Well Decommissioning & Abandonment Services

An unused well is not just an idle hole in the ground — it is an open pathway from the surface directly into the aquifer that supplies drinking water to you and your neighbours. Mighton's Well Services provides licensed well decommissioning and abandonment across Simcoe County and Grey County, permanently sealing wells that are no longer in use so that they cannot contaminate groundwater, collapse into sinkholes, or trap people and animals. Every decommissioning we perform meets Ontario Regulation 903 and is documented with a well record filed to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP).

Decommissioning is required by Ontario law for any well that is no longer in use. That includes wells replaced by a new drilled well, wells on properties that have connected to municipal water, monitoring wells whose investigation has ended, test holes drilled during exploration, and abandoned dug wells discovered on older farmsteads and rural properties. The work must be performed by a licensed well contractor — homeowners cannot lawfully seal their own wells, and improvised methods such as filling with soil, concrete debris, or fieldstone do not satisfy the regulation and routinely fail. Properly decommissioning a well is the only way to permanently eliminate the contamination pathway and discharge the legal obligation that comes with owning the property.

We handle every type of well found across the region. Modern drilled wells require pulling the pump and drop pipe, then sealing the well bore from the bottom up with approved bentonite chips, bentonite grout, or cement-bentonite grout depending on the well construction. Hand-dug wells — common on heritage properties in Adjala-Tosorontio, Mulmur, Melancthon, and the older farm areas around Stayner and Meaford — require a different approach: removing any timber or stone cribbing where possible, sealing the lower portion with bentonite or cement grout, and backfilling the upper portion with clean material before restoring the surface to grade. Monitoring wells, typically smaller in diameter but often present in clusters on environmental investigation sites, are decommissioned to MECP specifications appropriate to the original construction. In every case, the casing is cut below grade and either removed or capped so that no trace of the well remains at surface.

Our decommissioning methodology starts with a records review and site assessment. We pull the Ontario Well Record for the property if one exists, which tells us the original depth, diameter, casing material, and screen interval. For older wells without records — particularly hand-dug wells found during property work — we assess the well in person, measure depth, confirm the construction type, and identify any obstacles such as a stuck pump, collapsed casing, or debris in the well bore. We then provide a written estimate covering equipment removal, sealing materials, surface restoration, and the MECP record filing. On the day of work, our service rig removes the pump and piping, the well is sealed from bottom to top with the appropriate approved material, the casing is cut below grade, and the surface is restored. The decommissioning record is filed with MECP within the regulated timeframe and a copy is provided to you for your property file.

Seasonal timing matters more for decommissioning than many homeowners expect. Summer and early fall are the ideal window: the ground is dry enough for our service rig to access remote rural wells without rutting, water tables are typically at their seasonal low which simplifies sealing, and bentonite materials cure properly in warmer temperatures. Spring decommissioning can be challenging on properties with soft access roads — the same lanes that handled the rig fine in October can be impassable in April. Winter work is possible and is sometimes preferred for properties where frozen ground supports heavy equipment on otherwise soft sites, but cement-based sealing materials need temperature management in cold conditions. We schedule decommissioning work to fit both your project timeline and the conditions at your specific property.

Geology across Simcoe County and Grey County creates different decommissioning considerations from one area to the next. Wells completed in the fractured limestone and dolostone of the Niagara Escarpment in Clearview, Blue Mountains, and Meaford may have intersected artesian zones that need controlled sealing to prevent uncontrolled discharge. Sandy overburden wells around Wasaga Beach, Tiny Township, and Innisfil are typically straightforward to seal with bentonite chip slurry, but old screens often need to be left in place rather than pulled because removal would collapse the formation. Clay-rich wells in Springwater and Essa Township seal easily but the clay-dominated access roads complicate equipment delivery in wet weather. Hand-dug wells anywhere across the region present the unique challenge of large diameter and often unknown construction — we assess and adapt rather than apply a single playbook.

Property owners should know a few practical points before scheduling decommissioning. First, decommissioning is often triggered by an event — a real estate transaction, a lot severance, switching to municipal water, drilling a replacement well — and these events frequently come with deadlines. Plan the work as soon as you know it is needed rather than waiting. Second, the decommissioning record is a permanent part of the property file and is typically requested by buyers, lenders, and severance applications. Keep your copy in a safe place along with your other property records. Third, if you suspect there are old wells on your property that you have never seen — common on older rural lots and former farmsteads — let us know during the site visit. We can often locate hidden wells using property records, aerial imagery, and physical inspection, and addressing them now is far less costly than discovering them during a future construction project. Mighton's Well Services has decommissioned hundreds of wells across Simcoe County and Grey County, and we make the process straightforward and properly documented.