diff --git a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/CompositionalMultiphaseWell.cpp b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/CompositionalMultiphaseWell.cpp
index 77bf2821028..b13e8df8d83 100644
--- a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/CompositionalMultiphaseWell.cpp
+++ b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/CompositionalMultiphaseWell.cpp
@@ -413,26 +413,11 @@ void CompositionalMultiphaseWell::validateFluidModel(
   }
 }
 
-
 void CompositionalMultiphaseWell::validateWellConstraints( real64 const & time_n,
-                                                           real64 const & GEOS_UNUSED_PARAM( dt ),
+                                                           real64 const & dt,
                                                            WellElementSubRegion const & subRegion )
 {
-  GEOS_UNUSED_VAR( time_n );
-
-  if( !useSurfaceConditions() )
-  {
-    bool const useSegmentValues = referenceReservoirRegion().empty();
-
-    static bool firstNoRefRegionMsg = true;
-    if( useSegmentValues && firstNoRefRegionMsg )
-    {
-      GEOS_WARNING( WellControls::viewKeyStruct::referenceReservoirRegionString() <<
-                    " not set: well constraint fluid property calculations will use top segement pressure and temp ",
-                    getDataContext() );
-      firstNoRefRegionMsg = false;
-    }
-  }
+  WellControls::validateWellConstraints( time_n, dt, subRegion );
 
   string const & fluidName = subRegion.getReference< string >( viewKeyStruct::fluidNamesString());
   MultiFluidBase const & fluid = subRegion.getConstitutiveModel< MultiFluidBase >( fluidName );
diff --git a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/CompositionalMultiphaseWell.hpp b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/CompositionalMultiphaseWell.hpp
index de23fec8bfc..05ac08b0e34 100644
--- a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/CompositionalMultiphaseWell.hpp
+++ b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/CompositionalMultiphaseWell.hpp
@@ -400,9 +400,9 @@ class CompositionalMultiphaseWell : public WellControls
    * @param subRegion the well subRegion
    * @param elemManager the element manager
    */
-  virtual void validateWellConstraints( real64 const & time_n,
-                                        real64 const & dt,
-                                        WellElementSubRegion const & subRegion ) override;
+  void validateWellConstraints( real64 const & time_n,
+                                real64 const & dt,
+                                WellElementSubRegion const & subRegion ) override;
 
   /**
    * @brief Create well separator
diff --git a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/SinglePhaseWell.cpp b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/SinglePhaseWell.cpp
index 7b50cd11d1c..b6f807af1ee 100644
--- a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/SinglePhaseWell.cpp
+++ b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/SinglePhaseWell.cpp
@@ -188,28 +188,6 @@ string SinglePhaseWell::resElementDofName() const
   return SinglePhaseBase::viewKeyStruct::elemDofFieldString();
 }
 
-void SinglePhaseWell::validateWellConstraints( real64 const & time_n,
-                                               real64 const & GEOS_UNUSED_PARAM( dt ),
-                                               WellElementSubRegion const & subRegion )
-{
-  GEOS_UNUSED_VAR( time_n );
-  GEOS_UNUSED_VAR( subRegion );
-
-  if( useSurfaceConditions() )
-  {
-    bool const useSegmentValues = referenceReservoirRegion().empty();
-
-    static bool firstNoRefRegionMsg = true;
-    if( useSegmentValues && firstNoRefRegionMsg )
-    {
-      GEOS_WARNING( WellControls::viewKeyStruct::referenceReservoirRegionString() <<
-                    " not set: well constraint fluid property calculations will use top segement pressure and temp ",
-                    getDataContext() );
-      firstNoRefRegionMsg = false;
-    }
-  }
-}
-
 void SinglePhaseWell::initializeWellPostInitialConditionsPreSubGroups( WellElementSubRegion & subRegion )
 {
 
diff --git a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/SinglePhaseWell.hpp b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/SinglePhaseWell.hpp
index 12d1697db8d..d6f835bfcf1 100644
--- a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/SinglePhaseWell.hpp
+++ b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/SinglePhaseWell.hpp
@@ -335,19 +335,6 @@ class SinglePhaseWell : public WellControls
 
   ReferenceConditions getReferenceConditions( WellElementSubRegion const & subRegion );
 
-  /**
-   * @brief Make sure that the well constraints are compatible
-   * @param time_n the time at the beginning of the time step
-   * @param dt the time step dt
-   * @param subRegion the well subRegion
-   */
-  virtual void validateWellConstraints( real64 const & time_n,
-                                        real64 const & dt,
-                                        WellElementSubRegion const & subRegion
-                                        ) override;
-
-
-
   /**
    * @brief Create well separator
    */
diff --git a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/WellControls.cpp b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/WellControls.cpp
index c55bcd2c2b7..477aad32534 100644
--- a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/WellControls.cpp
+++ b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/WellControls.cpp
@@ -248,6 +248,25 @@ void WellControls::registerWellDataOnMesh( WellElementSubRegion & subRegion )
   }
 }
 
+void WellControls::validateWellConstraints( real64 const & GEOS_UNUSED_PARAM( time_n ),
+                                            real64 const & GEOS_UNUSED_PARAM( dt ),
+                                            WellElementSubRegion const & GEOS_UNUSED_PARAM( subRegion ))
+{
+  if( !useSurfaceConditions() )
+  {
+    bool const useSegmentValues = referenceReservoirRegion().empty();
+
+    static bool firstNoRefRegionMsg = true;
+    if( useSegmentValues && firstNoRefRegionMsg )
+    {
+      GEOS_WARNING( WellControls::viewKeyStruct::referenceReservoirRegionString() <<
+                    " not set: well constraint fluid property calculations will use the top segment pressure and temperature",
+                    getDataContext() );
+      firstNoRefRegionMsg = false;
+    }
+  }
+}
+
 void WellControls::updateNumDofPerElement()
 {
   localIndex const numFlowComponents = numFluidComponents();
diff --git a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/WellControls.hpp b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/WellControls.hpp
index afadd22a724..e32dfcf51cc 100644
--- a/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/WellControls.hpp
+++ b/src/coreComponents/physicsSolvers/fluidFlow/wells/WellControls.hpp
@@ -148,9 +148,15 @@ class WellControls :  public dataRepository::Group
    */
   /**@{*/
 
+  /**
+   * @brief Make sure that the well constraints are compatible
+   * @param time_n the time at the beginning of the time step
+   * @param dt the time step dt
+   * @param subRegion the well subRegion
+   */
   virtual void validateWellConstraints( real64 const & time_n,
                                         real64 const & dt,
-                                        WellElementSubRegion const & subRegion ) = 0;
+                                        WellElementSubRegion const & subRegion );
 
   virtual bool isCompositional() const = 0;
   /**