The lake country
Beaver Lake, built on the White River, is where most of Northwest Arkansas’s city water comes from. Ironically, many homes in the hills around it are not on those lines. Lake-country lots off Prairie Creek, and along the hollows above the water are where wells are still the rule.
Steep ground, careful siting
Lots that drop toward the lake bring two problems: getting a rig to a sensible spot, and keeping the well away from the septic system on a narrow lot. Arkansas requires at least 100 feet between a well and a septic tank or field line in typical soils. On a steep lot, the well usually belongs upslope.
Protecting the lake and the aquifer
Karst connects the surface, the aquifer and the lake. An old, unused well on a lake lot is a direct pipe into the rock and should be plugged properly; a working well should have its casing above grade and sealed into rock.
Rules and permits
Arkansas wells are built only by licensed water well contractors under the state’s well construction rules (Arkansas Department of Agriculture, Water Well Construction Committee). The contractor files a construction report with the well’s coordinates within 90 days. Bacteria testing for private wells goes through the Arkansas Department of Health’s lab via the local health unit, and septic systems are permitted by the Health Department. Cities may have their own rules about private wells inside city limits, so ask your city if you’re inside one.
Bed 05Questions from Rogers
Local answers.
My lake lot is steep and narrow. Where can the well go?
Where it can be at least 100 feet from the septic tank and lines in typical soils, 10 feet from the house and power lines, and where a rig can reach. That’s usually upslope of the septic system. Call with the lot layout before you set the house.
Can I just pump from Beaver Lake for my house?
Lake water is surface water and would need full treatment to drink; it’s also managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which controls what is allowed on its shoreline. For a home, a properly built well or a public water connection is the dependable source.
Do springs on my property mean an easy well?
Not necessarily. A spring shows water is moving through the karst, but springs are generally more open to surface contamination than wells, and a well’s depth still depends on where it meets water-bearing openings in the rock.
Bed 06Nearby