How to check Illinois well records before you buy land
Illinois's state surveys have kept water well records for more than a century, and the recorded wells near a parcel can be searched free on a state map. The paper records are split between two state surveys, and permits for new wells sit with local health departments.
The short version: search the parcel's area on the Illinois State Geological Survey's ILWATER map, request any construction report you need from the survey that holds it, and ask the county's local health department what it has on permits for the property. None of it tells you what a new well will find; all of it tells you what the neighbours' wells did.
Doing it yourself, free
- Search the area on ILWATER, the Illinois State Geological Survey's map of water and related wells. Zoom to the parcel and open the well points nearby to see what the survey records for each.
- Know who holds the paper. The ISGS says the source documents — applications, permits and construction reports — through September 1997 are held by the ISGS, and “the Illinois State Water Survey maintains the later source documents” (ISGS). ISGS copies carry “nominal fees”.
- For a well recorded after 1997, contact the Illinois State Water Survey. Its well records team takes requests at gwinfo@isws.illinois.edu, and it runs a Domestic Wells Database whose web version is limited and needs a login (ISWS).
- Ask the local health department. The Illinois Department of Public Health regulates the construction, modification and sealing of wells “through agreements with 90 local health departments”, which issue permits for new wells (IDPH). Ask what it holds for the parcel, including any sealed or abandoned well.
- Look at the water level trend. The US Geological Survey publishes measured groundwater levels at waterdata.usgs.gov.
- Check the soil before a septic system. USDA's Web Soil Survey provides National Cooperative Soil Survey data for the area; the soil survey rates soils under the interpretation “ENG - Septic Tank Absorption Fields”, which is what a septic designer will ask about.
- Then pay for the tests that matter: a percolation test and, if you can, a conversation with a local driller who has worked nearby.
What well records can't tell you
- No record promises water. Neighbouring wells show what was found nearby, not what a new well on your parcel will find.
- Records are incomplete. Older and unpermitted wells may never have been recorded, and a record's location can be approximate.
- Well records are not water quality. Testing a well's water is a separate step.
- It is not a survey or legal advice. Parcel boundaries and water rights questions belong with a surveyor and an attorney.
The Land Well & Septic report runs these record searches for one latitude and longitude: recorded wells within 1, 3 and 5 miles, dry holes, USGS water levels, the USDA septic rating and the FEMA flood zone.
Every figure on this page, and where it came from
Every number above is recomputed from the loaded records each time this page is built. Last rebuilt 2026-09-28.
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Questions people ask
How do I find well records for a property in Illinois?
Search the location on the Illinois State Geological Survey's ILWATER map. For copies of construction reports, the ISGS holds source documents through September 1997 and the Illinois State Water Survey holds later ones.
Who issues permits for new private wells in Illinois?
Local health departments, under the Illinois Department of Public Health's program, which runs through agreements with 90 local health departments (IDPH).
Are Illinois well records free?
Searching the ILWATER map is free. The ISGS charges nominal fees for copying, scanning and shipping paper records.