The 961 domestic wells on file within 5 miles of New Castle, from the state’s drilling logs: your neighbors’ wells, and the best guide to this ground.
Source: PaGWIS (PA DCNR), domestic wells within 5 miles, retrieved 2026-09-30; older paper-record locations are approximate.
Pottsville Sandstone and Conglomerate Below
Geologic maps put the Pottsville Formation under New Castle, a Pennsylvanian sandstone and conglomerate. Conglomerate is pebbles cemented together in a sandy matrix. In rock like this, water travels through fractures and the spaces between grains, so what a particular bore crosses matters more than the rock’s name, and two wells a short way apart can come in quite differently, even at similar depths.
For well depth, the city sits a little below the middle of its county, sixth of nine Lawrence County towns ranked by median. Footage remains the main driver of what a new well costs, with casing through the soil adding to it. Residential well drilling explains how a bore is planned, drilled, cased and fitted with its pump.
Shenango River in Town, Wells in the Townships
Homes on PA American Water’s New Castle system run on Shenango River water, a surface supply, and they get their water report from the utility. The well logs describe the private wells around the city, where a home’s supply starts at its own wellhead.
Yields there are generally workable for a household. Half the logs record 18 gallons per minute or more, and the middle half fall between 10 and 30. At the upper end, a submersible pump can be sized to the household; at the lower end it is matched to the well, and the pressure tank carries more of the load between starts. Chloramine on the city supply and iron in well water are both covered under New Castle water treatment.
