By Nara Bakthisaran · Triad Core Builders · October 8, 2026
If your Triad lot has no city water, you are not done when the septic path looks workable. You still need a private drinking water well that the county Environmental Health office will permit, inspect, and sample — and that well has to clear setbacks from the septic system you are about to put in the ground. Not sure yet whether the lot can connect to city water? Start with our guide to city water and sewer vs well and septic.
This guide is the water-side companion to our septic permits guide for Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson. Same counties, same landowner problem: which desk to call, what they publish for fees, how the statewide permit sequence works, and how well and septic have to sit on one site plan before you close or break ground.
Quick answer: In North Carolina, a private drinking water well needs a construction permit from the county health department before a certified well contractor drills it. The county has 30 days to decide on a complete application. After install, the county inspects and issues a Certificate of Completion — you cannot put the well into service without it — and the water is sampled for a required panel of contaminants. Construction permits are valid for five years under state law. Fees and forms differ by county; the numbers below come from each county's published schedule and should be confirmed before you pay. On a buildable-lot walkthrough, get septic and well on the same site plan so setbacks do not fight each other.
Statewide permit sequence (same rules, different county desks)
Private drinking water wells are permitted under G.S. 87-97 and the rules in 15A NCAC 02C .0300 (with construction standards in 15A NCAC 02C .0100). Each county health department runs the local program. The sequence is the same across the Triad:
- Well construction permit — Owner (or authorized agent) applies with a site plan or plat showing the proposed well and any existing or proposed septic system and other contamination sources. The county does a field investigation before issuing the permit. Under G.S. 87-97(e), the local health department must make a determination within 30 days of receiving the application; if it fails to act in that window, the permit is automatically issued (the department can still challenge that outcome under Chapter 150B).
- Install by a certified well contractor — Only a person certified under North Carolina's Well Contractors Certification Act drills and constructs the well. The construction permit stays on the job site. Grouting and wellhead details have to meet state construction standards; the county inspects (or, in limited cases allowed by statute, accepts a contractor grout certification when the department was properly notified and could not inspect in time).
- Certificate of Completion — After construction (or a permitted repair), the county inspects. If the well matches the permit and the rules, it issues a Certificate of Completion. You cannot place the well into service — or return a repaired well to service — without that certificate (G.S. 87-97(g); 15A NCAC 02C .0306).
- Water quality sampling — Within 30 days after the Certificate of Completion on a newly constructed well, the local health department tests the water (or ensures a certified lab does) for the parameters listed in G.S. 87-97(h), including bacterial indicators plus metals and other inorganic constituents (arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, fluoride, lead, iron, magnesium, manganese, mercury, nitrates, nitrites, selenium, silver, sodium, zinc, and pH). Results go to the owner.
A construction or repair permit is valid for five years under G.S. 87-97(f) and 15A NCAC 02C .0304(c), unless the county revokes it for a material change in the facts it was based on. Ownership of the lot can change without killing the permit if the well location and the facility served stay under common ownership and the well can still be built in the permitted area.
Pump or tank repair/replacement alone does not require a repair permit. Permanent abandonment of a private drinking water well does require an abandonment permit.
For how soil and septic permitting work on the same lot, see our perc test and septic systems guide and the county septic permits post.
Guilford County
Office: Guilford County Environmental Health — Water Quality Address listed by the county: 400 W. Market St., Suite 300, Greensboro, NC 27405 Phone listed by the county: 336-641-7613 Email listed by the county: waterquality@guilfordcountync.gov Program page: Water Quality Forms: Environmental Health Forms (Septic/Water Quality section lists the Authorized Agent Form — call Water Quality for the current private drinking water well application) Fee schedule: Guilford Environmental Health Fee Schedule
Guilford's Water Quality program oversees construction, repair, and abandonment of water supply wells, site evaluation for well location, inspections during construction, and sampling of new and repaired wells.
Published residential well and water-sampling fees (confirm on the county page before you pay):
| Service | Published fee |
|---|---|
| Well permit | $450 |
| Well repair permit | $110 |
| Well repair permit (with camera inspection) | $220 |
| Water sample trip fee | $65 |
| Bacteria sample | $50 |
| Inorganic / nitrate | $70 |
| Pesticide | $75 |
| Petroleum | $75 |
| All sample types (total, including trip) | $335 |
Sampling fees stack as trip fee plus each lab type. Guilford notes that staff collect samples on site — they do not accept samples dropped at the office. Bacteriological results are generally available toward the end of the collection week from the local Public Health Laboratory; other samples go to the state lab in Raleigh and often take about four to six weeks.
Local note (2026): Effective July 2, 2026, Session Law 2026-32 (HB 376) repealed local board of health rules concerning permitting of private drinking water wells (fees and certain testing standards can still be local). Guilford's Water Quality section told well contractors that its private drinking water well rules were repealed that day, that unissued private drinking water well permits were amended to a five-year expiration to match state law, and that staff enforce the statewide private drinking water well standards. Local rules for non-potable wells were not repealed by that legislation. If you heard older Guilford-only casing or local well-rule talk, confirm with Water Quality what applies to your permit today — do not assume a pre-July-2026 local quirk is still on the books.
Forsyth County
Office: Forsyth County Department of Public Health — Environmental Health (Well Permits) Address listed by the county: 799 North Highland Avenue, Winston-Salem, NC 27101 Phone listed by the county for well sampling appointments: 336-703-3225 Program page: Well Permits — Permitting & Inspecting Fee invoice (linked from Environmental Health materials): On-Site Water and Wastewater Service Invoice
Forsyth requires a Well Construction Permit Application completed and signed by the property owner, with the fee. The owner schedules a site meeting for the county to issue the well construction permit. Forsyth recommends having the certified well contractor on site at that meeting to help pick a viable location. The owner is responsible for getting a copy of the permit to the contractor, and the permit stays on site during construction. An Authorization to Act as Agent form is required if someone other than the owner will sign and receive the permit in the field.
After drilling, an environmental health specialist visits for grout placement and wellhead inspection (tags, hose bib, and similar requirements). When the well has passed inspection and has electricity to run the pump, the owner calls 336-703-3225 to schedule the water sample. Forsyth states that the cost of the initial water sample analysis is included in the well construction permit fee; additional resample fees are listed separately on the invoice.
Published well fees from Forsyth's On-Site service invoice (confirm before you pay):
| Service | Published fee |
|---|---|
| Drinking water well construction permit | $489 |
| Water supply well not for human consumption — construction permit | $398 |
| Well abandonment | $176 |
| Water sample — bacteria | $52 |
| Water sample — inorganic | $102 |
| Water sample — nitrate/nitrite | $54 |
| Water sample — pesticide | $121 |
| Water sample — petroleum | $121 |
Forsyth's well page also links state rules (15A NCAC 02C .0300 and .0100), a minimum-separation-distances handout, and a brochure on selecting a well contractor — useful reading before you lock a drill date.
Davidson County
Office: Davidson County Environmental Health — On-Site Water Protection (Water Supply Program) Phone listed by the county: 336-242-2310 Program page: On-Site Water Protection Environmental Health hub / fee schedule: Environmental Health · 25-26 EH Fee Schedule Application: Private Well Application (PDF) Instructions: Well Permitting Information (PDF) (updated October 30, 2025) Authorized agent: Documentation to Authorize an Owner's Representative
Davidson's Water Supply Program permits and inspects installation, samples for bacterial, chemical, pesticide, and petroleum analysis, and assists with chlorination education when water is contaminated.
Davidson's instructions are blunt about timing: if you plan to build a house or place a manufactured home within the next five years, apply for the well permit at the same time as the septic tank system. The application fee for a water supply well permit includes the initial sampling with the new-well water panel test kit (volatile organic sampling is separate). Applications need the current owner's signature or written authorization for a representative. Applications are valid for one year from submission; the well permit itself is valid for five years from issuance (printed on the application form).
Site prep: stake all property corners (flag lines on parcels over an acre), and clearly stake the requested well location. Incomplete site readiness draws revisit fees. The application asks you to disclose septic systems (existing or planned), easements, wetlands, known contamination, landfills, USTs, and similar sources within 100 feet — answer those honestly and show them on the site plan.
Published well fees from Davidson's Environmental Health fee schedule effective July 1, 2025 (confirm before you pay):
| Service | Published fee |
|---|---|
| New well permit (new or replacement) | $450 |
| Well repair permit | $0 (listed) |
| Well abandonment | $0 (listed) |
| Well water panel test kit (new and existing) — bacteria / inorganic with nitrate | $120 |
| Coliform bacteria / E. coli (or enterococci) | $70 |
| Inorganic chemical (metal panel) | $100 |
| Nitrate / nitrite | $90 |
| Pesticide | $100 |
| Petroleum | $100 |
| Volatile organic compound | $100 |
Davidson's application also states clearly that a Well Construction Permit does not guarantee yield or potable water — it documents contamination sources and setbacks. That is worth remembering when a listing promises "well ready" without a Certificate of Completion and sample results in hand.
We also work land in Randolph and Rockingham when a lot fits; those counties run their own Environmental Health desks. Use the same statewide G.S. 87-97 sequence, and call that county for forms and fees rather than assuming Guilford / Forsyth / Davidson numbers travel with you.
Coordinating well + septic on one lot
On a raw Triad lot without city water or sewer, well and septic are one site problem, not two unrelated permits.
Setbacks (state minimums — confirm with the county for your site). Under 15A NCAC 02C .0107, the horizontal separation between a water supply well and potential contamination sources that exist when the well is constructed includes:
| Source | State minimum separation |
|---|---|
| Single-family dwelling septic tank and drainfield, including repair area | 50 feet |
| Same, but a saprolite system (as described in the on-site wastewater rules) | 100 feet |
| All other facilities with septic tank and drainfield, including repair area | 100 feet |
| Building perimeters (including attached garage, patio, deck that need a building permit) | 25 feet |
| Surface water that recharges groundwater (ponds, lakes, reservoirs) | 50 feet |
| Other surface water (brooks, creeks, streams, rivers) | 25 feet |
N.C. DHHS private-well FAQ material has long pointed landowners to those 15A NCAC 02C .0107 distances and reminded people that some counties historically enforced more protective local setbacks. After S.L. 2026-32, local private drinking water well permitting rules (other than certain testing standards and fees) were repealed statewide — still confirm the separation the specialist will enforce on your parcel before you stake a drill spot.
Site plan. G.S. 87-97(d) says that if a well is proposed on a site that has or will have a wastewater system under Article 11 of Chapter 130A, the well construction permit application must include a plat or site plan. That drawing should show the house, decks, driveways, existing and proposed septic (initial field and repair area), existing wells, tanks, surface water, easements, and the proposed well area. Davidson's application checklist is a good template even outside Davidson.
Order of permits. In practice, get the septic Improvement Permit path moving first (or at the same time) so the soil specialist locks the drainfield and repair area before the well location is finalized. Davidson explicitly tells you to file well and septic together if you plan to build within five years. A well staked in the middle of the only good soil area will force a redesign — or a denial. On our free site walks we look at both systems on one sketch the same day; see the lot buildability checklist for the rest of what belongs on that walkthrough.
Build timeline. Well permitting, grout inspection, Certificate of Completion, and sampling sit on the critical path with septic and the building permit. Factor them into the schedule in our how long to build a house in North Carolina guide rather than treating water as a week-of-drywall surprise.
What to bring / common delays
Show up ready, or you buy another trip:
- Owner signature or a completed authorized-agent form
- Parcel ID / PIN, address, and directions that actually get a specialist to the gate
- Site plan or plat with house, septic (existing or proposed), repair area, driveways, utilities, tanks, surface water, easements, and proposed well area
- Property corners and proposed well location staked as the county checklist requires
- Disclosure of known contamination, landfills, USTs, graves, spray fields, or other sources on or near the lot (Davidson asks these on the application; answer them)
- Name and contact for your certified well contractor when you have one
Common delays we see on Triad land: septic and well staked without talking to each other; corners not marked; underbrush so thick the specialist cannot walk the setbacks; assuming an old abandoned well can stay open (construction permits are often conditioned on proper abandonment of improperly abandoned wells on site); and scheduling sampling before the well has power to the pump.
County fees above are permit and sampling fees only. They are not the cost of drilling, casing, pump, or pressure tank — get those numbers from a certified well contractor after the permitted location is known.
FAQ
Do I need a well permit if my Triad lot has no city water?
Yes. Under G.S. 87-97, you need a construction permit from the county health department before constructing a private drinking water well, and you need a Certificate of Completion before placing it into service. Pump or tank replacement alone is the main repair exception that does not need a repair permit.
How long does the county have to decide on a well permit application?
Thirty days from receipt of the application. G.S. 87-97(e) requires the local health department to determine within that window whether the well can be constructed and operated in compliance with the Article and rules, and to issue a permit or denial. If the department fails to act within 30 days, the permit is automatically issued (subject to the department's right to challenge that issuance under Chapter 150B).
How long is a well construction permit valid?
Five years under G.S. 87-97(f) and 15A NCAC 02C .0304(c), unless the county revokes it because a material fact changed. Davidson also states that the application is valid for one year from submission — that is separate from the five-year life of an issued permit.
How far does a well have to be from a septic system in North Carolina?
State construction standards in 15A NCAC 02C .0107 set a minimum of 50 feet from a single-family dwelling's septic tank and drainfield (including the repair area), 100 feet when that system is a saprolite system, and 100 feet for other facilities' septic systems. Confirm the distance your county specialist will enforce on your lot before you stake the drill location.
Can I drink from the well as soon as it is drilled?
No. The well must receive a Certificate of Completion after county inspection, and new wells are sampled for the required water-quality panel within 30 days after that certificate. Do not treat the well as your household supply until those steps are done and you understand the results.
Should I get the septic permit or the well permit first?
Often the septic Improvement Permit (or a combined well-and-septic filing) comes first or in parallel, so the drainfield and repair area are fixed before the well location is locked. Davidson tells landowners planning to build within five years to apply for well and septic at the same time. Either way, one site plan should show both.
Who can drill the well?
A well contractor certified under North Carolina's Well Contractors Certification Act. The county issues the permit and inspects; the certified contractor constructs the well. Forsyth recommends having that contractor on site when the construction permit is issued in the field.
If you already own land in Guilford, Forsyth, or Davidson — or you are under contract on a lot without city water — we will walk the parcel and sketch house, septic, and well setbacks together before you spend money on the wrong corner of the lot.
Request a free site evaluation — no charge for the look. Or call 336-509-2640.
Nara Bakthisaran · Triad Core Builders · NC Licensed General Contractor L.99646 · Building in Guilford, Forsyth, Davidson & Randolph Counties