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Types of well: drilled vs driven vs dug?
Choose Drilled well for a need for depth, volume or diameter beyond what a driven well can provide; Driven well for a water table no deeper than 50 to 60 feet in porous ground without rocks.
The right choice depends on how deep the water table is, whether the ground is porous and without rocks or too hard to drive a well point through, and whether the water table is near the surface (the only case EPA calls a dug well practical, though EPA advises avoiding dug wells if at all possible).
| Type | Best for | Main advantages | Main drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drilled well | a need for depth, volume or diameter beyond what a driven well can provide | can be built where the subsurface is too hard to drive a well point through it; EPA ties its depth and continuous casing to a reduced risk of contamination | no official source names one |
| Driven well | a water table no deeper than 50 to 60 feet in porous ground without rocks | no official source names one | the ground must be porous and without rocks for the well point to be driven; can be difficult to grout and may have small flows due to its small diameter; draws water from aquifers near the surface, so EPA notes that even a cased driven well can be contaminated easily |
| Dug well | a water table near the surface (the only case EPA calls a dug well practical) | no official source names one | shallow (approximately 10 to 30 feet deep) and not cased continuously; open to contamination by surface drainage or seepage, which EPA calls a strong likelihood; EPA advises avoiding dug wells if at all possible, and many areas prohibit them by state law |
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What are the five main types of wells?
EPA's private wells learning module names four common types of water well, not five: dug, bored, driven and drilled, classified by the method used to build them.
EPA's private wells page counts three types and groups dug and bored wells together. Its learning module describes bored wells separately, so this page compares drilled, driven and dug wells; bored wells appear in the techniques answer below.
What are the different types of well drilling techniques?
EPA names two drilling techniques: drilled wells are built by percussion or rotary-drilling machines.
In the cable-tool or percussion method, a machine lifts and drops a long chisel-shaped bit within the borehole. In rotary drilling, a rotating bit is fixed to the bottom end of a steel pipe called the drill pipe.
The other types are not drilled: EPA describes driven wells as built by driving pipe into the ground, and bored wells as made with an earth auger that bores a cylindrical hole.
What are the two different kinds of well pumps?
The two common kinds are jet pumps and submersible pumps, according to EPA's private wells learning module.
EPA describes jet pumps as the usual pump for shallow wells, 25 feet deep or less: they are mounted above ground and use suction to draw water from the well.
Submersible pumps are the usual pump for deep private wells: the pumping unit is placed inside the well casing and connected to a power source on the surface.
| Priority | Choose |
|---|---|
| a water table no deeper than 50 to 60 feet in porous ground without rocks | Driven well |
| a need for depth, volume or diameter beyond what a driven well can provide | Drilled well |
| ground too hard to drive a well point through | Drilled well |
In Florida: what the code says
“Well” means any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed …
Florida Legislature, The 2026 Florida Statutes, s. 373.303 Definitions, read 17 October 2026. This is the opening of the statute’s definition of a well; the rest of the definition is not quoted here.
The department shall authorize the governing board of a water management district to implement a program for the issuance of permits …
Florida Legislature, The 2026 Florida Statutes, s. 373.308 Implementation of programs for regulating water wells, read 17 October 2026. This quote and the next are consecutive sentences of s. 373.308(1), shown in order.
… issuance of well permits will be the sole responsibility of the water management district, delegated local government, or local county health department.
Florida Legislature, The 2026 Florida Statutes, s. 373.308 Implementation of programs for regulating water wells, read 17 October 2026.
After the effective date upon which a district implements a permit system pursuant to Chapter 373, Part III, F.S.
Florida Department of State, Florida Administrative Code Chapter 62-532 Water Well Permitting and Construction Requirements (Florida DEP rule; rule text as amended through 10-7-10), read 17 October 2026. This quote and the next are one sentence of rule 62-532.400(1), shown in order.
… a permit shall be required before beginning construction, repair, or abandonment of any water well within such area.
Florida Department of State, Florida Administrative Code Chapter 62-532 Water Well Permitting and Construction Requirements (Florida DEP rule; rule text as amended through 10-7-10), read 17 October 2026.
Local rules differ; check your county and city.
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Sources for the facts on this page
- U.S. EPA Water Infrastructure and Resiliency Finance Center, Private wells learning module, government, read 17 October 2026.
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Private wells: learn about private water wells (page last updated September 14, 2026), government, read 17 October 2026.
- Florida Legislature, The 2026 Florida Statutes, s. 373.303 Definitions, statute or code, read 17 October 2026.
- Florida Legislature, The 2026 Florida Statutes, s. 373.308 Implementation of programs for regulating water wells, statute or code, read 17 October 2026.
- Florida Department of State, Florida Administrative Code Chapter 62-532 Water Well Permitting and Construction Requirements (Florida DEP rule; rule text as amended through 10-7-10), statute or code, read 17 October 2026.