Marion County straddles two water management districts
Most Florida counties sit inside one water district. This one does not. The eastern side falls under the St. Johns River district and the western side under the Southwest Florida district, and each has its own rules for wells.
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Who actually issues a well permit here
The county health department. The St. Johns River Water Management District holds delegation agreements with sixteen local health departments for water well permitting, and Marion County is one of them. The Southwest Florida district likewise delegates well construction permits to local agencies within their county boundaries.
So although which district rules govern a well depends on the address, the counter is the same either way. That is the most useful fact on this page, and it is why the practical answer to who to call is short even though the regulatory answer is not.
Which office handles which work
Drilling, replacing or abandoning a well
The Florida Department of Health in Marion County, Environmental Public Health, on 352-622-7744. They also hold the completion report for an existing well and can say which district a parcel falls in.
Plumbing inside the house, including treatment
Marion County Building Safety on 352-438-2400, open Monday to Thursday 8am to 4pm and Friday 9am to 4pm. Inside Ocala, Belleview or Dunnellon city limits it may be the city instead.
Checking a contractor licence
The water management districts run the licensing programmes. A contractor files with the district where most of their work is performed, and the licence is valid statewide, so a licence from another district is not a red flag on its own.
The rules, and what they are called
Two rule chapters come up constantly and they are about different things, which is the source of a lot of confusion in online answers. Chapter 62-532 of the Florida Administrative Code is the statewide water well construction rule, and each water management district has its own construction chapter on top of it. Chapter 62-531 is water well contractor licensing.
When a well construction permit is needed
Anyone proposing to drill a new well must obtain a permit before installation begins. The districts also specifically name wells with an outside diameter of six inches or more, gang wells whose combined casing reaches that size, geothermal wells both open and closed loop, and wells in delineated contamination or vulnerable groundwater areas.
The rule of thumb that will not get anybody into trouble: if a rig is coming to the property there is a permit, and it is the contractor job to have it before the rig arrives. Ask to see it.
The questions people actually ask
Which water management district is Marion County in?
Both. The county is split, with the St. Johns River Water Management District covering the eastern portion and the Southwest Florida Water Management District the western. Which one governs a well depends on where the parcel sits. In practice it changes the rule set rather than the counter, because both districts delegate well construction permitting to local agencies.
Who issues well permits in Marion County, Florida?
The Florida Department of Health in Marion County, under a delegation agreement with the water management district. The St. Johns district describes sixteen such agreements with local health departments, and Marion is one of them. Their Environmental Public Health line is 352-622-7744.
Do I need a permit to drill a well on my own property?
Yes. Anyone proposing to drill a new well must obtain a permit before installation begins, and it applies to a well on your own land for your own use. Owning the property does not exempt the well. Normally the licensed contractor pulls it as part of the job, but ask to see it before the rig starts, because it is your property that carries the consequence of an unpermitted well.
How do I check whether a well contractor is licensed?
Ask for the water well contractor licence number and verify it with a water management district. Licensing is run by the five districts, a contractor applies to the one where they perform most of their work, and the licence is valid statewide. The red flag is not a licence from another district, it is reluctance to give you the number.
Does the county keep a record of my well?
The permitting office holds the paperwork from when the well was constructed, which is where the completion report with the depths on it lives. That report is worth having a copy of, because the well depth, casing depth and pump setting determine the cost of every future repair, and the cheapest day to obtain them is any day that is not the day the pump fails.
What this site is, in full
About this guide
Ocala Well Water publishes an independent guide to private well water for homeowners in Marion County, Florida. It does not drill, repair, test or install anything, and it sells no equipment.
Corrections
Permit rules, offices and fees move, and a page about them is worth less than nothing once it is stale. Write to corrections@ocalawellwater.com with the page, the disputed fact and a source, and it will be corrected or removed, and the correction dated.