Anyone working in well construction or groundwater protection needs access to current information about wells and well in its vicinity. The Iowa Geological Survey primarily disseminates data about public wells.

In addition, a Private Well Tracking System PWTS database (off-site) was created to share water quality data on private wells and ease the reporting burden concerning private wells for certified contractors, county Environmental Health (EH) specialists and the IDNR.

Iowa law requires all certified well drilling contractors to submit a well log when a new well is constructed. PWTS enables contractors to report this information over the Internet. PWTS assigns a unique identification number to each well. Contractors must contact the department to obtain access rights; contact Russell Tell at 515-725-0462 or by email at: russell.tell@dnr.iowa.gov.

PWTS contains statistical public information concerning well testing for nitrates and bacteria, and well plugging and renovation. This information can be found in PWTS (off-site) under the topic for Reports.

PWTS also has a password-protected site for authorized personnel to submit and acquire information on:

• Well construction permits
• Well drilling logs
• Well plugging information
• Private well water testing information on nitrates and bacteria