Big Bear Lake Municipal Code Ch. 8.40 Water Wells

The purpose of this chapter is to provide minimum standards for construction, reconstruction, abandonment and destruction of wells in order to:

A. Protect underground water resources; and

B. Provide safe water to persons within the city.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

A. No person, as principal, agent or employee, shall dig, drill, bore, drive, reconstruct or destroy:

1. A well that is or has been used to produce or inject water;

2. A cathodic protection well;

3. An observation well; or

4. An exploration well, unless he first files a written application to do so with the department and receives and possesses a valid permit as provided herein.

B. Application for Permit. Applications for permits shall be submitted to the department and shall include the following:

1. A plot plan showing the location for the well with respect to the following items within a radius of five hundred feet from the well:

a. Property lines, including ownership,

b. Sewage or waste disposal systems or works for carrying or containing sewage or waste,

c. All intermittent or perennial, natural or artificial bodies of water or watercourses,

d. The approximate drainage pattern of the property,

e. Other wells, including abandoned wells,

f. Access road(s) to well site;

2. Location of the property, legal description;

3. The name and contractor's license classification, including number, of the person constructing the well;

4. The proposed or probable depth of the well;

5. The proposed minimum depths and types of casing and probable minimum depth of perforations to be used if such data can be reasonably projected;

6. The proposed use of the well;

7. Where proposed work is reconstruction or destruction of a well, provide the following if available:

a. Total depth,

b. Depth and type of casing used,

c. Depth of perforations,

d. Well log,

e. Any other pertinent information;

8. Description of method of reconstruction or destruction of well;

9. Location and classification of any solid waste disposal sites within two miles of the proposed well;

10. Other information as may be necessary to determine if the underground waters will be adequately protected.

C. Conditions of Approval. Permits shall be issued subject to compliance with the standards provided in this division and with the submission and subsequent approval by the director of plans demonstrating compliance with these standards, except that such standards shall be inapplicable or modified as expressly provided for in this division. Permits may also include any other condition or requirement found by the department to be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this division.

D. Denial. If, upon the completion of the investigation, the department determines, as a fact, that the standards of this chapter have not been met, it shall deny the application.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

No person shall engage in an activity listed in Section 8.40.020 unless he is in compliance with the provisions of this division and has a valid license in accordance with the California Contractor's State License Law (Chapter 9, Division 3 of the Business and Professions Code), as appropriate to the activity to be engaged in. Such a person shall register with the department prior to commencing any activity regulated by this chapter.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

Standards for the construction, reconstruction, destruction or abandonment of wells shall be the standards recommended in the California Department of Water Resources Bulletin No. 74, Chapter II. And, for cathodic protection wells, the standard shall be those recommended in Chapter II of the California Department of Water Resources Bulletin No. 74-1.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

Location, design and monitoring of lateral wells will be in accordance with the standards recommended in the State Department of Health, Water Sanitation Section handout titled Requirements for Use of Lateral Wells in Domestic Water Systems.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

Before construction begins on a well that is intended to be part of a system that purveys domestic water, the drilling site shall first be approved by the director or his representative. In the event that the well is to serve a system under the direct jurisdiction of the State Department of Health, then that agency may make site approval and notify the director of their approval or disapproval.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

A. It is unlawful for any person to drill, dig, excavate or bore any water well in any location in which sources of pollution or contamination are known to exist or at such location whereby such water may become contaminated or polluted even though the well was properly constructed and maintained. All wells shall be located an adequate distance from potential sources of contamination and pollution:

Sewers, watertight septic tank or pit privy .....50 ft. min.

Subsurface sewage leaching field .....100 ft. min.

Cesspool or seepage pit .....150 ft. min.

Animals or fowl kept .....100 ft. min.

Any subsurface sewage disposal system discharging 5,000 gal/day or more .....200 ft. min.

B. Minimum distances from other sources of pollution or contamination shall be as determined by the department.

C. Where adverse or special hazards are involved, the above distances shall be increased or special means of protection, particularly in the construction of the well, shall be provided as determined by the department.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

A. Any person who has drilled, dug, excavated or bored a well, subject to this chapter, shall within thirty days after completion of the drilling, digging, excavation or boring of such well, furnish the department with a complete log of such well. This log shall include depths of formations, character, size distribution, color for all lithological units penetrated, as well as the type of casing, the depth of the well, the number and location of the perforations in the casing and any other data required by the department. In any areas where insufficient subsurface information is available, the department may require inspection of the well log during any phase of the well's construction where required to achieve the purposes of this chapter, may require modification of the remaining planned work.

B. A copy of the log providing such information submitted to concerned state agencies shall satisfy this requirement.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

A. Water Well Surface Sealing. All water wells hereafter drilled, dug, excavated or bored shall be provided with: a watertight reinforced concrete slab of minimum thickness of six inches, top of slab to be a minimum four inches above ground level or floor level at well site, and slab shall extend horizontally at least three feet from the center of the well casing in all directions, and the concrete slab shall adequately slope so as to drain water away from the well casing.

B. Sample Spigot. A sample spigot shall be provided on the pump discharge line of any water well used as a domestic water supply, as close to the pump as practical and on the distribution side of the check valve.

C. Check Valve. A check valve shall be provided on the pump discharge line as near the pump as possible for all water wells.

D. Water Well Disinfection Pipe. All community water- supply wells and individual domestic wells shall be provided with a pipe or other effective means through which chlorine or other disinfecting agents may be introduced directly into the well. The pipe shall be extended to a height equal to the pump slab or at least four inches above the finished grade, shall be kept sealed and shall be provided with a threaded or equivalently secured cap.

E. Water-well Master Meter. A master meter or other suitable measuring device shall be provided for each source facility to register accurately the quantity of water delivered to the distribution system for all community water supply wells.

F. Air-Relief Vent. An air-relief vent, if used, shall terminate downward and be screened and protected against the possibility of contaminating material entering the vent.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

Every new, repaired or reconstructed community water supply well or individual domestic well, after completion of construction, repair or reconstruction, and before being placed in service, shall be thoroughly cleaned of all foreign substances. The well, including the gravel used in the gravel-packed wells, the pump, pump column and all portions of equipment coming in contact with well water shall be disinfected with a solution containing at least fifty parts per million available chlorine, which shall remain in the well for a period of at least twenty-four hours or by an equivalent method of disinfection satisfactory to the department, and such procedure shall be repeated, as necessary, to produce water which is bacteriologically satisfactory as set forth by California Administrative Code, Title 17, Water Quality Standards.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

Water from all new and reconstructed wells shall be tested for chemical and physical quality in accordance with California Administrative Code, Title 17, Water Quality Standards, by a laboratory approved by the California State Department of Health.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

The department shall be notified at least twenty-four hours in advance to make an inspection of the following operations:

A. Prior to the sealing of the annular space or filling of the conductor casing;

B. After installation of the surface protective slab and pumping equipment;

C. During destruction of all wells, after the well has been sealed as per the approved plans;

D. Any other operation which might be stipulated on the permit by the director to cope with special or unusual conditions.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

No water from a new or reconstructed well shall be used until the well is given final approval by the director.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

If after thirty days the owner of an abandoned well has not declared the well for proposed reuse as per Section 8.40.150, then the well shall be destroyed as per Sections 8.40.020 and 8.40.040. If any well is found by the director to be a hazard, whereby its continued existence causes damage to the groundwater, or to the health, safety or welfare of the people of this city, the director shall direct the owner to destroy the well within a stated period of time. At the time of removal of a pump, the casing shall be provided with an adequate cap at the surface and shall be maintained so that it will not be a hazard to health or safety until such time that the abandoned well is properly sealed from the bottom to the top.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)

The owner of a well, the use of which has been or is soon to be discontinued, may apply to the department, in writing, his intention to use the well again for its original or other approved purpose. The department shall review such a declaration and grant an exemption from certain of the provisions of Section 8.40.140 provided no undue hazard to health or safety is created by the continued existence of the well. Such a declaration shall be applied for and granted annually and may be terminated for cause by the director at any time.

(Ord. 82-72 § 1(part), 1982)