It is a violation of the district rules for a well owner, well operator, or water well driller to drill any well without having first filed and received approval of the Preregistration Notice of Intent to Drill from the District.

The following "Intent to Drill" application is to be completed, signed by the property owner, and returned to the Underground Water District office in Sonora before drilling an exempt well (up to 25,000 gallons per day for domestic or livestock use) on 10 or more acres:

Application: Intent to Drill Exempt Well

Once received by the District, we will review the form and make a preliminary determination on whether the well meets the exemptions provided by district rules and respond to this request within 10 days. If the preliminary determination is that the well is exempt, drilling may begin immediately upon receiving a Certificate to Begin Drilling. The drilling of a new well is at your own risk and subject to the rules of the District.

The following "Non-Exempt" application is to be completed, signed by the property owner and notorized, and returned to the Underground Water District office in Sonora before drilling a non-exempt well (more than 25,000 gallons per day or for irrigation, industrial, public water supply, or water sales use) or domestic/livestock on less than 10 acres:

Application: Intent to Drill Non-Exempt Application

For the protection of our groundwater, septic systems in Sutton County must be permitted. Contact information for the Sutton County agent for permitting septic systems is available from our office.