Inside Fresno's city limits, most homes run on city water from about 260 wells and three treatment plants. Past the city edge, in the farm country around Easton, Bowles and Monmouth, many homes pump from private wells. The city and its rural edge sit over the Kings Subbasin, which the state lists as critically overdrafted. State records list 259 dry wells with a Fresno address, 123 of them reported in 2022 alone.
Big River Drilling is a licensed C-57 well drilling contractor based in Riverdale, south of Fresno. We handle water well drilling around Fresno: new and replacement wells by mud rotary, cased, sealed and pump-tested. The same company also takes on well pump repair, pump installation, pressure tanks and the lines to the house. Call or text (559) 867-3806 for a free estimate.
Tell us about the well or the water problem. We come out, look at the site and give you a free estimate.
The City of Fresno delivers water to more than 142,000 customers over 114 square miles, including many county islands. Its roughly 260 wells pump from the aquifer under the valley. Surface water from Millerton Lake or Pine Flat Lake arrives through Fresno Irrigation District canals for treatment. The city's 2024 water quality report says its groundwater pumping is down to amounts last seen in 1955.
Inside the city, the municipal code bars new private wells for household water. If a private well there fails, the City will not permit repairing, deepening or replacing it. The property connects to city water instead.
So the private wells with Fresno addresses sit out on the farm land, mostly south and west of the city. State records show 439 new household wells with a Fresno address from 2020 on; two are inside city limits. Most are in the rural ZIP codes 93725 and 93706, near Easton, Bowles, Malaga, Monmouth and West Park. Nearly all of the 259 dry wells sit outside the city limits too.
SGMA is California's groundwater law, carried out by local groundwater agencies. The city and most of its rural edge fall under the North Kings Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA). The City of Fresno, the County of Fresno and Fresno Irrigation District are among its eight founding agencies. South of town, around Bowles and Monmouth, the Central Kings GSA takes over.
The Kings Subbasin plans won state approval in August 2023, and the North Kings GSA must reach sustainability by 2040. It expects groundwater levels to keep falling before they level off. It has set depth standards for new wells, household wells included, and posts a Minimum Well Depth Tool online. It also advises asking a local driller how deep to drill.
Outside the city limits, Fresno County Environmental Health issues the well permit to a licensed C-57 driller. We apply for it as the licensed driller. The county says household well permits are usually processed normally. The county permits the well, and the GSA regulates how its water is used.
New household wells with a Fresno address keep going deeper, per state well completion reports. Their median depth was 180 feet from 1990 to 2009 and 310 feet from 2010 to 2019. From 2020 on, the median is 350 feet, and most run 300 to 400 feet. The free estimate lists the depth range, casing, seal, pump and tank, from well records near your parcel.
The wells that went dry were mostly shallow. Among the Fresno-address dry well reports that list a depth, most wells were 150 feet deep or less. Just south of the city, 42 Daleville homes had dry wells or nitrate and uranium in their wells. A city water main later reached them.
Water quality changes from well to well here. The city's 2024 report lists nitrate, arsenic, uranium, DBCP and TCP among what it tracks in its wells. In Fresno County, private wells do not have to meet water quality standards, so testing is up to you. A state-certified lab can test a private well, and we can point you to one.
Fresno County ranked first in the nation for farm sales in the 2022 Census of Agriculture. Almonds cover the most acres, followed by grapes and pistachios. About half the county's farms are under 50 acres. A rural home on a private well depends on its own pump and pressure tank.
When the well still has water but the house does not, the pump or its controls are the usual suspects. A worn-out pump calls for well pump replacement: we pull it and set a new one sized to the well. A waterlogged pressure tank makes the pump cycle on and off too often; we replace tanks, switches and gauges.
A new well also needs water line trenching to the house, for the pipe and the pump's power. We come over from Riverdale on Highway 41, about 27 road miles to central Fresno. We take well and pump calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Communities and areas we serve around Fresno: Easton, Bowles, Monmouth, West Park, Malaga, Calwa, Raisin City, Biola, Kerman, Sunnyside, Old Fig Garden, Fort Washington.
Fresno ZIP codes served: 93650, 93701, 93702, 93703, 93704, 93705, 93706, 93710, 93711, 93720, 93721, 93722, 93723, 93725, 93726, 93727, 93728, 93730, 93737.
Free estimates throughout Fresno County and the surrounding area.
(559) 867-3806
New domestic water wells drilled by mud rotary, cased and sealed to the county's standards, developed and pump tested, then finished with the pump, the pressure tank and the lines to the house. Replacement wells when an old well goes dry or silts up.
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No water, low pressure or a pump that never shuts off? We trace the fault from the breaker down to the pump and repair what failed.
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We size and set submersible well pumps for new wells and replace worn pumps in existing wells. The drop pipe, wire, controls and the electrical to the pump come with the job.
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We install and replace bladder and galvanized well pressure tanks, plus the switches, gauges and check valves. When the pump clicks on and off, we find out why.
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Trenching from the well to the house, with the water line and the pump's power conduit in one trench. New lines for new wells, and repairs when an old line breaks or leaks.
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The well quit and the taps are dry. We take well and pump calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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Irrigation and stock wells for farms, orchards, dairies and ranches around Riverdale. We drill by mud rotary, test pump the well and handle the permit paperwork.
Learn MoreReal reviews from real well and pump jobs, 9 reviews on Google.
Helped out my parents asap when the others wanted us to wait 2 weeks. He came out same day!!!! and changed the valve in only 10 minutes “thank you sir!! “ (water well drilling)
Open 24 hours. The owner is always available and always answers the phone or calls back. He’s very attentive, and when we have problems with the well, he will come out and check it immediately. He takes full responsibility for his work, which is excellent. we just call and he’ll walk us through the situation and it’s usually something simple. He also was able to get us a well at reduced rate through a program that he works with
Great fokes to do business with
A few of the questions we hear most around Fresno. If yours is not here, call and ask.
Tell us about the property or what your well is doing, and we will set up a free estimate. For a well or pump problem, call or text (559) 867-3806, day or night.
Tell us about the well or the water problem. We come out, look at the site and give you a free estimate.
