Search Pennsylvania water well records by property address.
Search the Pennsylvania public well index by address. Read actual record examples below, check their type and status, then trace the original filing before making a property decision.
Free lookup · No credit card required · See available records before considering an optional report.
PaGWIS separates water use from well use. These Berks County examples are classified DOMESTIC for water use and WITHDRAWAL for well use, making their purpose clearer than an observation-well example. Their missing fields and mapping limits still matter.
Selected teaching examples of domestic records, including incomplete entries. These are not a representative sample, a statewide average or proof that a well serves a particular property. Measurements describe published historical records; missing fields remain unknown.
Water_Use is DOMESTIC while Well_Use is WITHDRAWAL. The two labels describe intended water use and the role of the well; they are not competing classifications.
The published reliability description refers to a historical agency field check. It is not a current inspection, a water-quality result or confirmation that this well serves the searched parcel.
Bedrock_Reached is Yes, but the numerical bedrock depth is blank. That flag cannot be converted into a bedrock depth or substituted for total well depth.
The source retains a reported yield but no Well_Depth. Leave depth unknown; a yield value does not reveal the depth of the borehole.
The local well number is another useful reference when tracing the record in PaGEODE. Compare the original report and the property's own documents before making a match.
This entry supports a historical depth reading but not a supply estimate. A blank Well_Yield_GPM field is not a measured zero.
The location method is Other/Unknown/Unspecified. A close map point with this description needs additional location evidence before it is assigned to a property.
Use the official Water Well & Spring Search. Choose Water Well and a report or data package, then use the individual well identifier or narrow the search by local area. The examples above supply the PaGWIS IDs and local well numbers to trace.
Make the well layer visible
The official help explains that Water Wells under Natural Resources must be visible and the map sufficiently zoomed in for points to appear. A hidden layer or an overview map can look like an absence of records.
Include unlocated records when appropriate
PaGEODE's well search can include unlocated wells within intersected municipalities. This can reveal records that an address-centred spatial search cannot place, though it cannot establish their parcel location.
Read the report behind the point
Compare water use, well use, location method and data reliability. Retrieve the fuller report or data package where available and match the identifier with seller records. More detailed information may exist beyond the public map index.
The public point layer excludes public-water supplies and is not a complete private-well inventory. If the map is empty, check layer visibility, the municipality's unlocated records and the property's original paperwork before drawing a conclusion.
Before relying on a property match
Match the record identifier with the seller’s or driller’s documents, confirm the actual well on site, and obtain current flow/recovery and laboratory water testing as appropriate. A historical depth or yield cannot establish today’s condition, water quality or future drilling results.
Pennsylvania Groundwater Information System (PaGWIS)
Source publisher
Pennsylvania Geological Survey
Coverage
Public PaGWIS points include well location, use, depth, reported yield and data-reliability fields; public-water supplies are excluded.
Reading the official record
Pennsylvania PaGWIS: weigh record reliability before comparing wells
Pennsylvania's Groundwater Information System (PaGWIS) publishes mapped groundwater information with data-reliability and location-method fields. The public layer is not a complete inventory of every well and excludes public-water-supply records, so a missing point cannot prove a property has no well.
How to interpret fields in this state's public well records
Source field
What it means
What to verify
Location method and data reliability
These tell you how much confidence to place in where a PaGWIS record appears and how its attributes were reported.
Compare location-quality information before assuming a close point serves the subject parcel.
Well use and water use
Use categories help distinguish the type of filing or intended use; a nearby point need not describe a private household supply.
Ask which record or well ID appears in the property's own documentation.
Depth, reported yield and depth to bedrock
These are useful local historical indicators where reported, but wells differ by geology, construction and use.
Confirm present-day flow, quality and construction with a qualified well professional.
Practical record-checking steps
Search the property and identify candidate PaGWIS records by use, identifier and distance.
Examine the source reliability and mapping method before comparing depth or reported yield.
Open the official Pennsylvania source and verify any claimed property-well match with seller records.
If PaGWIS shows no nearby well, does that mean the parcel has none?
No. The mapped public layer is incomplete and excludes public-water-supply wells. Its absence is not a property inspection or a comprehensive private-well inventory.
Check the actual published record: Open the official state source ↗. Use the public identifiers in the examples above to trace the source. A nearby record alone does not confirm which well serves a property.
Optional Property Report — $29.99 USD: A four-page PDF that organizes nearby public records, source-data gaps and buyer verification questions for the searched property. Preview the sample PDF ↗. The address search remains free.
Pennsylvania coverage limitation
PaGWIS point locations and data quality vary by record, and the mapped public layer is not a complete inventory of every water-supply well.
Public Pennsylvania source
WellLookup is independent of Pennsylvania Geological Survey. The underlying public source is Pennsylvania Groundwater Information System (PaGWIS). WellLookup adds address search, nearby-record comparison and property-focused reporting; it preserves the published source values.