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2026 Sierra Vista (Cochise County) Well Permit and Cost Checklist

Last verified 2026-10-26 against the Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR), Arizona statutes, Cochise County and the other sources listed at the bottom. Free to print, share or link. This is general information, not legal or engineering advice.

Step 1. Before you buy land or call a driller

• ☐ Check for a community water system first. Cochise County tells residents to check its interactive INFO Map for water system service, then check for an existing well, and only then consider drilling. It also lists a haul-water and cistern system as an option for low or intermittent use.
• ☐ Look up nearby wells on ADWR's Wells 55 map and well registry for depth and depth-to-water. ADWR notes the water level is often the one measured at drilling, so newer wells are the better guide.
• ☐ Find your parcel number (APN) on the Cochise County Assessor's site.
• ☐ Know which groundwater area you're in. Sierra Vista, Hereford and Huachuca City sit in the Sierra Vista sub-basin of the Upper San Pedro Basin, which is not an Active Management Area (AMA). Two Cochise County areas are AMAs: the Douglas AMA and the Willcox AMA (designated by ADWR, effective January 8, 2025). Check your parcel on ADWR's AMA/INA map.
• ☐ Buying a property that already has a well? Find its "55-" registration number, pull the imaged record from ADWR, and file ADWR form 55-71A to change the well owner after closing.

Step 2. Cochise County well site review (parcels of 5 acres or less)

• ☐ If any water will be used for domestic purposes on a parcel of 5 acres or fewer, state law requires a well site plan with county health authority approval (A.R.S. § 45-596(F)). It must show the APN, the proposed well and any septic tank or sewer system on the property or within 100 feet.
• ☐ In Cochise County, the Development Services Department, working with ADWR, approves well sites for parcels of five acres or less, for new wells and wells being deepened or repaired.
• ☐ County fee: the county's Development Services fee schedule (Board resolution, June 2022) lists $160 for a well, "plus $100 for ADWR or $150 if in 'INA' area". Not verified as current: we found no newer schedule online; confirm with Development Services. Note: the county's "Wells Program" web page link returned "page not found" on Oct 26, 2026.
• ☐ Keep 100 feet from every septic system, including the neighbors'. A.A.C. R12-15-818 bars a well within 100 feet of a septic tank system, sewage disposal area, landfill, hazardous waste or petroleum storage unless ADWR approves in writing.
• ☐ Plan the septic before the well. Cochise County says the first step is a soil and site evaluation by a qualified evaluator to size and place the septic system "before setting up a house, structure, or well." Septic permits go through Cochise Health and Social Services, Environmental Health: (520) 586-8206, envhealth@cochise.az.gov.

Step 3. ADWR Notice of Intent to Drill (form 55-40)

• ☐ A Notice of Intent must be filed with ADWR before drilling a new well or deepening or modifying one (ADWR; A.R.S. § 45-596). Most drillers file it electronically (eNOI); ask who files it.
• ☐ Filing fee: $100 for a well used solely for domestic purposes with a pump of 35 gallons per minute or less that is outside any AMA and any Irrigation Non-Expansion Area (INA). Otherwise $150 (A.R.S. § 45-596(L)). For most Sierra Vista sub-basin parcels that means $100; inside the Douglas or Willcox AMA it is $150.
• ☐ Inside the Douglas or Willcox AMA: ADWR says only one exempt well may serve the same use at the same location, and an exempt well used commercially is limited to 10 acre-feet a year. New irrigation acres are prohibited in the Willcox AMA.
• ☐ Exempt well: a pump of 35 gallons per minute or less, typically for household use; "domestic purposes" include watering less than two acres (A.R.S. § 45-454).
• ☐ Timing: ADWR has 15 days by statute to process a notice, then mails a drilling card to the driller. Authority to drill is valid for one year.
• ☐ Licensed driller: the 55-40 form asks for both the firm's ADWR driller license number and its Registrar of Contractors (ROC) license. Check the ROC license at roc.az.gov and the firm on ADWR's Well Drillers List.

Step 4. Drilling and paperwork after the hole

• ☐ The driller files the drill log with ADWR within 30 days of finishing (A.R.S. § 45-600(A)). Ask for a copy.
• ☐ Within 30 days of installing the pump, the registered well owner files a completion report: equipment, a pumping test of at least four hours, drawdown and static water level (A.R.S. § 45-600(B)).
• ☐ Not verified: whether a separate county or city building or electrical permit is needed for the pump house, tank or wiring. Ask Cochise County Development Services, or the City of Sierra Vista inside city limits.

Step 5. Test the water

• ☐ ADHS recommends testing a new well for arsenic, fluoride, lead, nitrates, total coliform bacteria, total dissolved solids and uranium, then coliform bacteria and nitrates every year and arsenic, fluoride and uranium every five years, using an ADHS-certified lab (as quoted on ADWR's FAQ).

Step 6. Sharing a well?

• ☐ ADWR does not regulate shared well agreements; they are private contracts. Record yours with the Cochise County Recorder. ADWR says a shared well fits up to 14 service connections or 24 residents; beyond that it is a community water system.

What it costs: depth first, then the per-foot rate

Medians from ADWR well records compiled by ZIP code on ArizonaWellData.com (a third-party compilation of the ADWR database, re-checked Oct 26, 2026):

A median is the middle well, not your well. Countywide, recent wells run much deeper than the all-time median, so look at the newest logs near your parcel.

Worked example (arithmetic, not a quote): a 250 ft well (the 85650 median) at $30–$68 per foot is $7,500–$17,000 for drilling. A 330 ft Huachuca City well at the same rates is $9,900–$22,440. Add the pump system, the $100 ADWR fee (outside an AMA) and the county review.

Check third-party pages against official ones: WellDrillingCosts.com's Sierra Vista page says Sierra Vista is "within Upper San Pedro AMA". It is not; the Upper San Pedro Basin is not an AMA.

Questions to ask every driller

1. Your ADWR driller license and ROC license numbers?
2. Price per foot, and what depth is the quote based on?
3. Casing material and diameter?
4. What happens, and what do I pay, if the first hole is dry?
5. Who files the county site plan, the Notice of Intent and the completion report?
6. Is the pump, tank and wiring priced separately from drilling?

Ready for real numbers?

Sources (opened Oct 26, 2026)

1. ADWR, Well Drilling in Arizona: azwater.gov/permitting-wells/well-drilling-arizona
2. ADWR, Permitting and wells FAQ: azwater.gov/permitting-wells/frequently-asked-questions
3. A.R.S. § 45-596: azleg.gov/ars/45/00596.htm; A.R.S. § 45-454: azleg.gov/ars/45/00454.htm; A.R.S. § 45-600: azleg.gov/ars/45/00600.htm
4. Cochise County, Development Services FAQ (water to your property; well sites of 5 acres or less): cochise.az.gov FAQ
5. Cochise County, Septic Systems: cochise.az.gov/898/Septic-Systems
6. Cochise County Board of Supervisors, Development Services fee schedule resolution (June 2022): PDF
7. ADWR, Willcox AMA: azwater.gov/ama/willcox-ama
8. Upper San Pedro AMA status: ADWR review report (2005) and Herald/Review on the 2025 ruling, as cited on our FAQ
9. ArizonaWellData.com, Cochise County and ZIP pages (ADWR records): arizonawelldata.com/counties/cochise
10. WellDrillingCosts.com, Sierra Vista AZ: welldrillingcosts.com/cities/sierra-vista-az; HomeGuide, Well drilling cost: homeguide.com/costs/well-drilling-cost
11. Pump and tank figures: see the sources on our pump repair page.

Sierra Vista Well Drilling Quotes is a free referral service, not a well driller. Contractors may pay us for referrals. The date at the top shows when every fact was last re-checked.