Well and Septic Contractors in Wisconsin

How to choose a well and septic contractor in Wisconsin

Most well and septic work in Wisconsin falls into three trades: drilling wells and repairing pumps, pumping and inspecting septic tanks, and putting in new septic systems, which start with a soil test. A few businesses on this site cover all three, and most cover one or two. Each listing shows, as tiles, the jobs the business's own website or listing named when we compiled the directory, and a muted line of "not enough info" where nothing could be read. Treat that line as a question for the first call, not as a no.

For wells, the license matters. Anyone who constructs a well in Wisconsin must be a licensed water well driller, with narrow exceptions such as a driven point well or a well on the owner's own property. Pump installers hold a separate DNR license, and a business that drills wells or installs pumps must register and name a licensed supervisor. The same DNR rules, NR 146, also license well filling and sealing and property transfer well inspections. Ask which license the person coming to your property holds.

For septic systems, state code requires a visual inspection at least once every 3 years, and the tank must be serviced when sludge and scum reach a third of its volume. Pumping every three years is a common belief rather than the state rule, though many owners pump at the inspection and some county ordinances, such as Langlade County's, do require it. Since October 1, 2019, every system has been in a county maintenance tracking program, and the county sends a notice when yours is due. A licensed plumber, a certified POWTS inspector, a certified septage servicing operator or a registered POWTS maintainer can do the inspection, and the result is reported to the county, usually by the pumper. Pumping itself must be done by a business licensed under NR 113.

A holding tank has no drainfield. It stores wastewater until a hauler pumps it, and an alarm tells you when the level reaches one foot below the inlet. Many local ordinances ban or limit new holding tanks, so ask the county before planning one.

A new system starts with a soil evaluation by a certified soil tester, and a site generally needs at least 3 soil profile excavations, one of them a backhoe pit. The county issues the sanitary permit after plan review and must decide on a complete application within 30 days.

Private well owners are responsible for testing their own water. The DNR recommends a bacteria test once a year and whenever the taste, color or smell changes, a nitrate test once a year, and an arsenic test every five years for most wells, or every year in Outagamie, Winnebago and Brown counties. Every newly drilled well must be tested for bacteria. Use a Wisconsin certified laboratory, which provides the kit, and get the sample to it within 48 hours.

On the first call, ask what the business does with its own crew, which license it holds, whether it answers emergency calls and whether it will report the septic inspection to the county for you. This site lists no prices, because no official source publishes them, so ask for a written quote before work starts.