Calaveras County Municipal Code Art. VII Destruction

When a well no longer functions as originally designed, or cannot function appropriately, or has fallen into such a state of disrepair that it may constitute a preferential pathway for the intrusion of contaminants or pollutants into the groundwater, or constitutes a potential hazard to public health and safety, or is found or declared to be abandoned, it must be destroyed by a well contractor, under a well permit issued by the director.

(Ord. No. 2946, § 1, 5-6-2008).

A. When a well is to be destroyed, the interior of the well casing, first, shall be cleared of any debris or obstruction which might interfere with the sealing procedures.

B. The well shall be filled, with fill material (such as pea gravel), approved by the director, from the bottom of the well to a level that is no deeper than twenty-five feet below the ground surface.

C. At least twenty feet of sealing material, approved by the director, shall be placed on top of the fill material.

D. The twenty-foot column of sealing material may be recessed up to five feet below the ground surface. If the sealing material is recessed, the distance from the top of the approved sealing material to the ground surface may be excavated and the exposed casing may be removed or cut off. The resulting excavation may be filled with native soils.

E. The director, based on site specific conditions, may require the installation of a deeper seal or a seal that is recessed deeper than five feet below the ground surface. If the top of the well casing cannot be removed, the well casing shall be filled to the ground surface with approved sealing material.

F. If there is no annular seal, or if the integrity of either the annular seal or the well casing is unknown, the well casing shall be perforated from the top of the fill material to the ground surface. The well casing shall be perforated, at a minimum, on opposite sides of the well casing. The perforations shall be of sufficient size to allow cement grout to flow readily through the perforations, without clogging, to fill the annular space.

G. If the depth of a well that is to be destroyed is twenty feet or less in depth, the well, with the approval of the director, may be filled with native soils.

H. Under no circumstances shall a well or a borehole be filled, or otherwise destroyed, without the approval of the director.

I. During a well destruction, bentonite chips may be allowed to free fall up to two hundred feet, if the space through which the bentonite chips will fall is sufficiently large enough to prevent bridging, and if the bentonite chips are used in accordance with procedures described herein and procedures specified by the manufacturer.

J. The destruction of hand dug wells shall be accomplished by filling the well from the bottom to no less than twenty feet below the ground surface with approved fill material. The distance from the top of the fill material to the ground surface shall be filled with cement grout or other approved sealing material. The director, based on site specific conditions, may require the installation of a deeper seal.

K. The twenty-foot column of sealing material may be recessed up to five feet below the ground surface. If the sealing material is recessed, any well lining (rock or brick) that is exposed must be removed before the excavation is filled. The excavation may be filled with native soils.

L. The director may declare that a hand dug well is an abandoned excavation and require the excavation (pursuant to Section 115700, Part 9.5, Division 104 of the California Health and Safety Code) to be:

1. Covered, filled or fenced securely, and kept so protected, to prevent the endangerment of public health and safety; and

2. Protected in such a manner that the excavation does not become a preferential pathway for the movement of pollutants, contaminants, or poor quality water, from above ground to below ground, where such movement poses a threat to the water quality.

(Ord. No. 2946, § 1, 5-6-2008).

Under no circumstances shall a well, whether active, inactive or abandoned, be used for the disposal of any solid or liquid wastes.

(Ord. No. 2946, § 1, 5-6-2008).

If a well that is less than four inches in diameter is to be destroyed, the well shall be filled with cement grout, bentonite, or other approved sealing material from the bottom of the well to the ground surface. The destruction of the well shall be conducted by a well contractor under a well permit issued by the director.

(Ord. No. 2946, § 1, 5-6-2008).