Wisconsin
Well construction reports and groundwater data
Two of the public sources on wells kept by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are its well construction reports and the Groundwater Retrieval Network (GRN). Well construction reports, which DNR says are also called well logs or well records, give a well's geology, construction method, depth, water level and yield. GRN gathers well information and groundwater sample results from several DNR databases.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name well construction reports among its standard record sources. They help in two ways: a report shows a well on or near the property, its depth and how it was built, and GRN sample results show what has been found in groundwater nearby. Wells also tie into the cleanup records. DNR says its approval is needed before a water supply well goes in less than 1,200 feet from a waste disposal site, or on a property its remediation database lists with residual contamination or continuing obligations; see Continuing obligations and residual contamination.
What the well records hold
- Coverage. DNR says its data system stores all of Wisconsin's well construction reports, though a report for a well drilled in the last two months may not be in it yet, and some older wells never had a report filed.
- Older wells search differently. For a well built before 1988, DNR says to search by township, range and section only; those results sit at the bottom of the list, most fields such as address and owner are empty, and the details are in each report's image file. For a well built in 1988 or later, search by county and part of the street name, or by owner name, which is the owner when the well was built.
- No parcel search. DNR says the system does not use tax parcel numbers.
- Abandonment reports. A separate search covers well abandonment reports, which DNR says often give the reason the well was abandoned.
- Public and high-capacity wells. For security, DNR does not post the exact locations of public and high-capacity wells, or their construction reports. The RR Sites Map shows high-capacity wells and withdrawals generalized to the PLSS section.
What GRN holds
DNR says GRN brings together public water supply well data from the early 1970s on; private water supply wells, nonpoint source priority watershed projects and special groundwater studies from 1988 on; landfill monitoring wells from the mid-1970s on, as entered in GEMS; and, from the mid-1970s on, wells that monitor wastewater treatment plants and land treatment sites. DNR notes that some samples were taken before treatment and some after, such as private well samples drawn at a tap after softening. For leaking tank, spill and remediation sites, DNR says more data may be in the site files, found through BRRTS.
Where to look a site up
- Search well records, DNR's well construction report search.
- Well abandonment reports.
- GRN's well inventory search, sample history report and sample summary count report. Searches can use the Wisconsin Unique Well Number (WUWN) where one is known.
- DNR's Well Driller Viewer maps setback, construction and approval information for well drillers.
- This handbook did not open these tools.
Getting the file
DNR's groundwater data page sends questions and technical problems with the well report system to DNRWELLREPORT@wisconsin.gov. For more detailed locations of public and high-capacity wells, it names a DNR staff contact through its staff directory. DNR prefers records requests by email, to DNRRecordsResponse@wisconsin.gov, and accepts them in any format, and its public records page names wells among the kinds of records to list in a request; see Public Records Request.
Sources
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources pages, read October 13, 2026, no modified date shown: