Water Well Drilling in Cameron County, TX
2,770
Submitted Driller Records
724
Usable Domestic Depth Logs
105 ft
Median Domestic Total Depth
Gulf Coast
Main GWDB Aquifer Signal
Water Well Depths and Drilling Records in Cameron County, Texas
Cameron County has 2,770 submitted driller records, but not all of them describe household wells. Among them are 724 domestic records with usable completed-depth values. Those household well logs are the better starting point for a buyer or owner planning around Harlingen, Brownsville, La Feria, Santa Rosa, San Benito, and the agricultural ground between them.
The other county records cover monitoring wells, environmental borings, irrigation wells, and public-supply systems installed for different purposes. Averaging all 2,770 records together would not represent typical residential well depths. Cameron County planning works better when the question starts with intended use and location, then narrows to nearby wells that were built for a comparable purpose.
Use the Texas water well records lookup when you are still screening properties. Once the tract is active, the Pre-Drill Intelligence Report can bring together household well comparisons, Gulf Coast Aquifer context, and site questions before you ask a licensed driller for a project quote. TurnKey Wells does not drill or design the well; it turns public records into practical planning information.
What the Cameron County Domestic Depth Records Show
The domestic depth pattern is relatively shallow and compact at the county level. Cameron County has 724 usable domestic total-depth logs, with a median completed depth of 105 feet. The middle half runs from about 50 to 132 feet, and the 90th-percentile planning marker is about 150 feet. Recorded domestic depths in this file range from 20 to 320 feet.
That spread is the reason not to turn 105 feet into a promise. A shallow county median cannot tell you which water-bearing interval a specific tract can use, whether the water will meet the intended need, how much casing the site requires, or what treatment may follow testing. It is a budgeting baseline drawn from household records, not a substitute for siting, drilling, testing, or licensed design.
Only six domestic records in the supplied file include usable pump-depth values. That sample is too thin for a responsible county pump-setting statistic, so this page leaves pump depth out. Completed depth and final pump setting are separate decisions in any case; static level, drawdown, yield, and the completed well all matter.
- Total SDR records: 2,770 submitted driller reports in Cameron County
- Usable domestic total-depth logs: 724
- Median domestic total depth: 105 ft
- Domestic total-depth middle band: about 50 to 132 ft
- Domestic upper planning marker: about 150 ft
- Recorded domestic depth range: 20 to 320 ft
- Usable domestic pump-depth entries: 6, too few for a county benchmark
- Plugging-dataset records: 1,674 county records, not a parcel finding
Monitor Wells and Environmental Borings Can Distort a Residential Estimate
The mixed-use rows explain why the domestic filter matters so much here. Cameron County includes 991 monitoring wells averaging about 24.8 feet and 619 environmental borings averaging about 13.5 feet. Those records dominate the broad file numerically, but they are not residential supply wells. Using them to price a domestic project would pull the apparent county depth sharply downward.
The other non-household uses move in a different direction. The file includes 327 irrigation wells averaging about 92.1 feet and 28 public-supply wells averaging about 311.8 feet. Irrigation demand, municipal design, and environmental investigation each answer a different question. They can provide regional context, but they should not be blended into a single household estimate.
The city labels need the same care. The submitted records include 793 tied to Harlingen, 714 to Brownsville, 356 to La Feria, 263 to Santa Rosa, and 167 to San Benito. Domestic records are especially concentrated around Santa Rosa and La Feria. Port Isabel and South Padre Island records should not be treated as routine household comparables for inland acreage merely because they share the county name. Location, use, and the purpose of the original well all belong in the filter.
The Gulf Coast Aquifer Is the Clear Groundwater Signal
The groundwater database points strongly to the Gulf Coast Aquifer system. Of 554 Cameron County GWDB wells, 525 are tagged to the Gulf Coast Aquifer. Of those Gulf Coast records, 512 have usable depth values, averaging about 217.1 feet. That average is not interchangeable with the 105-foot domestic SDR median because the two datasets contain different wells and uses.
The use split makes that distinction visible. GWDB shows 109 domestic wells averaging about 141.9 feet, 154 irrigation wells averaging about 210.5 feet, and 41 public-supply wells averaging about 249.7 feet. Deeper irrigation and public-supply entries lift the broad GWDB average. For a household decision, use the domestic file first and treat the larger groundwater dataset as geologic and regional context.
The Gulf Coast Aquifer guide explains why even that strong aquifer label does not make the county uniform. In this part of Texas, the Jasper, Evangeline, and Chicot units occur as discontinuous layers of sand, silt, clay, and gravel. A tract may sit over a different sequence or usable interval than another property across the county, so the aquifer name is a planning framework rather than a single predictable underground tank.
GMA 16 Guides Regional Planning, Not a Parcel Guarantee
Cameron County sits within Groundwater Management Area 16, whose planning work covers the Nueces–Rio Grande and Rio Grande basins. The modeled available groundwater figures used in that process are regional planning quantities. They help groundwater planners compare desired future conditions and long-term supply; they do not promise a particular depth, yield, or water quality on an individual tract.
Current GMA 16 material and the groundwater-conservation-district map supplied for this review do not show a countywide GCD covering Cameron County. That is different from saying a well has no rules. Texas licensed-driller requirements, well construction and plugging standards, reporting duties, subdivision requirements, septic setbacks, local development rules, and site-specific restrictions can still apply. Confirm the current parcel and project before scheduling work, especially when the proposed use is irrigation, public supply, commercial, or part of a subdivision.
The Texas groundwater district and water-well disclosure guide is a useful internal starting point for those questions. The Cameron County plugging dataset contains 1,674 records, but that number does not prove an abandoned household well exists on a particular property. It is a reason to review the parcel history, seller information, visible well features, and available records—not a reason to diagnose the tract from a county total.
Water Quality Needs a Sample From the Actual Well
Cameron County has 336 GWDB wells with water-quality data flags. A flag means the database indicates water-quality information is available; it does not mean 336 wells are contaminated. Historic results can help frame questions, but they cannot replace a current sample collected from the well serving the property.
Regional Gulf Coast Aquifer materials describe salinity generally increasing southward, with total dissolved solids in some regional groundwater ranging from around 1,000 to more than 10,000 milligrams per liter. That is regional context, not a finding about any Cameron County parcel. The usable interval, depth, location, and local groundwater movement all matter. A buyer should test the actual source for salinity and total dissolved solids, along with bacteria and any additional constituents recommended by the licensed driller, local authority, or qualified lab.
Site conditions deserve equal attention. Long electrical runs, irrigation activity, flood-prone or poorly drained ground, septic placement, road access, and the location of pressure or treatment equipment can change the finished scope. Near the coast, salt exposure and storm planning may also influence materials and equipment placement. None of those conditions should be assumed from the county map; they need to be checked on site.
Budget for the Finished Cameron County Water System
Cameron County’s 105-foot domestic median may look modest beside many Texas counties, but depth alone does not price the project. A realistic Texas water well cost planning range for a complete residential system is generally $25,000 to $45,000+ after drilling, casing, pump equipment, pressure components, electrical coordination, trenching, testing, treatment, and applicable site or reporting work are considered.
A straightforward inland domestic project may land within that range. Difficult access, a deeper target, poor water chemistry, storm-conscious construction, extra storage, long service runs, or replacement of an older system can move the total higher. The domestic record narrows the first estimate. The licensed driller’s site-specific scope and the final test results determine what is actually required.
- Full residential project planning range: $25,000 to $45,000+ depending on tract and completion scope
- Typical drilling-rate assumption: $65 to $120 per foot before the rest of the system
- Pump and pressure equipment: commonly $3,000 to $8,000 depending on depth and demand
- Rules and reporting: confirm the current state, subdivision, septic-setback, and local requirements for the actual project
- Water treatment: price from a current sample, not a regional salinity statement
Who This Page Helps in Cameron County
This page is for buyers, landowners, rural agents, and operators who need a grounded first look at a new household well, an older private system, or a larger-use project in Cameron County. The record base covers Harlingen, Brownsville, La Feria, Santa Rosa, San Benito, and surrounding Lower Rio Grande Valley acreage, but the right comparison set should stay close to the tract and the intended use.
If you only need to know whether relevant records exist, begin with the Free Well Check. If the property is under serious review, move to the Pre-Drill Intelligence Report. It separates domestic evidence from the county’s large monitoring and environmental file, then organizes the aquifer, rule, and site questions that belong in the next conversation.
Regional County Pages Worth Comparing
Hidalgo and Willacy county pages are not live yet. For now, these published South Texas and Coastal Bend guides offer the most relevant regional comparisons available on the site:
- Water well drilling in Brooks County
- Water well drilling in Aransas County
- Water well drilling in Bee County
Cameron County well planning
Check the household records before you price the well.
TurnKey Wells can separate Cameron County domestic evidence from monitoring and irrigation records, then organize the Gulf Coast Aquifer and site questions around the property you are actually considering.