Madera runs on groundwater, from the city's 20 wells to private wells at homes from Madera Acres to Bonadelle Ranchos. The town sits over the Madera Subbasin, with almond, grape and pistachio farms all around. The water table has dropped for decades, and new household wells here now reach a median of about 600 feet. More dry well reports list a Madera address than any other town in the state's dry well reporting system.
Big River Drilling is a licensed C-57 well drilling contractor based in Riverdale, about 40 miles south in Fresno County. We travel up to Madera for water well drilling: new and replacement wells by mud rotary, cased, sealed and pump-tested. We also handle 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 Madera's water division runs 20 groundwater wells, a 1-million-gallon water tower and over 200 miles of pipe. Most homes inside the city are on that system. A Madera address does not always mean city water, though. Less than 6 percent of the land in the 93637 and 93638 ZIP codes lies inside the city.
Past the city limits, small county-run systems serve Parkwood, Parksdale, La Vina, Fairmead and part of Madera Ranchos. Many other homes, from farmhouses to ranchettes, pump from private wells. Bonadelle Ranchos is home to nearly 5,900 people, and just one small water system carries its name, with 23 connections. Most homes there run on private wells.
In the 2020 to 2022 drought, private wells went dry one after another from Madera Acres to the Bonadelle Ranchos. Northwest of town in Fairmead, household wells dried up, and residents came to rely mostly on one county-run well. In 2026, Madera Irrigation District opened a recharge basin just south of Fairmead to soak water back into the aquifer.
SGMA is California's groundwater law, and local groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) carry it out. The Madera Subbasin has seven GSAs, including the City of Madera, the County of Madera and Madera Irrigation District. Four of them share one plan that covers about 95 percent of the subbasin. The plans aim for groundwater sustainability by 2040.
The state Department of Water Resources approved the subbasin's plans in December 2023, with corrective actions for the next review. As of 2026, the Madera Subbasin is not among the basins the State Water Board has put on probation. The GSAs must also set up programs to help when falling water levels dry up household wells. In 2025, city staff cited a backlog of about 220 dry wells in the subbasin.
Madera County Environmental Health issues well permits, and state law requires a licensed C-57 contractor to build the well. The application carries your signature and the licensed driller's details, and we fill in the driller's side. The county asks for 48 hours' notice before a seal is placed, and a permit is good for 180 days. The state minimum seal for a household well is 20 feet, and the county can require more.
State well completion reports show new household wells with a Madera address going deeper each decade. Their median depth was about 360 feet from 1990 to 2009 and 500 feet in the 2010s. Since 2020 the median is about 600 feet, and most run 550 to 600 feet.
The water table tells the same story. On those reports, the median water level was about 200 feet down from 1990 to 2009. Since 2020 it has been about 320 feet down. Dry wells here were not shallow either: their median reported depth was about 325 feet.
Dry well reports kept coming after the drought, about 200 since 2023, the latest in September 2026. The free estimate lists the depth range, casing, seal, pump and tank for your parcel, from nearby well records. California does not regulate water quality in most private wells, and a state-certified lab can test yours. We can point you to one.
In the 2022 county crop reports, almonds were Madera County's most valuable crop, grown on about 158,000 acres. Grapes and pistachios covered about 54,000 acres each. New irrigation wells in the county had a median depth of 700 feet from 2020 on. Around Madera, a home on a private well depends on its pump and pressure tank.
No water at the tap does not always mean a dry well. The pump, its controls or the pressure tank may have failed, and only a water level reading settles it. Pressure that fades at certain times of day, or sand in the water, can signal a failing well. A worn-out pump calls for well pump replacement, sized to the well and the house.
A waterlogged well pressure tank makes the pump start and stop too often, and each start wears on it. A replacement well also needs water line trenching back to the house, for the water pipe and the pump's power. We travel up to Madera on Highway 41 and Highway 99, about 47 road miles from our Riverdale yard. We take well and pump calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Communities and areas we serve around Madera: Madera Acres, Madera Ranchos, Bonadelle Ranchos, Parksdale, Parkwood, La Vina, Ripperdan, Berenda, Fairmead.
Madera ZIP codes served: 93636, 93637, 93638.
Free estimates throughout Madera 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 Madera. 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.
