment to neighbors; or pursuing a replacement at the old well's location, properly abandoning the old well, if the rules allow replacement capacity. Adding acres by drilling around the moratorium is not a compliant option. The producer should also check whether the GWMA has a subarea with stricter allocation. The driller's role is to provide accurate well data, not to help characterize a new well as a replacement when the location, acreage, and spacing do not fit the rule.