Well water vs city water in New Jersey: costs, water quality and what happens to the old well
Neither one wins everywhere. The answer turns on how far your house sits from a water main and how healthy your well is. On city water, the utility tests the water and sends a bill. On a well, the equipment and the testing are yours.
Switching has a real price. HomeGuide puts the switch from well water to city water at $2,000 to $5,000 or more. Location and distance to the main set the number. The job means a new service line from the nearest city-owned main to your house.
The switch also leaves an old well on the property. New Jersey counts a well that is not in use as an abandoned well. The owner is responsible for having it sealed. Our well abandonment service seals it to NJDEP standards and files the report with the state.
What does it cost to switch from well water to city water?
The service line is the main cost. HomeGuide prices a city water line installation at $25 to $200 a linear foot. As a total, that runs $1,000 to $6,000 or more for labor, materials and municipal fees. The longer the line, the more materials and labor it takes.
Once the line reaches the house, the plumber shuts off the well water and opens the new line. The meter can be a separate charge. HomeGuide puts a water meter at $300 to $800.
Fees vary from town to town. Some municipalities include a water meter and some line footage in their price. Others charge separate installation, connection and meter fees. Ask your utility what it covers for new connections before you budget.
| Cost | Side | Published range |
|---|---|---|
| Switching a home from a well to city water | City water | $2,000 to $5,000+ |
| City water line installation | City water | $25 to $200 a linear foot, or $1,000 to $6,000+ |
| Water meter | City water | $300 to $800 |
| Well pump repair | Well | About $350 to $1,500 |
| Pressure tank replacement | Well | A few hundred to about $1,600 installed |
| New well, per foot | Well | About fifteen to thirty dollars a foot |
| Complete new well | Well | Often a few thousand to twelve thousand dollars |
These are published market figures from national cost guides. The two line figures come from separate HomeGuide guides, so do not add them together. Your utility and plumber set the city side of the bill. We price the well side, including sealing the old well, and our estimates are free.
What happens to the old well when you switch?
New Jersey’s well rule is N.J.A.C. 7:9D, last amended January 20, 2026. Under that rule, a well that is not in use counts as an abandoned well. So does a well that no longer serves the use its permit was issued for. Once the house runs on city water, the old house well fits that description.
The rule makes the well owner responsible for having an abandoned well decommissioned, which means sealed. A plumber can connect the city line, but the sealing belongs to a well driller. Every well must be decommissioned by, or under the onsite supervision of, a licensed well driller of the proper class.
First, the well is cleared of the pump, the pipe and any debris. We then fill it with grout through a tremie pipe, from the bottom up. Within 90 days of finishing, the driller files a well decommissioning report with NJDEP. Our page on how we seal an unused well covers the rest.
A city water hookup is one more reason a well gets sealed. The old well goes out of service the moment the new line takes over. Plan the sealing for after the city water is running, so the house never goes dry.
What does each one cost to run?
HomeGuide’s comparison is short. Most well and septic systems cost more up front to install. They cost less per month to run than public water and sewer fees. On city water, that monthly cost arrives as a bill.
Each utility charges from its own schedule of rates, so your bill is the number to compare. A well has no water bill. You pay for upkeep instead, and the big items come years apart.
Most submersible pumps run 10 to 15 years. The table above shows the published pump and tank ranges. Our well pump replacement cost guide breaks down the pump side.
Water quality can add a line to the well budget. Most mainland wells here draw from the shallow Kirkwood-Cohansey sands. That water usually runs acidic with iron, which leaves orange stains and eats copper.
We test the water first, then size water treatment to your test results. For price ranges, see what a well water filtration system costs.
Who tests the water, and how often?
On city water, testing is the utility’s job. Community water systems must test their water and notify customers when a monitored contaminant exceeds a standard. They also publish a yearly consumer confidence report.
City water and well water can come from the same ground here. The state health department says the Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer supplies both public and private wells in many South Jersey counties. The Borough of Elmer’s public water comes from two wells in the Mount Laurel-Wenonah aquifer, about 500 feet deep. The borough chlorinates the water at both well sites.
On a well, testing is your job. About 13% of New Jersey’s drinking water comes from private wells. The Private Well Testing Act requires a water test before closing on a home with a private drinking water well. The state health department says about 25% of New Jersey’s drinking water wells have been tested.
Those tests turn up problems. From 2002 to 2018, 14.5% of tested private wells in New Jersey exceeded at least one primary drinking water standard. Between sales, the schedule is up to you.
The EPA says to test a private well every year for total coliform bacteria, nitrates, total dissolved solids and pH. The state health department tells well owners to test regularly and to use an NJDEP certified lab. Our guide to how often to test well water in New Jersey lays out the full schedule.
When does keeping the well make sense?
No main near the road is the clearest case. HomeGuide says to consider a well and septic system when main public lines are far from the property edge. It adds that extending water and sewer mains often costs more than installing a well and septic.
A healthy well is another good reason to stay. If the pump and tank hold up and the water tests clean, the well can keep serving the house.
When the well itself is the limit, we drill a replacement well to a better-producing zone. Then we seal the old one. See what a new well costs in New Jersey for those numbers.
Yard watering can tip the math too. A sprinkler system can use a lot of water, and well water stays off the water bill.
Can you keep the old well for the lawn or garden?
Yes, if the well qualifies. A licensed driller must get an NJDEP well permit before redesignating the use of any well. The driller also has to verify the well meets the construction standards for its new use. An irrigation well is a Category 2, non-potable water well.
Volume rarely changes the paperwork. A Water Supply Allocation Permit starts at the capability to divert 100,000 gallons a day or more. Most lawn wells sit well under that line, so the well permit covers them.
A kept well must never tie into the house plumbing. The rules of the Hamilton Township Municipal Utilities Authority in Atlantic County show why. They list any cross connection with water from another source as grounds to cut off service. Our irrigation wells stay a separate system from the drinking water plumbing in the house.
If the old well does not qualify, it gets sealed, and a new well can water the yard. Our irrigation well drilling service sizes that well around your biggest sprinkler zone. Call (856) 207-7373 for a free estimate anywhere in Gloucester, Cumberland, Salem, Atlantic, Camden or Cape May County.