Two kinds of ground in one county
Western Cabarrus, around Concord and Harrisburg, sits mainly on the granite-type igneous rock of the Charlotte terrane. Toward the eastern side of the county, around Mount Pleasant and Midland, the ground shifts toward the volcanic and slate rock of the Carolina Slate Belt. The change affects how deep a well may need to go, how much water it gives, and what the water carries.
Arsenic is worth a test in the east
North Carolina studies have found elevated arsenic more often in wells drilled into the Carolina Slate Belt than elsewhere in the state. Most wells are fine, but the only way to know is a lab test. If you’re in eastern Cabarrus and your well hasn’t been tested for arsenic, it’s worth doing.
Growth and irrigation
As Concord and Harrisburg have grown, more homeowners want lawn and garden water that doesn’t run through the household well or the city meter. A separate irrigation well, permitted and sized for the sprinkler zones, does that.
Permits and rules
Cabarrus Health Alliance’s environmental health division issues private well permits in Cabarrus County, after a site evaluation that picks a suitable well location. A permit is needed before a well is built, repaired or abandoned, and the health department samples every new drinking-water well after it’s completed.
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Local answers.
Who issues well permits in Concord?
Cabarrus Health Alliance, which handles environmental health for Cabarrus County. They evaluate the site, permit the well, inspect it and sample a new well once it’s finished.
Should I test my Mount Pleasant or Midland well for arsenic?
Yes, if it has never been tested for it. Eastern Cabarrus is closer to the Carolina Slate Belt, where state research has found arsenic above the drinking-water standard more often. Arsenic has no taste or smell, so only a lab test tells you.
Do I need a permit for an irrigation well in Cabarrus County?
Yes. North Carolina treats irrigation wells as wells that need a county permit, and they have to meet setback rules from septic systems and property lines like any other well.
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