To protect the State's groundwater supplies, the Legislature authorized the establishment of standards (Department of Water Resources Bulletins 74-81 and 74-90) and regulations pertaining to the construction, alteration, and destruction of wells.

California Water Code Section 13750.5 requires that those responsible for the construction, alteration, or destruction of water wells, cathodic protection wells, groundwater monitoring wells, or geothermal heat exchange wells possess a C-57 Water Well Contractor's License. This license is issued by the Contractors State License Board.

California Water Code Section 13751 requires that anyone who constructs, alters, or destroys a water well, cathodic protection well, groundwater monitoring well, or geothermal heat exchange well file with the Department of Water Resources a report of completion within 60 days of the completion of the work. The instructional pamphlet How to Fill Out a Well Completion Report may be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader.

How to obtain blank forms. If you are a drilling contractor needing blank well completion report forms or you have questions about completing the form, please send an e-mail request to waterdata@sd.water.ca.gov or call Michael Van Raalte at (818) 500-1645 x233.

You may wish to download a well completion report form. To use this form, Adobe Acrobat version 4.0 or higher is needed. Because each well completion report form submitted must have a unique number, be sure to press the yellow button at the top of the form that says, Click here for a new number.

Where to file completed forms. After a well completion report has been filled out, send the original form to:

California Department of Water Resources
770 Fairmont Avenue, Suite 102
Glendale, CA 91203-1035

Well completion reports are confidential documents and are not available for inspection by the public. Well completion reports are available to governmental agencies for studies, to the well owner or anyone who obtains written permission from the well owner, and to anyone performing an environmental cleanup study associated with unauthorized releases if the study is conducted under the order of a regulatory agency. California Water Code Section 13752 says:

Reports [...] shall not be made available for inspection by the public, but shall be made available to governmental agencies for use in making studies, or to any person who obtains a written authorization from the owner of the well. However, a report associated with a well located within two miles of an area affected or potentially affected by a known unauthorized release of a contaminant shall be made available to any person performing an environmental cleanup study associated with the unauthorized release, if the study is conducted under the order of a regulatory agency. A report released to a person conducting an environmental cleanup study shall not be used for any purpose other than for the purpose of conducting the study.

If you are in one of these categories and wish to obtain copies of wells completion reports, please use the appropriate form below. These forms are in PDF format and can be completed on your screen and printed using Adobe Acrobat. After completing the form, mail or fax it to the Southern District office.

Well Completion Report Release Agreement - Agency Study Form Use this form if you are acting as an authorized agent for a governmental agency and are making a study.

Well Completion Report Request - Owner Form Use this form if you are a well owner and wish to obtain a copy of the well completion report for your well or you wish to release the well completion report to another person for inspection.

Well Completion Report Release Agreement - Environmental Cleanup Study Form Use this form if you are performing an environmental cleanup study associated with unauthorized release of a contaminant, and if that study is conducted under the order of a regulatory agency.

The following fees are charged for processing requests for well completion reports: 15 cents per page and 50 dollars per hour. No time is charged for requests that require less than 15 minutes.

If you have questions about the availability of well completion reports, please send an e-mail to waterdata@sd.water.ca.gov or call Michael Van Raalte at (818) 500-1645 x233.

Prior to the construction, alteration, or destruction of a water well, cathodic protection well, groundwater monitoring well, or geothermal heat exchange well, a permit must be obtained from the appropriate local agency. Local jurisdictions in the Southern District that issue permits are: