Private Well Program

The Private Well Program of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) oversees the boreholes and borings that meet Iowa's legal definition of a well. DNR lists private drinking water wells, non-potable farm and industrial wells, irrigation wells, dewatering wells, geothermal heat exchange wells and boreholes, test and observation wells, and monitoring wells and piezometers used to look for contaminants in soils or groundwater.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name well records among its standard record sources. DNR's well records are where to check for water supply wells on a property, and for wells that were plugged.

Three Iowa details shape the search.

• Permits are issued by the county. DNR's private well construction permit is issued by the local county through the Iowa Well Information System (IWIS), which electronically records well permit information and tracks well water testing, well renovation and well plugging reports. DNR says permits are required for all new water well and geothermal loop installations, and for certain well reconstruction.
• The well data are partial. DNR says private water supply well records available as public records can be found in its Private Well Tracking System (PWTS), which contains information for some, not all, of the wells installed in Iowa.
• Unplugged wells matter. DNR says old wells may not be located or constructed properly, and so may give surface water and very shallow groundwater a direct connection to the aquifer serving a current well.

DNR says the program's rules only apply to water supply wells and systems that serve fewer than 25 individuals on a daily basis. DNR says a system that serves 15 or more service connections or at least 25 individuals is managed under the public water supply rules. State law requires all well contractors to be certified by DNR.

Where to look a site up

• DNR's Iowa Well Information System (IWIS), the web-based permitting system on which counties issue DNR's well construction permits; the pages read do not say whether the public can search it.
• DNR's Private Well Tracking System (PWTS), which DNR's AFO Online Services page links as Well Data.

Getting the file

DNR's Document Search lists a Water Quality - Private Wells program. DNR's Records Center, at 6200 Park Ave, Suite 200, Des Moines, is open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except state holidays. DNR's Open Records Request page says requests to inspect public records go to the Office of the Chief Information Officer through the Iowa Information and Public Records Request Portal, and may also be made in person at a record center, by email to dnr.records.request@dnr.iowa.gov, or by mail.

Sources

Iowa Department of Natural Resources pages, read October 12, 2026:

• Private Well Program, last modified September 17, 2025.
• AFO Online Services, last modified February 17, 2025.
• Open Records Request, last modified March 13, 2026.