Some good questions for you to ask before hiring a water well professional:

These questions apply to mud (hydraulic) and air rotary drilling method in a sand-shale sequence.

In a Dolomitic Limestone (Edwards) or Fractured Limestone some of these questions would not apply.

1. Checking a water well service company’s references is an essential step before drilling or servicing your water well(s).

2. If you really want to get the correct information you seek on whether or not a water well company is for you, make it a point to contact former customers and ask them some important questions about the well driller or service company’s quality of work and reliability.

3. Do you have a clear idea of what the water well company is going to do?

4. Do they have a standard drilling or service contract form for the job you want?

5. Will the company give you a written estimate if requested on the job you want?

6. Will the contractor provide adequate written detail in the contract including important details such as who will be performing the work, what types of materials will be used, when the project will be started, and how change orders should be handled?

7. Hiring someone to work on your ranch or farm involves risk, so do your homework before you commit.

8. Get at least 2 estimates before hiring a water well professional.

9. Avoid Contractors Who Ask for Full Payment up Front.

10. If your well is located in a County with an Underground Water Control District do they require a permit for the type of well you want to drill?

11. Beyond asking a contractor for references, make sure you know the answers to these key questions before you hire: Does the contractor carry the proper license, if required, as well as liability and workman’s compensation insurance? If not your insurance policy might be liable for any problems. Does your project require a permit? Can the contractor obtain one?

12. No one answer from a reference will say more about a contractor's work than a customer's willingness to hire them again. If they aren't willing to hire the contractor again, why not? Was there something particular about the contractor, their crew or the project that they didn't like? 

13. Will the driller or geologist on location know by laser-diffraction or sieving for sand grain particles size how to properly perforate or slot the casing? How will driller filter pack the well to properly to flow as its peak potential? 

14. Is the contractor going to run an Induction log suite while open hole to precisely determine the location of the water bearing formation and to mark shale boundaries?  Will the driller determine the water formation depth(s) from offset drill cuttings from other wells?   

15. How will your driller flow-back or swab your well back in after completion to remove filter cake and other drilling fluid formation damages? National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) certification should be labeled on any soaps or detergents used in the drilling of your well (if used) as a lower grade soap will actually enhance bacteria to grow very rapidly in your well.