A well record is the form the licensed well contractor, such as a well driller, files with the province when a well is constructed, altered, repaired or sealed up. Putting in a pump alone needs no record. This page lists the places where that record can be looked up: our map, and the province's own map and request form.
Type the address - a street, town or postal code - into the search box on the map. After a search the map moves there. Zoom in until the dots appear - they are the well records. A well's 7-digit Well Record ID works too - it opens that well's record.
Tap a dot for the well record page. Its Original record (PDF) link opens the province's own document.
A dot beside a house does not necessarily mean the well belongs to it, because the accuracy of the locations in the province's records varies. Some records have no location good enough to place on the map at all - the next parts are for those.
A well can have no record that can be found. The province says, on its own well records page:
The map only includes wells that were reported to the ministry with sufficient information. A well record may be missing if it: was not submitted; was incomplete or inaccurate; could not be linked to a specific location; is delayed or under review.
Almost all of the well records were filed from 1946 onwards, and new ones keep arriving.
The province keeps its own map: Well records on ontario.ca. It searches by address, by well record information, by a custom area, and by township - in its words, "Search for a geographic township, then enter the lot and concession."
When that map does not find the record, the province has a well record request form: "Use this form if you cannot find a well record using the well records interactive map." It asks for previous owners, the property's location - the township, lot and concession, or the address - and, if known, the contractor's name and the well's record or tag number. The form page says:
After you submit this form, you will receive an automatic confirmation email. The Wells Help Desk will then search for a matching well record and email you with the result. You can expect to receive a reply within 5 business days.
The province's own contact for questions is the Wells Help Desk: wellshelpdesk@ontario.ca.
A well record describes one day - the day the work was done. It does not say what the well is like now, how much water it gives today, or whether the water is safe to drink. A licensed well contractor or a qualified professional can look at a particular well today and assess its conditions.
The Water Wells page explains what a well is and the words a record uses. The Records explains where the records come from and how they are read. Buying a house with a well in Ontario reads one real well record, line by line.
On the map, tap to place a circle and see a summary of well depths, flow rates and more.
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