Sample report: sparse rangeland
A real report for rangeland north of Ola in Gem County. Only four wells were on record within a mile, so the search widened to three miles — and the report says so, because wells that far away tell you less. This is what thin data looks like when it is reported honestly.
See the Canyon County example instead
At a glance
- Parcel
- RP10N02E074800
- about 273.94 acres
- Wells on record
- 45
- within 3 miles
- Typical depth
- 72-610 ft
- 33 wells reporting
- Drilling estimate
- $8,800–15k
- borehole only, at median depth
- Flood zone
- Not checked
- FEMA unreachable
- Water rights
- None on record
3 things to check before you close
Ranked by how much is at stake. Each one names who can actually answer it.
- 1Check this
Septic here is limited by steep slope and shallow bedrock
Soil survey records for Brownlee and Rainey soils, 12 to 30 percent slopes flag 4 limitations for a conventional drainfield: seepage risk, slow percolation, steep slope, shallow bedrock. Limitations of this kind are the ones that most often push a site from a conventional system to an engineered one, which is a substantially different cost.
What to do: Ask what setbacks from wells and surface water apply on this soil. Southwest District Health decides this after a site evaluation - a soil map cannot.
- 2Check this
Nearby well depths vary widely — 72 to 610 ft
Wells within 3 miles range from 72 to 610 ft, an 8x spread, with a median of 250 ft. Drilling is priced per foot, so that spread is the difference between a routine job and a serious one. A single quote will not capture the risk.
What to do: Get written per-foot quotes from at least two licensed Idaho drillers, and ask each what depth they are actually hitting in this area right now.
- 3Worth knowing
Few wells on record close by
Fewer than five wells were on record within a mile, so the search widened to 3 miles. Wells that far away say less about this parcel than neighboring ones would.
What to do: Weigh these figures accordingly, and lean harder on a driller who works this area.
Location
Where this is, and who decides what can be built on it.
- County
- Gem
- Assessor parcel
- RP10N02E074800about 273.94 acres
- Septic permitted by
- Southwest District Health208-455-5300
This point falls inside assessor parcel RP10N02E074800. Its mapped area works out to about 273.94 acres. That figure comes from the county assessor polygon, which is maintained for taxation rather than for conveyance - only a licensed surveyor establishes real boundaries and acreage.
Nearby wells
45 within 3 milesWhat the neighbors hit, how deep they had to go, and how much water they found.
- Well depth
- 72-610 ft (median 250 ft)
- from the 33 of 45 nearby wells that report a value
- Depth to water
- 2-320 ft (median 40 ft)
- from the 43 of 45 nearby wells that report a value; 1 recorded as 0 and excluded as not reported
- Reported yield
- 0.25-80 gpm (median 13.5 gpm)
- from the 42 of 45 nearby wells that report a value; 3 recorded as 0 and excluded as not reported
- 9 of the 42 nearby wells reporting a yield are below 6 gpm, the suggested minimum flow for most single-family homes. A lower-yielding well commonly relies on storage to cover peak demand, which a driller and pump installer size together. Source: Water System Planning - Estimating Water Needs (Water Facts #2) (Virginia Cooperative Extension, wellwater.bse.vt.edu, retrieved 2026-09-29).
- Drilled
- 1957 to 2024
- from the 45 of 45 nearby wells with a usable construction date
Well depth is how far the driller went in total. Depth to water is how far down water was standing when the well was finished — it is usually far shallower than the well, and it is not how deep you would have to drill. Yield is gallons per minute the well produced on the day it was tested.
What the closest wells show
The closest 3 wells on record sit 0.3 to 0.6 miles away. They were drilled 400 to 610 ft deep. Water was standing 40 to 167 ft below the surface when each was finished. They reported 1 to 70 gpm. All of them were located from a section description rather than a survey, so the distances above are approximate.
| Distance | Location from | Depth | Depth to water | Yield | Drilled | Recorded use | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.3 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 400 ft | 47 ft | 1 gpm | 2006 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 0.5 mi | digitized map | 610 ft | 167 ft | 70 gpm | 2020 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 0.6 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 400 ft | 40 ft | 5 gpm | 2005 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 0.6 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 216 ft | 15 ft | 60 gpm | 2005 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 1.2 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | — | 40 ft | 80 gpm | 1992 | not recorded | View log |
| 1.2 mi | surveyed | 373 ft | 80 ft | 25 gpm | 2017 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 1.4 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 270 ft | 45 ft | 0.25 gpm | 2003 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 1.4 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 250 ft | 60 ft | — | 1986 | not recorded | View log |
| 1.6 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | — | 20 ft | 20 gpm | 1996 | not recorded | View log |
| 1.6 mi | surveyed | 360 ft | 64 ft | 5 gpm | 2013 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 1.9 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 390 ft | 2 ft | 38 gpm | 2003 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 1.9 mi | section (640 ac)±3,734 ft | 87 ft | 20 ft | 5 gpm | 1959 | not recorded | View log |
| 2.0 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | — | 31 ft | 6 gpm | 1994 | not recorded | View log |
| 2.0 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 485 ft | 320 ft | 10 gpm | 2005 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 2.2 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | — | 63 ft | 15 gpm | 1994 | not recorded | View log |
| 2.2 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | — | — | 40 gpm | 1993 | not recorded | View log |
| 2.2 mi | digitized map | 250 ft | 198 ft | 15 gpm | 2024 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 2.4 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 185 ft | 140 ft | 10 gpm | 2001 | not recorded | View log |
| 2.4 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 260 ft | 82 ft | — | 1979 | not recorded | View log |
| 2.4 mi | surveyed | 300 ft | 70 ft | 8 gpm | 2008 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 2.5 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | — | 7 ft | 12 gpm | 1996 | not recorded | View log |
| 2.5 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | 72 ft | 30 ft | 10 gpm | 1957 | not recorded | View log |
| 2.5 mi | surveyed | 125 ft | — | 5 gpm | 2010 | Domestic-Single Residence | View log |
| 2.6 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | — | 20 ft | 4 gpm | 1990 | not recorded | View log |
| 2.7 mi | section (40 ac)±933 ft | — | 30 ft | 6 gpm | 1999 | not recorded | View log |
What limits these numbers
- 35 of 45 nearby wells were located from a section description or a digitized map rather than a survey, so their distances are approximate - a well shown at 0.3 miles could be a quarter of a mile either side of that. Wells located this way often share a section corner, which is why some map pins sit on top of each other.
- 8 of these wells were drilled before July 1987, when reporting became more consistent. Their records are more likely to be incomplete.
- Fewer than five wells were on record within one mile, so the search was widened to 3 miles. Wells further away say less about this parcel.
- IDWR records contain most well reports from July 1987 onward. Earlier records are less complete, and some wells were never reported.
Typical local costs
What getting water out of the ground here is likely to run.
Drilling a well at this locationestimate
$8,800 – $15,000
at the 250 ft median depth of the 33 nearby wells that reported one
Most wells around here land between 100 ft and 400 ft, which puts the realistic range at $3,500 – $24,000. Budget for the top of that, not the middle.
Borehole only — excludes casing, pump and pressure tank, electrical and trenching, permits and site work. Median depth of 250 ft from 33 nearby well records, multiplied by a published statewide rate of $35-$60 per foot. Borehole only. Rate source: Well and Septic Cost in Rural Idaho (2026) (swagerbuilds.com, retrieved 2026-09-29).
| Item | Typical range | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Drilling a domestic wellBorehole only. Casing, pump and pressure tank are usually quoted separately, so treat this as the starting line rather than the finished cost. | $35-$60 per footestimate | Well and Septic Cost in Rural Idaho (2026) (swagerbuilds.com, retrieved 2026-09-29) |
| Pump, pressure tank and installationComplete well installed, spanning shallow and deep cases. Depth is the biggest driver, which is why the nearby-well range above matters more than any average. | $9k-$25k totalestimate | Well and Septic Cost in Rural Idaho (2026) (swagerbuilds.com, retrieved 2026-09-29) |
| Conventional septic system, installedSpans conventional through engineered systems. Which one a site needs is decided by the health district after a site evaluation, and the difference is most of this range. | $8k-$20k totalestimate | Well and Septic Cost in Rural Idaho (2026) (swagerbuilds.com, retrieved 2026-09-29) |
Rows marked estimate are published statewide ballparks, not quotes from this county. Use them to frame a budget, then get written quotes — a local driller's number is the only one worth planning around.
Water rights and irrigation
What water is already claimed on this ground, and how old those claims are.
No recorded water right lists this point inside its place of use. That is a real answer, not a gap - but it describes the IDWR record only. It does not rule out a right that is recorded differently, and it says nothing about whether a domestic well could be drilled here, which Idaho allows without a water right in most cases.
Soils and septic screening
What a septic drainfield here would have to overcome, and what that adds.
Dominant soil: Brownlee and Rainey soils, 12 to 30 percent slopes · septic suitability Very limited
Why it is limited — and what to ask about each
Nearly every Idaho soil rates "Very limited" for a conventional drainfield, so the rating alone tells you little. These specific limitations are what change the cost.
Seepage risk
Ask what setbacks from wells and surface water apply on this soil.
Slow percolation
Ask whether a larger drainfield is needed, and what that adds to the install.
Steep slope
Ask whether the slope here requires pressure distribution rather than a gravity drainfield.
Shallow bedrock
Ask how much depth is available above bedrock, and whether fill or an engineered system is required.
| Soil component | Share | Septic rating |
|---|---|---|
| Brownlee | 60% | Very limited |
| Rainey | 35% | Very limited |
Soil survey maps at roughly 1:24,000 — a map unit covers acres, not a drainfield. Only a site evaluation by your health district decides what can be permitted.
Flood zone
Whether FEMA maps this ground as flood-prone, and what that means for a loan.
We could not reach FEMA. That is not the same as this parcel being outside a flood zone - please try again.
Areas of drilling concern
Whether the state imposes extra well construction rules on this ground.
Who to call next
The people who can answer what public records cannot.
A licensed Idaho well driller
Only a driller can tell you what depth and yield to expect here, and what it would cost. Get more than one quote.
Southwest District Health
Permits septic systems in this county and can tell you what site evaluation is required before you buy.
208-455-5300 - https://phd3.idaho.gov
A title company
Confirms water rights, easements and liens, and what actually conveys with the parcel.
A licensed land surveyor
Establishes real boundaries and acreage. Listed acreage is often approximate.
County planning and zoning
Confirms permitted uses, setbacks and whether the parcel can legally be built on.
Sources
- Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) well logsRetrieved 2026-09-30. IDWR records contain most well reports from July 1987 onward. Earlier records are less complete, and some wells were never reported.
- USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Soil Data Access (SSURGO)Retrieved 2026-09-30.
- IDWR Areas of Drilling ConcernRetrieved 2026-09-30.
Report generated 2026-09-30. Schema version 1. Disclaimer version 2026-09-28.
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