State officials are looking to see if misuse of water has lead to dry wells in some parts of the state.

Private wells of more than a dozen homes near the Jasper County town of Parr have gone dry in recent weeks, leaving residents with the costly prospect of drilling deeper wells. Inspectors from the state Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Water were scheduled to visit the town about 55 miles northwest of Lafayette to evaluate the wells. Some residents blame the state’s lingering drought for their dried-up wells. But others believe water use by a sprawling dairy farm and farmers irrigating parched fields are drying up their wells by lowering the water table.