Groundwater & Rules · In brief
Reporting a Dry Well to the State
To report a dry well in California, private well owners use the Department of Water Resources' online Dry Well Reporting System; a report records the shortage but is not a request for aid.
By the Ranch House Water desk · Updated · 3 min read
When a household well stops producing, California asks owners to tell the Department of Water Resources through its Dry Well Reporting System. The site is meant for private, self-managed wells, not homes on a regulated public water system. A count of DWR's public dataset finds 440 reports filed from San Luis Obispo County; 363 list a mailing town of Paso Robles, Templeton, San Miguel, Creston or Shandon.
What the report does and does not do
It puts your shortage on the state's record, and that is all. DWR says the data should not be read as a request for aid; owners who need help are sent to the state's drought assistance page. Everything you submit is public except your name, contact details and personal address.
In its water year 2025 report, the basin's managers note that a number of wells went dry or had to be replaced, and they link that to declining water levels. Background on levels and the basin plan is in the Paso Robles groundwater basin.
Reading the local numbers
The figures come from DWR's downloadable dataset, tallied on October 30, 2026. Filing is voluntary, and the town shown is a mailing city typed into the form rather than a mapped location, so the totals undercount and blur the edges. By that city field: Paso Robles 238, Templeton 79, San Miguel 25, Creston 19 and Shandon 2. North county filings ran from 46 in 2015 down to 15 in 2024, with 17 so far in 2026.
Statewide, the reporting site showed 6,215 total reports on October 30, 2026, with 75 so far that year.
After you file
You still need water and a plan for the well. Licensed water haulers can fill a storage tank; see hauled water for rural homes. When a dry well is replaced, the county's permit page says the construction permit fee can be waived in some low-water areas. If the pump keeps running with nothing coming out, switching off its breaker is a reasonable step; pulling, lowering or rewiring the pump belongs to a C-57 licensed contractor. The longer story, when a well runs low, walks through the options.
Common questions
Will filing a report bring a water delivery?
No. The form only records the shortage. Help, where it exists, comes through separate county and state drought programs.
Will my neighbors see my report?
DWR keeps your name, contact information and personal address private. The rest of what you enter on the form is visible to the public.
Sources
- DWR — Dry Well Reporting System — who should report, not an aid application, what is public, statewide counts
- DWR — Dry Well Reporting System Data — county and town counts (our tally, October 30, 2026)
- Paso Robles Subbasin Water Year 2025 Annual Report — dry wells reported or replaced in 2025
- County of San Luis Obispo — Water Well Construction Permitting — dry-well permit fee waiver