Farm Water Well Drilling Cost: Per Foot and Total

A farm water well costs about US$85 to US$95 per foot to drill when it is built for irrigation, according to a University of Nebraska engineering professor quoted by AgWeb in November 2020. A full irrigation well with its pump often lands between US$50,000 and US$75,000 in the same article. In Canada, one 2025 guide quotes C$70 to C$150 per foot. In Australia, a Perth driller’s page (June 2025) says bore drilling is often quoted at A$150 to A$300 per metre.

The drilling price is only part of the bill. This guide shows the per-foot ranges for the US, Canada and Australia, a dealer survey of well and pump costs by depth, the extra items people forget, and a calculator for your own well. Prices change, so every figure carries its date and its source, and each is a quote or survey, not a price you can count on.

Farm water well drilling cost at a glance

Use this table to find your range, then read the sections below for the basis behind each number.

These are not list prices from one source. The US and Canada figures are quotes and guides, the Kansas figures are an average from dealers, and the Perth figure is a range a driller’s page says is often quoted. Treat all of them as a starting point for your own quotes.

Drilling price per foot in the US, Canada and Australia

Drillers price by depth. In the US and Canada the unit is the foot, and in Australia it is the metre. The chart below puts the three on one scale by converting the Perth figure to feet. Each bar stays in its own currency, so do not compare the dollar signs directly.

In the US, Bill Kranz of the University of Nebraska said in 2020 that an irrigation well was then costing US$85 to US$95 a foot. He used that number to make a point: you do not want to drill that deep and then find the well cannot supply enough water. A driller in the same article said many irrigation wells cost US$50,000 to US$75,000, normally with the pump, and that deeper wells can pass US$100,000.

In Canada, a 2025 cost guide from Green Building Canada gives C$70 to C$150 per foot and C$9,000 to C$30,000 for a whole well. It is written mainly for home wells (its extras include pressure tanks and household water-quality systems), not farm irrigation wells, so a high-capacity irrigation well can sit well above that range. The guide lists depth, rock type, well diameter, permits and remote sites as the main reasons prices differ.

In Australia, a Perth driller’s page, dated June 2025, says bore drilling is often quoted at A$150 to A$300 per metre, before pumps, electrics, testing and compliance. That equals about A$46 to A$91 per foot. A second driller’s guide puts large farm and industrial bores at A$20,000 to A$50,000 or more, against A$5,000 to A$15,000 for shallow residential bores up to 100 metres that include casing and a pump.

Chart

Quoted drilling price per foot, in each place’s own currency

Low to high; US$, C$ and A$ are not converted into one another

What a full irrigation well costs, line by line

The best public cost-by-depth table for farm wells comes from Kansas State University. In 2017, its Department of Agricultural Economics surveyed fifteen irrigation dealers in Kansas. It asked what a new well and a new pump would cost at depths from 50 to 700 feet. The 2017 Kansas irrigation equipment cost survey is dated, but it shows how the bill grows with depth.

Two points stand out. First, a well and its pump cost about the same. At 300 feet the survey averaged US$45,670 for the well and US$38,239 for the pump and gearhead. Second, depth adds cost steadily. From 100 to 700 feet the average well price rose by about US$100 for each extra foot, and the pump price by about US$84 per foot (our arithmetic on the survey’s averages).

The survey also reports how long equipment lasts. Dealers gave an average useful life of 26 years for a well and 13 years for a pump and gearhead. The calculator below spreads the whole up-front cost, pump included, over one life figure. The pump’s survey life was only 13 years, so enter a shorter life or run the pump on its own if you want a closer figure.

Chart

Kansas dealer prices for a new well and pump, by depth

US$ average per dealer survey, 2017; 15 irrigation dealers

Costs that sit outside the drilling quote

A drilling quote usually covers the hole. A working farm well needs more. Use this checklist when you compare bids.

• Test hole or site study. In the AgWeb article, the Indiana driller advises a test hole first, to learn how thick and coarse the water-bearing layer is. Skipping it can leave you with a well that pumps sand.
• Casing, screen and gravel pack. Ask whether they are in the per-foot rate or priced on top.
• Pump and gearhead or motor. The Kansas survey shows this is close to the cost of the well itself.
• Power. Diesel engines, natural gas engines or electric motors, plus lines to the site, add to the total in the AgWeb article.
• Pipe and wiring. The Kansas survey priced underground pipe and wiring for a center pivot at US$15,155 per 1,320 feet. That is outside the well.
• Permits and reports. Most US states require a permit to drill, and your contractor can help with the forms, the AgWeb article says.
• Dry hole terms. Business Queensland advises landowners to agree in writing what the driller charges for a dry hole and for a completed bore.

For a center pivot farm, the full system is much larger than the hole. The Kansas survey priced a center pivot at US$68,843 in 2017, before pipe, wiring and power. The last chart lists the parts for a 300-foot well.

Not every cost is a one-off. In the USDA 2023 Irrigation and Water Management Survey, farms spent US$3.3 billion on energy to pump well and surface water. Your own pumping bill depends on lift, flow and your power rate, so add it to your budget as a yearly line.

Chart

Parts of a 300 ft center pivot water setup in Kansas

US$ average dealer price, 2017 survey; excludes power unit and permits

How deep will you drill?

Depth drives both the drilling and the pump bill, so it helps to know what your area looks like. The 2023 USDA survey found that the average on-farm well depth was 241 feet, and that groundwater from on-farm wells supplied 54% of the water applied to open-field irrigated acres. That is a national average, so your local depth can be far shallower or deeper.

Water tables can fall over time, which pushes depth up. The Texas Water Development Board reports that in the Texas part of the Ogallala Aquifer, withdrawals exceed recharge in much of the aquifer, and that water level declines of more than 300 feet have occurred in several areas over 50 to 60 years, although the rate of decline has slowed and levels have risen in a few areas. The U.S. Geological Survey found that across the whole High Plains aquifer, area-weighted water levels fell 15.8 feet from predevelopment to 2015, with individual wells ranging from a rise of 84 feet to a decline of 234 feet.

The same USGS report warns that wells drilled where there is little or no saturated sediment are unlikely to yield water, unless they reach buried channels or hollows in the bedrock. Look up well logs near your site before you sign a drilling agreement. If neighbours’ wells are thin or dry, price a deeper well or a different water source.

Rules and licences before you drill

Rules differ by state, province and country, and a drilling contract does not replace a permit. Check your local rules before you book a rig, and ask a qualified professional about your case.

In Queensland, the state says a bore deeper than 6 metres must be built by a suitably licensed driller. The same page says to assess depth, water quantity and quality before you start, and to test yield and water quality when the bore is finished. A Queensland Country Life report from June 2025 described a Burnett producer who paid A$85,000 for a bore he cannot use after hiring an unlicensed driller. The report names the unlicensed operator in that story as fined A$150,000 for drilling bores without a licence.

In Alberta, the Water Act requires licensed water well contractors to obtain an approval to drill and construct water wells. The Alberta groundwater page also says a licence is not needed for household use up to 1,250 cubic metres a year, so a farm that irrigates or waters large herds should check whether it needs one.

In the US, rules sit mostly with state agencies. Contact your state water agency before drilling. This article is general information, not legal or financial advice.

Using less water from the well

Every gallon you do not pump saves energy. Our video below walks through seven ways to save water, fuel and fertilizer, which cuts what you ask of the well each season.

▶ Seven green farming technologies for saving water, fuel and fertilizer. · 2:24

Check the site before you drill

A dry or weak well is a major cost risk. Three checks reduce it. First, read nearby well logs and the aquifer reports from your state geological survey. Second, pay for a test hole in the layer you plan to use. Third, agree in writing what the driller charges if the hole is dry.

Satellites cannot see groundwater. They can show how crops and fields respond to water, which helps you decide where irrigation is needed most. Farmonaut Satellite + AI Farm Monitoring System, for example, maps vegetation change field by field, and that can help you judge which fields need the water you plan to pump. Use it with, not instead of, well logs and a driller’s advice.

▶ How satellite images show crop health across a large farm. · 4:09

Calculator: your well cost per year and per acre

Enter the numbers from your own quotes. The calculator spreads the up-front cost over the well’s life. It leaves out interest, power and repairs, so add them on top.

Try the numbers for your own farm below.

FAQ

How much does it cost to drill a well on a farm?

An irrigation well in the US cost US$85 to US$95 per foot to drill in a 2020 AgWeb article, and many full wells with pumps cost US$50,000 to US$75,000. one Canadian guide quotes C$70 to C$150 per foot (2025), and a Perth driller’s page (June 2025) says A$150 to A$300 per metre is often quoted. Your quote can differ a lot.

Is the drilling price the full cost of a well?

No. In the Kansas dealer survey of 2017, a 300-foot well averaged US$45,670 and the pump added US$38,239. Casing, power, pipe, permits and testing come on top, depending on the contract.

How deep are farm wells?

The USDA 2023 survey gives an average on-farm well depth of 241 feet. Local depth depends on your aquifer, so read nearby well logs.

Do I need a licensed driller?

In Queensland, bores deeper than 6 metres need a licensed driller. In Alberta, licensed contractors must get an approval to drill. Check the rules where you farm.

What if the well comes up dry?

Agree the charge for a dry hole in writing before drilling, as Business Queensland advises. A test hole and a read of nearby well logs lower the risk.

How long does a farm well last?

Kansas dealers gave an average useful life of 26 years for a well and 13 years for a pump and gearhead in the 2017 survey. Your own figure depends on water quality, casing and use.

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