' 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 1029 

National and Regional Trends in 

Water-Well Drilling in the 

United States, 1964-84 
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National and Regional Trends in 

Water-Well Drilling in the 

United States, 1964-84 

By S.M. HINDALL and MICHAEL EBERLE 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY CIRCULAR 1029 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

MANUEL LUJAN, JR., Secretary 

U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

Dallas L. Peck, Director 

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1989 

Free on application to the Books and Open-File Reports Section, 

U.S. Geological Survey, Federal Center, 

Box 25425, Denver, CO 80225 

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data 

Hindall, S.M. 

National and regional trends in water-well drilling in the United States, 1964-84, 

by S.M. Hindall and Michael Eberle. 

p. em. - (U.S. Geological Survey circular; 1029) 

Bibliography: p. 

Supt. of Docs. no. : I 19.3 : 1029 

1. Wells-United States. 2. Boring-United States. 3. Water, Underground-

-United States. I. Eberle, Michael. II. Title. Ill. Series. 

TD223.H56 1990 

333.91'04'0973-dc20 89-600085 

CIP 
CONTENTS 

Abstract 1 

Introduction 1 

Purpose and Scope 1 

Sources of Data 2 

The Water-Well Industry in the United States in 1984 2 

Acknowledgments 3 

Trends in Water-Well Drilling 3 

National Trends 3 

Regional Trends 10 

Northeast Region 11 

Southeast Region 12 

Great Lakes and Central Appalachians Region 13 

South-Central Region 13 

Northern Rockies and Northern Great Plains Region 13 

Southwest Region 13 

Pacific Northwest Region 14 

Summary and Conclusions 14 

References Cited 15 

FIGURES 

1. Map showing number of water wells drilled in the United States, by State and 

region, 1984 6 

2. Map showing number of water wells drilled per 1,000 people, by State and 

region, 1984 7 

3. Graph showing number of new private-housing units started and number of 

water wells drilled in 1960, 1964, and 1980-84 9 

4. Graph showing number of water wells drilled in the United States from 1900 

through 1984 and relation to major events in United States history 10 

5. Map showing regional differences in the number of water wells drilled in the 

United States, 1964 and 1984 11 

6. Map showing regional differences in the number of water wells drilled in the 

United States, 1980 and 1984 12 

TABLES 

1. Estimated number of water wells drilled in the United States, by State, 1960, 

1964, and 1980-84 4 

2. Regional trends in water-well construction in the United States, 1960, 1964, and 

1980-84 8 

3. Regional trends in population in the United States, 1964, 1980, and 1984 13 

4. Regional trends in new private-housing units authorized in the United States, 

1980-84 14 

Contents Ill 

National and Regional Trends in Water-Well 

Drilling in the United States, 1964-84 

By S.M. Hindall and Michael Eberle 

Abstract 

Information on national and regional water-well drilling activity is important for water-resource planning and 

management and for water-related equipment marketing. 

This report describes a study to analyze drilling trends on 

the basis of data for selected years from 1964 through 

1984. The study focused primarily on the years 1964 and 

1980-84 but also included data from 1960. 

Approximately 397,000 water wells were drilled in the 

United States in 1984. Seven States, Florida, Texas, New 

York, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio, 

accounted for 39 percent of all the wells drilled in the 

United States in 1984. Florida led the Nation in drilling 

activity with 45,600 new wells. The 1984 national drilling 

total was 2.6 percent greater than the total for 1980 

(387,000) and 8.5 percent less than the total for 1964 

(434,000). However, these moderate differences do not 

reflect substantial year-to-year fluctuations that may have 

occurred during that 20-year period. 

Qualitative comparisons suggest that drilling activity 

for a given year is closely related to the number of housing 

starts for that year. If so, there may have been peaks in 

drilling activity in 1972 and 1977-78 (corresponding to 

peaks in housing starts) that are not identified in this study 

because of a lack of ava.ilable well-drilling data for those 

years. Well-drilling data for 1964 and the 1980-84 period 

probably represent a low to moderate level of drilling 

activity and, if compared to earlier data, suggest that there 

has been no substantial growth or decline in the waterwell industry as a whole since the 1940's. 

INTRODUCTION 

Ground water, the source of about 40 percent of the 

water used in the United States exclusive of power generation (Heath, 1983, p. v), has received much attention in 

recent years as the value of this resource and its vulnerability to contamination have become increasingly apparent to 

the general public. Except for modest supplies derived from 

Manuscript approved for publication June 15, 1987. 

developed springs, driven wells, and hand-dug wells still in 

use in rural areas, virtually all of the ground water produced 

in the United States today is provided by drilled or bored 

wells. 

Although information on water-well drilling activity 

may be of interest to the general reader, drilling-trend data 

are of particular importance in two fields: 

National and regional water planning.-Information 

on the number of wells drilled annually provides a means of 

corroborating estimates of ground-water withdrawal, indicates changing patterns in water use, and highlights potential problems of supply and demand. 

Water-related equipment marketing.-Technical 

advances during the 20th century have resulted in numerous 

products to improve water-well yield, reliability, sanitary 

quality, and ease of delivery to the point of use. Construction of domestic wells, for example, creates markets for 

water-system components such as well casing and screens; 

pumps and associated piping, valves, and electrical controls; pressure tanks; and water-treatment equipment. Construction of large public, industrial, and irrigation wells 

stimulates sales of correspondingly large water-handling 

machinery. Information on national and regional trends in 

drilling activity is of obvious value to water-equipment 

manufacturers and suppliers in analyzing and forecasting 

changes in their markets. 

Despite the need for such information, no summary 

or interpretation of national and regional drilling data for the 

United States has been compiled or printed since the U.S. 

Geological Survey published a national report in 1966 based 

on data for 1960 and 1964 (Meyer and Wyrick, 1966). 

Purpose and Scope 

This report summarizes and interprets current trends 

in national and regional water-well drilling activity by (1) 

comparing data reported by Meyer and Wyrick (1966) for 

1964 with data available for 1980 through 1984 and (2) 

discussing the possible influences of economic activity, 

demographic changes, and natural phenomena on welldrilling activity. Special emphasis is given to data from 

Introduction 
1964 and 1980-84, years that were initially selected in this 

study to highlight "long-term" ( 1964-84) and "recent" 

( 1980-84) trends. For consistency in the discussion of 

regional trends, the same groupings of contiguous States 

used by Meyer and Wyrick have been adopted for this 

report. 

This report is intended only as a general review of 

data readily available at the time of study (1986). These 

data are of uneven quality and of limited detail-for 

example, the data cannot be used to distinguish between 

uses of wells (such as for homes, for irrigation, for industry, 

or for public-supply systems). The data are annual data, 

some of which are from widely separated years. Increases 

or decreases from one year to the next should not be 

interpreted as steady because significant annual fluctuations 

may have occurred in the intervening years. Exhaustive data 

collection and quantitative statistical analysis were beyond 

the scope of this investigation. 

Sources of Data 

The 1980-84 data presented in this report were 

compiled for the U.S. Geological Survey by the National 

Water Well Association (NWW A), a trade and professional 

organization for the water-well industry. NWW A maintains 

a State-by-State data file on water-well drilling in the 

United States. This file had its beginnings as an NWWA 

survey of the water-well industry in 1981 and is being 

updated annually. 

The primary sources of information from which 

NWW A estimates the number of wells drilled annually are 

State agencies responsible for archiving drillers' logs and 

well-completion reports and for certifying or licensing 

drilling contractors and pump installers. Secondary data 

sources used by NWW A include State boards of health; 

State water-well associations; national trade organizations 

for related water industries; periodic surveys of NWWA 

members or readers of water-well industry magazines and 

newsletters; personal contacts with suppliers, manufacturers, and drillers; State and county agricultural extension 

agents; and reports on the construction industries by the 

U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Internal Revenue 

Service. Most of the data obtained from secondary sources 

are anecdotal or fragmentary but are useful in many cases 

for corroborating or supplementing data from the primary 

sources. 

The estimates provided by NWW A for total wells 

drilled annually in each of the 50 States can be ranked into 

3 levels of accuracy. At the highest level, State-agency 

officials believe that reporting requirements, and compliance with those requirements, are good enough to provide 

reasonably accurate estimates of the number of wells 

drilled; thus, for these States, primary-source data were 

used as is. At the next level, State-agency officials were 

able to estimate the total number of wells drilled from 

incomplete information available to them; for these States, 

primary-source data were corroborated or adjusted on the 

basis of secondary-source data. At the lowest level, Stateagency officials had little or no information available on the 

number of wells drilled annually; hence, NWW A made 

estimates solely on the basis of secondary data sources. 

Approximately 85 percent of the 1980-84 data presented in 

this report were partially estimated by the source organization or NWW A staff. Of that 85 percent, NWW A believes 

that about 30 percent of the numbers are based entirely on 

secondary sources. 

Most State agencies do not keep records of the types 

of wells (domestic, irrigation, industrial, and public supply) 

drilled annually; therefore, it was impossible to analyze 

primary-source data for trends by well-use type. Secondarysource data also were insufficient for analysis by well-use 

type. 

The Water-Well Industry in the United States in 

1984 

Recent estimates from diverse sources indicate that 

approximately 8,000 water-well drilling contractors operated approximately 20,000 drilling rigs in the United States 

in 1984, as compared with 9,500 contractors who operated 

27,000 rigs in 1964 (National Water Well Association, 

1983, sees. V and VI). Although some of the apparent 

decline in number of firms and drill rigs may be a result of 

differences in estimation methods, the economic recession 

of the mid-1970's may well have forced several hundred 

drilling firms out of business because of the pronounced 

decrease in housing construction (U.S. Bureau of the 

Census, 1986, p. 724-725). Subsequent peaks in drilling 

activity are more likely the result of increased amounts of 

work by surviving firms rather than the entrance of new 

firms into the industry, and it is reasonable to assume that 

the water-well-contractor work force as a whole has indeed 

declined somewhat (K.B. McCray, National Water Well 

Association, oral commun., 1986). 

In 1984, these firms drilled an estimated 397,000 

wells. The estimated average cost per well to customers was 

$2,600 (Water Well Journal, 1985, p. 48); hence, the total 

annual water-well drilling business earned in excess of $1 

billion that year. 

The small-business character of the industry has made 

estimates of water-well drilling activity difficult to obtain in 

past years. Although 10 percent of the industry (in 1980) 

consisted of large firms whose drilling-services sales 

exceeded $1 million, most water-well drilling firms were 

small businesses, many of which were family owned. Only 

about 37 percent of the firms in business in 1983 were 

corporations, 54 percent were sole proprietorships, and 9 

percent were partnerships (Water Well Journal, 1985, p. 

48). The average number of employees per firm was 6.4 in 

1980 (McCray, 1982, p. 73). 

2 National and Regional Trends in Water-Well Drilling in the United States, 1964-84 
Acknowledgments 

The authors wish to express their appreciatiOn to 

Kevin B. McCray of the National Water Well Association 

for his advice and technical assistance in planning, providing data for, and reviewing this report. Gerald Meyer, Staff 

Scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey, served as an 

advisor for this publication. 

TRENDS IN WATER-WELL DRILLING 

National Trends 

Table 1 and figure 1 show the number of wells 

drilled, by State, in 1984. In general, most wells are drilled 

in States that have abundant ground-water supplies and 

large populations. Seven States account for 39 percent of all 

the wells drilled in 1984. Drilling was most intensive in 

Florida, where more than 45,600 wells accounted for 11 

percent of the United States total in 1984. In decreasing 

order, the other six States that had the largest annual totals 

for 1984 were Texas, New York, Michigan, North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio. Six of these seven States also were 

the leaders in drilling activity in 1964. 

Figure 2 shows the number of wells drilled in 1984 

per unit of population; more than 3. 0 wells were drilled per 

1 ,000 people in Alaska, Delaware, Florida, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia, and 

Wyoming. In 1984, the average number of wells drilled was 

1.7 wells per 1,000 people; in 1964, 2.3 wells were drilled 

per 1,000 people. The fewer new wells per unit of population in 1964 than in 1984 may be attributable to a reported 

increase in the number of people and in the percentage of 

the total population served by community or public watersupply systems. In 1980, for example, public water supplies 

served about 186 million people or 81 percent of the 

population; in 1960, public systems served 136 million 

people or 75 percent of the population (Solley and others, 

1983, p. 10; MacKichan and Kammerer, 1961, p. 7; U.S. 

Bureau of the Census, 1986, p. 5). 

The number of wells drilled annually in the United 

States from 1980 through 1984 (tables 1, 2) ranged from 

336,000 (in 1982) to 397,000 (in 1984) and averaged 

370,000. The national total of wells drilled in 1984 was 8.5 

percent less than the national total drilled in 1964. National 

totals decreased from 1980-82, then increased from 

1982-84; overall, 2.6 percent more wells were drilled in 

1984 than in 1980 (tables 1, 2). 

There are considerable differences in total wells 

drilled in 1964 and 1984 in several States (table 1). Totals 

in 1984 were greater by at least 80 percent than totals in 

1964 for Alaska, Arizona, Louisiana, Maine, New Jersey, 

Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wyoming. 

Totals in 1984 were at least 39 percent less than totals in 

1964 for Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, 

North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Virginia. Totals in 

1984 were at least 36 percent greater than totals in 1980 for 

Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North 

Carolina, Rhode Island, and Virginia, whereas totals in 

1984 were at least 23 percent less than totals in 1980 for 

Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Michigan, Montana, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and South Dakota. 

Because of the lack of continuous, reliable, and 

consistent data on water-well drilling activity for most of 

this century, it has been difficult to relate drilling trends to 

the condition of the Nation or to specific national events 

with any certainty. It generally is believed, however, that 

the water-well industry responds to the same national 

circumstances as the rest of the construction industry does. 

Factors that appear to be most influential on water-well 

drilling activity were considered in this study in an effort to 

explain the significance of these trends. These factors fall 

into three categories- natural phenomena such as droughts 

and earthquakes, population change, and housing starts. 

Drought is the most obvious and the most common 

natural phenomenon that influences well-drilling activity. 

During periods of below-normal precipitation, water levels 

in surficial aquifers may decline to the point where shallow 

wells begin to go dry. Water-level declines due to drought 

generally spur drilling of domestic wells; shallow wells are 

deepened, or replacement wells are drilled to deeper waterbearing zones that are more resistant to the effects of 

below-normal precipitation. 

Prolonged drought also can stimulate drilling of 

irrigation, industrial, and municipal wells. Because regional 

ground-water reservoirs generally are depleted more slowly 

than surface-water reservoirs, farmers and municipal and 

industrial water managers may supplement or replace their 

surface-water supplies with ground water after experiencing 

service interruptions caused by severe drought. 

Droughts of greater or less severity occur in one place 

or another almost every year. Some of the more notable 

droughts in the United States from 1964 through 1984 

occurred in the Northeast in the mid-1960's, in the Southwest in the early 1970's, and in the Northern Rockies and 

Great Plains in the late 1970's and early 1980's (Karl and 

Knight, 1985). The last major drought that affected a large 

part of the Nation during this period occurred from 1976 

through 1977 and was felt in the Southwest, Pacific 

Northwest, Northern Rockies and Northern Great Plains, 

and Great Lakes and Central Appalachians regions. Most of 

these droughts occurred between 1964 and 1980, a period 

for which very little drilling data are available, unfortunately. No conclusions could be drawn, and, until drilling 

data are available for a sufficient number of consecutive 

years to bracket a significant drought, a meaningful assessment of the effects of drought on drilling trends will not be 

feasible. 

Trends in Water-Well Drilling 3 
ol:oo 

z 

a Table 1. Estimated number of water wells drilled in the United States, by State, 1960, 1964, and 1980--84 

a· [Data for 1960 and 1964 from Meyer and Wyrick (1966). Data for 1980-84 based mainly on data supplied by State water agencies, modified and supplemented by other data available to the = e!.. National Water Well Association. Columns may not add to totals because of independent rounding. ND, no difference; -, no available data] Ill 

= Q. 

;c 

Estimated number of wells drilled1 Percent of Percentage difference between ~ 

CJQ 

a· total wells annual totals 

= State 

e!.. drilled in 1960 and 1964 and 1960 1964 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1980 and 

~ 1984 1964 1984 1984 ~ 

Q. = Alabama ............. 4,000 4,500 5,960 6,420 5,920 5,570 6,260 1.6 +13 +39 +5 "' :r Alaska ................ 726 1,000 2,440 2,400 2,400 2,800 2,700 .68 +38 +170 +11 

~ Arizona ............... 1,400 1,520 2,190 2,220 2,380 2,710 2,760 .7 +8.6 +82 +26 

a Arkansas .............. 5,000 5,000 4,010 5,910 2,750 3,320 4,200 1.1 ND -16 +4.7 ~ California ............. 9,100 10,000 17,100 15,900 11,300 11,000 14,300 3.6 +9.9 +43 -16 

~ 

~ Colorado .............. 3,100 5,910 4,910 4,570 4,390 4,360 4,060 1.0 +91 -31 -17 

~ Connecticut. ........... 6,500 6,500 5,470 5,410 4,500 5,140 5,780 1.5 ND -11 +5.7 

Delaware .............. 3,800 3,440 2,000 2,680 2,290 2,700 3,100 .78 -9.5 -9.9 +55 

s· District of Columbia .... 12 12 0 0 0 - ND CJQ 

s· Florida ................ 33,900 55,000 40,200 40,500 38,900 43,200 45,600 11 +62 -17 +13 

-

~ =- Georgia ............... 10,500 10,000 11,000 13,400 10,100 10,800 12,200 3.1 -4.8 +22 +11 

c: Hawaii ................ 17 21 11 11 7 7 2 < .1 +24 -90 -82 

=· Idaho ................. 1,400 1,400 2,880 1,470 2,400 1,590 1,630 .41 ND + 16 -43 ;-

Q. Illinois ................ 21,000 19,500 14,000 12,200 13,400 13,600 15,300 3.9 -7.1 -22 +9.3 Cl'l Indiana ............... 17,700 15,000 9,670 8,180 9,700 9,180 10,300 2.6 -15 -31 +6.5 E 

~ 

~ Iowa ................. 9,000 15,000 5,890 6,850 4,120 3,780 3,140 .79 +67 -79 -47 .... Kansas ................ 4,700 5,500 4,530 5,050 3,380 3,420 3,910 1.0 + 17 -29 -14 1,0 

Q"' Kentucky .............. 9,880 9,620 5,060 5,100 4,800 5,440 5,740 1.4 -2.6 -40 +13 ol:oo 

QQ 

I Louisiana ............. 974 2,620 6,050 6,830 6,580 5,180 5,560 1.4 +170 + 112 -8.1 ol:oo Maine ................ 1,500 1,700 2,860 2,570 2,440 3,470 3,900 1.0 +13 +129 +36 

Maryland .............. 4,020 6,900 7,200 8,000 6,700 8,800 8,300 2.1 +72 +20 +15 

Massachusetts .......... 8,000 9,000 6,330 6,270 5,370 6,820 7,670 1.9 + 12.5 -15 +21 

Michigan .............. 25,000 25,000 24,000 20,000 16,000 17,000 18,500 4.7 ND -26 -23 

Minnesota ............. 13,000 9,000 14,400 10,500 10,800 11,100 12,500 3.1 -31 +39 -13 

Mississippi ............ 5,300 5,900 2,670 3,550 2,540 2,400 2,640 .66 +11 -55 -1 

Missouri .............. 6,380 9,990 10,900 8,530 7,830 10,200 11,500 2.9 +57 +15 +5.5 

Montana .............. 1,900 2,000 3,580 6,410 6,260 2,360 2,560 .64 +5.3 +28 -28 

Nebraska .............. 5,510 6,000 4,500 5,940 3,470 3,260 3,660 .92 +8.9 -39 -19 

Nevada ............... 824 825 775 765 503 639 718 .18 ND -13 -7.4 

New Hampshire ........ 3,600 4,400 3,050 4,190 2,630 5,210 5,860 1.5 +22 +33 +92 
~ rD 

:::J 

Q., 

II> 

:r 

:E 

~ 

~ 

~ 

~ s· 

CIQ 

IJ1 

Table 1. Estimated number of water wells drilled in the United States, by State, 1960, 1964, and 1980--84-Continued 

Estimated number of wells drilled 1 Percent of 

State total wells 

drilled in 1960 1964 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1984 

New Jersey ............ 3,800 3,440 8,620 8,540 8,580 10,900 13,100 3.3 

New Mexico ........... 2,290 3,150 2,750 2,880 3,370 3,430 3,110 .78 

New York ............. 25,000 25,000 16,800 17,000 15,600 17,800 20,000 5.0 

North Carolina ......... 20,000 25,000 10,500 12,000 13,500 15,900 17,100 4.3 

North Dakota .......... 4,200 3,760 1,710 2,190 1,450 1,480 1,450 .37 

Ohio ................. 17,100 18,600 16,700 14,300 14,200 14,000 15,700 4.0 

Oklahoma ............. 4,400 5,000 7,980 7,630 6,500 5,870 6,590 1.7 

Oregon ............... 3,500 4,500 7,500 6,620 3,800 3,550 3,530 .89 

Pennsylvania ........... 13,500 16,200 15,600 12,400 9,620 8,140 10,800 2.7 

Rhode Island ........... 200 250 319 240 206 387 548 .14 

South Carolina ......... 5,300 5,400 11,400 5,340 4,640 7,780 8,740 2.2 

South Dakota .......... 6,080 5,430 2,210 1,820 1,590 1,330 1,500 .38 

Tennessee ............. 10,000 8,000 7,080 7,130 6,710 7,600 8,020 2.0 

Texas ................. 19,000 25,000 16,200 17,700 21,700 17,700 21,200 5.3 

Utah ................. 630 650 630 547 507 488 548 .14 

Vermont .............. 1,240 1,460 3,100 2,280 1,900 2,330 3,050 .77 

Virginia ............... 8,500 10,000 10,900 8,830 9,060 15,300 16,900 4.3 

Washington ............ 1,400 1,700 5,040 4,290 3,550 4,320 4,030 1.0 

West Virginia .......... 5,500 5,900 3,280 3,510 2,730 2,580 2,900 .73 

Wisconsin ............. 11,000 12,000 11,600 9,900 9,590 10,400 11,700 2.9 

Wyoming ............. 1,000 1,000 3,010 3,680 2,970 2,500 2,520 .6 -- Total ........... 381,000 434,000 387,000 371,000 336,000 359,000 397,000 100 

1

Numbers rounded to three significant figures. 

Percentage difference between 

annual totals 

1960 and 1964 and 1980 and 

1964 1984 1984 

-9.5 +281 +52 

+38 -1.3 + 13 

ND -20 +19 

+25 -32 +63 

-10 -61 -15 

+8.8 -15.6 -6.0 

+14 +32 -17 

+29 -22 -53 

+20 -33 -31 

+25 + 119 +72 

+ 1.9 +62 -23 

-11 -72 -32 

-20 ND + 13 

+32 -15 +31 

+3.2 -16 -13 

+ 18 +109 -1.6 

+ 18 +69 +55 

+21 + 137 -20 

+7.3 -51 -12 

+9.1 -2.5 +.86 

ND + 152 -16 

+14 -8.5 +2.6 
120° 

EXPLANATION 

Regional boundary 

Number of wells drilled per State: 

~---~ L __ ~l greater than 10,000 

0 400 MILES 

0 400 KILOMETERS ~~---~ 1,000-1 0,000 c __ ___j 

- less than 1,000 

63.3 Regional total, in thousands 

Figure 1. Number of water wells drilled in the United States, by State and region, 1984. 

Earthquake is another natural phenomenon (although 

relatively uncommon except in the western part of the 

United States) that can affect the rate of well drilling. Meyer 

and Wyrick (1966), for example, discuss how the Alaskan 

earthquake of March 1964 boosted water-well drilling in 

that State by 38 percent. From 1964 through 1984, 41 

earthquakes in the conterminous United States had magnitudes of 5.5 or more on the Richter scale (National Oceanic 

and Atmospheric Administration/National Geophysical 

Data Center, written commun., 1986). All of these earth6 National and Regional Trends in Water-Well Drilling in the United States, 1964-84 
160° 

I 22~· 

0 

0 

400 MILES 

400 KILOMETERS 

EXPLANATION 

- Regional boundary 

Number of water wells drilled per 

1,000 people, by State: D greater than 2.0 

D 1.0-2.0 

less than 1.0 

1. 5 Regional average 

Figure 2. Number of water wells drilled per 1,000 people, by State and region, 1984. 

quakes occurred in the West, and most were in southern 

California and Nevada. No evidence exists to link increased 

drilling activity to any of these earthquakes, although some 

replacement wells may have been drilled as a result of 

earthquake damage to the wells or sudden, permanent drops 

in water levels. 

Water use in the United States has increased as the 

population has increased, presumably because of a corresponding increase in water demand. For example, comparisons of 1950 and 1980 data (MacKichan, 1951, p. 6-7; 

Solley and others, 1983, p. 10-14; U.S. Bureau of the 

Census, 1986, p. 5) show that (1) population increased 50 

Trends in Water-Well Drilling 7 
Table 2. Regional trends in water-well construction in the United States, 1960, 1964, and 1980-84 

[Data for 1960 and 1964 from Meyer and Wyrick (1966). Data for 1980 through 1984 based mainly on data supplied by State water agencies, modified 

and supplemented by other data available to the National Water Well Association. Columns may not add to totals because of independent rounding. ND, 

no difference] 

Region 

Number of wells drilled per year, :.1 thousands 

1960 1964 

Northeast (includes Washington, D.C.) ................. . 63.3 68.0 

Southeast .................... . 95.3 126 

Great Lakes and Central 

Appalachians .............. . 130 123 

South-central ................. . 54.8 77.2 

Northern Rockies and Northern 

Great Plains ............... . 20.1 19.6 

Southwest (includes 

Hawaii) ................... . 12.0 13.0 

Pacific Northwest 

(includes Alaska) .......... . 5.62 7.20 

Total .................. . 381 434 

Average Percentage 

annual of total 

Region total, wells 

1980-84 drilled, 

(thousands) 1964 

Northeast (includes Washington, D.C.) ................. . 60.9 16 

Southeast .................... . 107 29 

Great Lakes and Central 

Appalachians .............. . 96.2 28 

South-central ................. . 61.3 18 

Northern Rockies and Northern 

Great Plains ............... . 15.7 4.5 

Southwest (includes 

Hawaii) ................... . 17.3 3.0 

Pacific Northwest 

(includes Alaska) .......... . 11.0 1.7 

Total .................. . 370 100 

percent, (2) ground-water use by public water supplies 

increased 230 percent, and (3) rural domestic and livestock 

ground-water use increased 50 percent. 

Some of these increases in ground-water use most 

likely reflect greater production from existing wells, in part 

because of changing lifestyles (and associated higher per 

capita water demands) and, in part, because of improvements in well pumps during the period. Although it is 

reasonable to assume that an increasing United States 

population has had a strong influence on the number of 

wells in operation, the influence of population growth on 

the number of wells drilled annually is much less clear. The 

data examined in this study suggest that annual change in 

population for a given year was not a major influence on 

drilling activity for that year. Data presented below for 

annual changes in population (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 

1986, p. 5) and national totals of wells drilled annually from 

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 

62.1 60.6 50.8 60.2 70.8 

102 106 93.6 112 121 

106 95.3 87.9 90.9 101 

63.2 62.1 60.6 57.3 63.3 

17.9 16.7 18.1 12.5 13.3 

20.7 17.7 15.1 14.8 18.3 

15.0 11.4 9.75 8.67 10.3 

387 370 336 359 397 

Percentage Percentage difference between 

of total annual totals 

wells 

drilled, 1960 and 1964 and 1980 and 

1984 1964 1984 1984 

18 +7.4 +4.1 +14 

30 +32 -4.0 + 19 

25 -5.4 -18 -4.7 

16 +41 -18 ND 

3.3 -2.5 -32 -26 

4.6 +8.3 +41 -12 

2.6 +28 +43 -31 

100 + 14 -8.5 +2.6 

1980 through 1984 show little relation with regard to 

percentage change from year to year: 

Year 

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 

Population 

Annual increase, in 

thousands .......... 1,979 2,996 2,280 2,201 2,135 

Percentage change from 

Erevious ~ear ........ +51 -24 -3 -3 

Wells drilled 

Number drilled annually, 

in thousands . . . . . . . . . 387 371 336 359 397 

Percentage change from 

previous year ........ -4 -9 +7 +10 

Although general economic indicators such as the 

gross national product may reflect the availability of capital 

for the development of new ground-water supplies (indus8 National and Regional Trends in Water-Well Drilling in the United States, 1964-84 
25oor-----------------------------------------------------------------------~ 

rn 

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-Wells 

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o~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 6 61 62 63 64 5 6 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 7 79 80 ~~~~~~~o 81 82 83 84 

YEAR 

Figure 3. Number of new private-housing units started and number of water wells drilled in 1960, 1964, and 1980-84 

(data from U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1980, p. 787, and 1986, p. 725). 

trial, irrigation, and public supplies, in particular), the 

number of private-housing starts appears to be the economic 

indicator most closely tied to total number of wells drilled 

annually. The relation between private-housing starts and 

total wells drilled annually is by no means direct, inasmuch 

as private-housing data pertain to many single-unit and 

multiunit structures located within the service areas of 

public-water supplies. However, new single-family dwellings account for the majority of new domestic water wells 

drilled, and domestic water wells currently account for 80 to 

90 percent of all wells drilled (National Water Well Association, 1983, p. II/6). Furthermore, housing starts and 

shipments of individual water systems (well pumps and 

accessories) show similar patterns for the years 1961 

through 1980 (McCray, 1981). Sales of individual water 

systems are themselves indicators of well-drilling activity. 

Private-housing starts in the United States remained 

relatively constant through the 1960's at about 1.3 million 

to 1.5 million per year but increased dramatically in the 

early 1970's and peaked at about 2.4 million in 1972. This 

peak was followed by a steep decline in the mid-1970's and 

another increase in the late 1970's. Private-housing starts 

declined during the early 1980's to a low of around 1.1 

million (in 1981) but increased to about 1. 75 million by 

1984. 

Qualitative comparisons of housing-start data and 

drilling data for 1960, 1964, and 1980-84 (fig. 3) show 

considerable similarity of trends, especially in the 1980-84 

period. It is unfortunate that reliable drilling data do not 

exist for the period 1965-79 to shed light on the strength of 

this relation. Nevertheless, these comparisons suggest that: 

1. Water-well drilling activity in the United States 

fluctuates substantially from year to year. 

2. The documented changes (listed in table 1) in 

drilling activity between 1960 and 1964 and between 1964 

and 1984 should not be interpreted as periods of steady 

increase or decline. Significant fluctuations may have 

occurred during these periods for which few, if any, 

national and regional drilling statistics are available. 

3. Two significant peaks of drilling activity may have 

occurred around 1972 and during 1977-78. These years 

represent the peaks in housing starts between 1964 and 1980 

(fig. 3). If drilling is as closely tied to housing starts as the 

section of the graph from 1980 through 1984 suggests, then 

annual totals higher than any reported herein would be 

likely. It also should be noted that the 1977-78 housingstart peak follows the 1976-77 drought (see p. 3), which 

may have further stimulated drilling activity at that time. 

For these reasons, data for 1960, 1964, and 1980-84 

Trends in Water-Well Drilling 9 
probably represent low to moderate levels of drilling 

activity. 

Assuming that Picton's estimates (1956) are comparable to those reported herein, it appears that well-drilling 

activity has fluctuated about a long-term average of approximately 400,000 wells per year since the mid-1940's (fig. 

4). These data corroborate anecdotal data from drilling 

contractors and water-equipment manufacturers and suppliers that the water-well industry is neither growing nor 

declining overall (K.B. McCray, National Water Well 

Association, oral commun. , 1986). 

Regional Trends 

The grouping of adjoining States that have similar 

conditions or activities reveals substantial differences in 

water-well construction activity throughout the Nation. 

Table 2 and figures 5 and 6 present regional water-well 

drilling data for 1960, 1964, and 1980-84. Regional population data are presented for selected years in table 3. Data 

on new privately owned housing units authorized to be built 

from 1980 through 1984 are presented in table 4. (Data on 

housing units actually started are not available by State for 

1980 or previous years; hence, data for new private-housing 

units authorized are used as the basis of comparison in table 

4 and in the following discussion .) 

Drilling activity for all reported years was greatest in 

the Southeast and the Great Lakes and Central Appalachians 

~ w 

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YEAR 

regions, which had a combined total of 57 and 55 percent, 

respectively, of the total wells drilled in the United States in 

1964 and 1984 (table 2). Drilling activity during these years 

was least in the Northern Rockies and Northern Great 

Plains, Southwest, and Pacific Northwest regions, which 

had combined totals of only 9 and 11 percent of the total 

wells drilled in the Nation for 1964 and 1984, respectively. 

The remaining 34 percent of the wells in both 1964 and 

1984 were drilled in the Northeast and South-central 

regions. 

In the Southwest, less than 1 well was drilled for 

every 1,000 people in 1984, whereas, in the Southeast and 

Northern Rockies and Northern Great Plains, more than 2 

wells per 1 ,000 people were drilled. From 1 to 2 wells per 

1,000 people were drilled in the remaining 4 regions in 

1984 (fig . 2). Comparisons of 1964 and 1984 totals show 

that in three regions, the Northeast, Southwest, and Pacific 

Northwest, the number of wells drilled in 1984 was greater 

than in 1964, whereas the opposite was true in the remaining four regions (table 2). 

Comparisons of regional totals from 1980 through 

1984 generally show a decrease from 1980 through 1981, a 

low point in 1982 or 1983 , and a recovery by 1984 to totals 

near or exceeding totals for 1980 (table 2). The primary 

exceptions to this pattern are the Northern Rockies and 

Northern Great Plains region and the Pacific Northwest 

region, both of which showed less of a recovery than the 

other regions from 1983 through 1984. 

Figure 4. Number of water wells drilled in the United States from 1900 through 1984 and relation to major events in 

United States history (data prior to 1960 from Picton, 1956, and data for 1960 and 1964 from Meyer and Wyrick, 1966). 

10 N~tional and Regional Trends in Water-Well Drilling in the United States, 1964-84 
160° 

I 22~· 

0 

0 

400 MILES 

400 KILOMETERS 

EXPLANATION 

- Regional boundary 

Net change in drilling activity, by State: 

D greater than +1 0 percent 

D -1 0 to +1 0 percent 

less than -10 percent 

-4 Regional average, in percent 

Figure 5. Regional differences in the number of water wells drilled in the United States, 1964 and 1984. 

Northeast Region 

The number of wells drilled in the Northeast region in 

1984 was 4 percent more than in 1964 and 14 percent more 

than in 1980 (figs. 5, 6). Annual totals of wells drilled for 

the 1980-84 period ranged from 50,800 (in 1982) to 70,800 

(in 1984) and averaged 60,900 (table 2). This region ranked 

third behind the Southeast and the Great Lakes and Central 

Appalachians regions in number of wells drilled in 1984. 

Drilling activity corresponds closely to the number of new 

private-housing units authorized in the region (table 4). A 

Trends in Water-Well Drilling 11 
0 400 MILES 

0 400 KILOMETERS 

EXPLANATION 

Regional boundary 

Net change in drilling activity, 

by State: 

CJ greater than+ 1 0 percent 

CJ -10 to +10 percent 

- less than -10 percent 

-5 Regional average, in percent 

Figure 6. Regional differences in the number of water wells drilled in the United States, 1980 and 1984. 

recovery of well-drilling and housing-construction activity 

occurred in 1983 and 1984 despite the recession of the early 

1980's, which was particularly severe in the industrial 

Northeast. Population growth of this region was well below 

the national average. Population shifts from large cities to 

adjacent suburban areas may have stimulated the domesticwell market during this period and accounted for the 

increase. 

Southeast Region 

The Southeast was the most active region in the 

Nation for 1964 and 1980-84 in terms of total number of 

12 National and Regional Trends in Water-Well Drilling in the United States, 1964-84 
Table 3. Regional trends in population in the United States, 1964, 1980, and 1984 

[Data from U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1966, p. 11, and 1986, p. 12] 

Region 1964 1980 

(thousands) (thousands) 

Northeast (includes Washington, 

D.C.) .................... 47,844 49,774 

Southeast ................... 31,352 40,786 

Great Lakes and Central 

Appalachians .............. 50,082 55,952 

South-central ................ 30,688 38,134 

Northern Rockies and Northern 

Great Plains ............... 4,550 5,115 

Southwest (includes Hawaii) ... 21,727 29,612 

Pacific Northwest (includes 

Alaska) ................... 5,098 7,167 

Total ................. 191,341 226,540 

wells drilled. Annual totals of wells drilled for the 1980-84 

period ranged from 93,600 (in 1982) to 121,000 (in 1984) 

and averaged 107,000 (table 2). The 121,000 wells drilled 

in this region in 1984 were 30 percent of the United States 

total, and the average of 2.8 wells drilled in 1984 for every 

1,000 people is also the largest of all the regions (fig. 2). 

Although the number of wells drilled in 1984 was 4 percent 

less than the number of wells drilled in 1964, the 1984 total 

was 19 percent greater than the total for 1980. The shift in 

population from the North to the "Sunbelt" and the availability of and dependence on ground water in the Southeast 

accounts for this recent drilling activity. In the 1980-84 

period alone, the population of this region increased by 6.6 

percent compared to a 4.2-percent increase nationally 

(table 3). 

Great Lakes and Central Appalachians Region 

The number of wells drilled in the Great Lakes and 

Central Appalachians region in 1984 was 18 percent less 

than in 1964 and 4. 7 percent less than in 1980 (table 2). 

Annual totals of wells drilled for the 1980-84 period ranged 

from 87,900 (in 1982) to 106,000 (in 1980) and averaged 

96,200. The region was hit particularly hard during the 

recent recession in both the agricultural and industrial 

sectors. Regional economic problems are further reflected 

in a 0.4-percent population growth for the 1980-84 period, 

the lowest of all the regions (table 3), and a fourth-place 

regional rank in new private-housing units authorized (table 

4) despite a first-place regional rank in population. 

South-Central Region 

The number of wells drilled in the South-central 

region was 18 percent less in 1984 than in 1964 but was 

Total population 

Percentage Percentage 

1984 change change 

(thousands) between between 

1964 and 1984 1980 and 1984 

50,351 5.2 1.2 

43,464 38.6 6.6 

56,156 12.1 .4 

41,056 33.8 7.7 

5,334 17.2 4.3 

32,277 48.6 9.0 

7,523 47.6 5.0 

236,161 23.4 4.2 

virtually the same in 1984 and 1980 (table 2, figs. 5, 6). 

Annual totals of wells drilled for the 1980-84 period ranged 

from 57,300 (in 1983) to 63,300 (in 1984) and averaged 

61,300 (table 2). In 1984, these 63,300 wells amounted to 

about 1.5 wells per 1,000 people (fig. 2). The unusually 

stable drilling activity with respect to other regions for 

1980-84 can be at least partly attributed to unusual stability 

in the number of new private-housing units authorized in 

this region during that period (table 4); in fact, this was the 

only region for which 1982 was not the worst year for 

housing activity from 1980 through 1984. 

Northern Rockies and Northern Great Plains Region 

The number of wells drilled in the Northern Rockies 

and Northern Great Plains region in 1984 was 32 percent 

less than in 1964 (table 2) and 26 percent less than in 1980 

(table 2). Annual totals of wells drilled for the 1980-84 

period ranged from 12,500 (in 1983) to 18,100 (in 1982) 

and averaged 15,700 (table 2). Although the number of 

wells drilled in the region in 1984 was small (only 13,300 

or 3.3 percent of the United States total), the 2.5 wells 

drilled per 1 ,000 people was the second highest of the 

regional averages (fig. 2). This particular region, as well as 

the South-central region, experienced an agricultural economic recession over several years, which is reflected by 16 

percent fewer new private-housing units authorized in 1984 

than in 1980 (table 4). The drought of the early 1980's in 

the region was neither severe enough nor long enough to 

have any discernible effect on the number of wells drilled. 

Southwest Region 

The Southwest region had the fewest wells drilled per 

1,000 people of any region in the United States in 1984 

Trends in Water-Well Drilling 13 
Table 4. Regional trends in new private-housing units authorized in the United States, 1980-84 

[Data from U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1984, p. 726, and 1986, p. 724] 

Region 

New private-housing units authorized, in thousands Average annual 

1980 1981 

Northeast (includes Washington, 

D.C.) ................... 120.6 110.8 

Southeast ................... 352.3 293.6 

Great Lakes and Central 

Appalachians .............. 178.7 124.1 

South-central ................ 245.9 236.1 

Northern Rockies and Northern 

Great Plains ............... 24.8 16.9 

Southwest (includes Hawaii) ... 213.7 162.9 

Pacific Northwest (includes 

Alaska) ................... 54.5 41.8 

Total. ................ 1 '190.5 986.2 

(about 0. 6). The total number of wells drilled in 1984 was 

41 percent greater than in 1964 (table 2) but was 12 percent 

less than in 1980 (table 2). Annual totals of wells drilled for 

the 1980-84 period ranged from 14,800 (in 1983) to 20,700 

(in 1980) and averaged 17,300 (table 2). This region 

experienced the largest population increase in terms of 

percentage and the third largest increase in terms of number 

of people of all regions from 1980 through 1984 (table 3); 

however, available well-drilling data did not reflect these 

increases, nor did drilling activity correlate particularly well 

with new private-housing units authorized. Peaks in drilling 

activity that are not reflected by available data may have 

occurred in this region in the 1970's. 

Pacific Northwest Region 

The Pacific Northwest, which includes Alaska, had 

the fewest wells drilled in 1984 with slightly more than 

10,000, only 2.6 percent of the United States total (table 2). 

The region also experienced the greatest variability in 

annual drilling activity. The total number of wells drilled in 

the Pacific Northwest in 1984 was 43 percent greater than in 

1964 but was 31 percent less than in 1980. Annual totals of 

wells drilled for the 1980-84 period ranged from 8,670 (in 

1983) to 15,000 (in 1980) and averaged 11,000 (table 2). 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 

Water-well drilling activity in the United States did 

not appear to increase or decrease significantly from the 

mid-1940's through the mid-1980's. The average annual 

total of new wells drilled during that period probably was 

about 400,000. The national total of wells drilled in 1984 

was 8. 5 percent less than the total for 1964 but was 2. 6 

percent greater than the total for 1980 (table 2). The number 

of wells drilled nationally per 1 ,000 people was 2. 3 in 1964 

and 1.7 in 1984. This decrease is possibly the result of an 

1982 1983 1984 total, 1980--84 

107.0 164.3 201.2 140.8 

262.4 462.5 503.7 374.9 

117.5 175.7 202.8 159.8 

322.3 462.0 365.4 326.3 

15.0 22.4 20.9 20.0 

142.8 271.4 342.7 226.7 

33.3 47.0 44.9 44.3 

1,000.3 1,605.3 1,681.6 1,292.8 

increase in the percentage of the total population served by 

public water-supply systems between 1964 and 1984. 

Seven States, Florida, Texas, New York, Michigan, 

North Carolina, Virginia, and Ohio, accounted for 39 

percent of all the wells drilled in the United States in 1984. 

Florida led the Nation in well-drilling activity with 45,600 

wells. Drilling activity in the Southeast region dominated 

the Nation in 1984 with a total of 121,000 wells, which 

represents 30 percent of the national total. The Southwest 

region had the fewest wells drilled per 1,000 people in 1984 

(about 0. 6), whereas the Southeast region had the most 

(about 2.8). 

Data compiled for this study indicate that welldrilling activity in the United States is cyclic in nature and 

more closely follows patterns of economic activity, particularly housing starts, than patterns of population changes. 

Data are insufficient to indicate the effects of drought. 

The apparent relation between housing starts and 

totals of wells drilled from 1980 through 1984 suggests that 

there may have been peaks in drilling activity in 1972 and 

during 1977-78 that are not represented by available drilling data. If this is true, then the annual totals reported for 

1960, 1964, and 1980-84 may be misleading as indicators 

of trends for the period 1960-84. Rather, these totals more 

likely reflect low to moderate levels of drilling activity 

during a period of considerable fluctuation. 

Because the National Water Well Association intends 

to collect State-by-State drilling data annually, the outlook 

is good that a data base of current, reliable, and comparable 

drilling-activity data will be available in 5 to 10 years to 

permit the relations among annual well totals, economic 

indicators, and perhaps even regional precipitation patterns 

to be explored in greater detail. If so, the significance of 

future trends in water-well drilling, and the significance of 

outside factors on drilling activity, will be increasingly 

apparent and meaningful to water planners, water users, and 

the water-well industry itself. 

14 National and Regional Trends in Water-Well Drilling in the United States, 1964-84 
REFERENCES CITED 

Heath, R.C., 1983, Basic ground-water hydrology: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 2220, 84 p. 

Karl, T.R., and Knight, R.W., 1985, Atlas of Palmer Hydrological Drought Indices (1931-1983) for the contiguous United 

States: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 

National Climatic Data Center, p. 176-319. 

MacKichan, K.A., 1951, Estimated use of water in the United 

States, 1950: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 115, 13 p. 

MacKichan, K.A., and Kammerer, J.C., 1961, Estimated use of 

water in the United States, 1960: U.S. Geological Survey 

Circular 456, 44 p. 

McCray, K.B., 1981, Housing and the water well industry: Water 

Well Journal, September 1981, p. 50-52. 

---1982, Another look at the water well industry: Water Well 

Journal, May 1982, p. 61-74. 

Meyer, Gerald, and Wyrick, G.G., 1966, Regional trends in 

water-well drilling in the United States: U.S. Geological 

Survey Circular 533, 7 p. 

National Water Well Association, 1983, United States water well 

industry: Worthington, Ohio, National Water Well Association, 8 sections, various pagings. 

Picton, W.L., 1956, The water picture today-A national summary of ground water use and a projection to 1975: Water 

Well Journal, Apri11956, p. 10-11, 25-26, 29. 

Solley, W.B., Chase, E.B., and Mann, W.B., IV, 1983, Estimated use of water in the United States in 1980: U.S. 

Geological Survey Circular 1001, 56 p. 

U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1966, Statistical abstract of the United 

States, 1966: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1,039 p. 

---1980, Statistical abstract of the United States, 1980: U.S. 

Government Printing Office, 1,059 p. 

---1984, Statistical abstract of the United States, 1985: U.S. 

Government Printing Office, 726 p. 

---1986, Statistical abstract of the United States, 1986: U.S. 

Government Printing Office, 985 p. 

Water Well Journal, 1985, A survey of the water well industry: 

February 1985, p. 46-51. 

References Cited 15 

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Geological Survey" should write to the U.S. Geological Survey, 582 

National Center, Reston, VA 22092. 

Note.--Prices of Government publications listed in older catalogs, 

armouncements, and publications may be incorrect. Therefore, the 

prices charged may differ from the prices in catalogs, armouncements, 

and publications.