Plugging an old or abandoned water well in the Coastal Bend

Older farm and ranch land around Corpus Christi, Robstown and Sinton often has a well nobody has used in years, sometimes hidden under brush or a sheet of tin. TDLR calls abandoned and deteriorated wells direct conduits to the aquifer and a hazard to people and animals.

Whose job it is

TDLR is plain about it: the landowner of record is responsible for plugging an abandoned or deteriorated well or bringing it back into compliance. A landowner may hire a licensed driller or pump installer, or may plug a well on their own property following 16 Texas Administrative Code §76.104 and then file a State of Texas Plugging Report. The report is due within 30 days of the date the well was plugged.

How plugging is done, in short

The state rule, simplified, asks for removable casing and any surface fixtures to come out, then the hole to be filled from the bottom up through a tremie pipe, either with cement all the way to the surface or with bentonite grout finished with a cement cap at least two feet thick.

The Coastal Bend catch: the rule does not allow bentonite where a water zone has chlorides above 1,500 parts per million or where hydrocarbons are present. In an area known for salty groundwater and oilfield history, that can rule out the cheaper route, and only someone who knows the well can tell you which applies.

Districts may want to hear first

The plugging rule also points to local groundwater district rules and city ordinances. Texas A&M AgriLife's plugging guide advises telling the district before you start and sending it a copy of the plugging report as well. Check the rules for your town.

When a new well is going in

If you are drilling a new well and an old one sits on the same property, ask for both jobs in the same quote. One rig visit is usually simpler than two, and the old hole is a risk to the new well's water.