1.0 Basic Information

Oregon Water Resources Department maintains Well Log records for the State of Oregon. Public access to these records are being provided free of charge. Please read the following section outlying the legalities concerning the use of this information.

 

Legal Issues

The information provided in the tabular information is a subset of information captured from the original well log submitted by the well constructor. Though the Department takes great pains to ensure that the data entered is correct, there may be may be data entry errors. The reproduction of the submitted well log in image format is available and that information takes precedence over the tabular data.

 

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2.0 How do I search for Well Logs?

To search for well logs, enter the information about the area or well log for which you want to search. Information that has been entered or selected are combined together to make a query. Information that is left blank is not included in the selection criteria. Once you have specified the criteria, click on the Search button. If you want to erase the criteria you have entered and start fresh, click on the Reset button. The following sections describe each of the options on which you can search:

2.1 Township and Range

Township and Range lines were defined by Public Land Surveyors in the late 1800's. They define a grid for Oregon and Washington from which all other land surveys are ultimately based. Townships run North and South and Ranges run East and West. In Oregon Township numbers span from 9 North to 41 South and Range numbers span from 50 East to 16 West. While slightly confusing, the combination of a Township number and a Range number uniquely identify a square called a Township.

The surveyors where not perfect in laying out this grid, which resulted in gaps in the grid. While there are not many of these, once these gaps were located, they were labeled as fractional Townships. You can specify a fractional Township such as this by using it's decimal equilivent. For example:

• Range 33 1/4 East would be Range 33.25 East
• Township 12 1/2 South would be Township 12.50 South
• Range 10 3/4 West would be Range 10.75 West

If you don't know what Township/Range/Section of the location you are looking for, you can attempt to locate it via the "Find T-R-S by Address" button. You will be provided a screen that will allow you to enter the address of the location. Enter it in a format similar to "725 Summer ST NE Salem, OR". This address lookup uses a free geocoding service based on government TIGER data. You may not be able to find all addresses using this tool.

 

2.2 Sections

 

Each Township is further divided into a grid of 36, one square mile sections . Click on the check box beneath each of the sections you wish to display.

 

2.3 County

If you don't know the Township or if you want to limit the specified Township to a certain county, you can use the County selection. This will enable you to choose 1 of the 36 counties in Oregon. You can specify to ignore the county selection by choosing the blank county option. For example, you can combine owner name and County to locate wells when you don't know the township information.

 

2.4 Constructor

This is the name of the well constructor who performed the work. The system will automatically return all names that contain the text you enter. For example if you enter "MAC" the system will bring back records such as "MACDONALD", "MACINTOSH", and "DORMACK". The system will also automatically shift the text entered to uppercase to match items in the database.

 

2.5 Owner Name

The owner name is typically the person who had the well constructed. Usually, this is the landowner at the time the well was constructed. Enter the last name of the person for which you wish to search. The system will automatically return all names that contain the text you enter. For example if you enter "MAC" the system will bring back records such as "MACDONALD", "MACINTOSH", and "DORMACK".

 

2.6 Company Name

The company name is typically the name of the company who had the well constructed. However, it is also used to store the names of secondary owners. For example if a well log stated that the owner was Mr. and Mrs. John Doe, the owner name would be Mr. John Doe and the Company name would be Mrs. John Doe. To search on this field, enter the name of the "company" for which you wish to search. The system will automatically return all names that contain the text you enter. For example if you enter "MAC" the system will bring back records such as "MACDONALD", "MACINTOSH", and "DORMACK".

 

2.7 Completed Date Range

This field allows you to specify the date range for which you are searching. Enter the dates in a MM/DD/YYYY format.

 

2.8 Completed Depth Range

The Completed Depth is the finished depth of a well. This field allows you to specify the range of depths for which you are searching.

 

2.9 Start Card#

Well constructors file a notice of intent to construct a well called a startcard. These are given a unique number. This field allows you to locate an individual well log via this reference number.

 

2.10 Well Log ID#

Once a well log has been submitted, the Department assigns a Well Log ID# for the database. This identification is the combination of a county code (which may be different than the county where the well is located) and a numeric id. These combination of these fields allows you to locate an individual well log via this reference number.

 

2.11 Well Log Tag#

After June 1996, wells constructed, altered, or on property that has changed ownership, have a metal tag placed on them with this number. This field allows you to locate an individual well log via this reference number.

 

2.12 Taxlot#

This column displays the taxlot that was recorded on the Well Log at the time of construction. Since this information changes over time, this may or may not be the current taxlot for the property. To search by this identifier, enter it in the taxlot field.

 

2.13 View listing by pages

Searches may return hundreds of records and can quickly overwhelm a browser trying to display all those records. To avoid this problem, the "View listing by pages" is checked by default to reduce the amount of records to display at once. You can also further refine how many records are displayed per page.

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3.0 Using the Data Grid

Once you have successfully performed a search, you will be presented with a screen full of information. The following section answers some of the questions you may have about this screen.

3.1 How do I view the well log image?

The well logs images are provided as Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files. You will need to have the current version of Adobe Acrobat installed to view them. You can download the free viewer at: www.acrobat.com

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4.0 What do these columns of data mean?

There is a wealth of information provided when you retrieve well log records. The section below defines or describes these columns.

4.1 Well Log

This field is a unique key for a given well log. The combination of County Code and Well Log ID# is created when a well log is entered into the GRID system. You may see some records where the Well Log ID is list multiple times with version numbers. There are some well logs where through field inspection, Department Staff, or other sources, we have discovered that the data on the original well log is not accurate. On those logs, we add another record with a higher version.

 

This column is also used as a place where you can display the well log image. Simply click on the Well Log ID and you will be able to view the Well Log image.

 

4.2 T-R-S/Q-QQ

This column provides the locational information for a well. The abbreviation T-R-S/Q-QQ stands for Township - Range - Section / Quarter - Quarter Quarter

Township and Range lines were defined by Public Land Surveyors in the late 1800's. They define a grid for Oregon and Washington from which all other land surveys are ultimately based. Townships run North to South and Ranges run East to West. In Oregon Township numbers span from 41 South to 9 North and Range numbers span from 16 West to 50 East. While slightly confusing, the combination of a Township number and a Range number uniquely identify a square called a Township.

The surveyors where not perfect in laying out this grid, which resulted in gaps in the grid. Once these gaps were located, they were labeled as fractional townships such as 33 and 1/2

 

Each Township is divided into a grid of 36 sections. Each section is further divided into four equal parts (about 160 acres each) called Quarters. Each 160 acre Quarter is then divided again into four 40 acre parts called a Quarter-Quarter.

 

4.3 Taxlot

This column displays the taxlot that was recorded on the Well Log at the time of construction. Since this information changes over time, this may or may not be the current taxlot for the property. Taxlot numbers have been required on well logs since 1996.

 

4.4 Street of Well

The address of the property where the well was constructed. This information may or may not be the current address of the property due to address changes.

 

4.5 Owner

The owner name is typically the person who had the well constructed. Usually, this is the landowner at the time the well was constructed.

 

4.6 Company Name

The company name is typically the name of the company who had the well constructed. However, it is also used to store the names of secondary owners. For example if a well log stated that the owner was Mr. and Mrs. John Doe, the owner name would be Mr. John Doe and the Company name would be Mrs. John Doe.

 

4.7 Well Type

The type of well constructed. These include:

• W - Water Supply
• M - Monitoring
• G - Geotechnical Hole

4.8 First Water

Depth indicated by the constructor of when water was first encountered.

 

4.9 Completed Depth

Depth of the finished well. This can be different than the actual depth drilled.

 

4.10 Static Water Level

The level that water came to rest in the well after the construction was completed.

 

4.11 Yield

After the well is constructed, a test is performed to estimate the amount of water the well is able to produce. This columns lists the maximum value from these tests entered on the well log.

 

4.12 Completed Date

Date the well was finished.

 

4.13 Bonded Constructor

Name of the constructor who is legally responsible for construction of the well.

 

4.14 Startcard

Well constructors file a notice of intent to construct a well called a startcard. These are given a unique number. These notices are confidential from one year of filling or until the well log is received by the Department.

 

4.15 Well Id #

Beginning in June 1996, wells are tagged with a numbered, metal tag.

 

4.16 Construction Type

These columns denote the type of work being performed. These activities include new construction, abandonment, deepening, reconditioning, and repair.

 

4.17 Well Uses

Wells are used for numerous purposes. These fields denote the different types of uses a well might have. The use indicated on the log is the original use the owner indicated. This may have changed over time.

• Domestic Use
• Irrigation
• Community
• Industrial
• Injection
• Thermal
• Livestock