San Joaquin County Municipal Code Ch. 1 General Provisions

The Board declares that the people of San Joaquin County have an inalienable right to demand the protection of the ground waters and that the Board has the responsibility to protect these waters for the enjoyment, health, safety and welfare of the people. The Board further declares that the people of San Joaquin County have a primary interest in the location, construction, maintenance, and destruction of water wells, cathodic protection wells, test wells and geophysical wells that directly affect the quality and potability of underground waters.

(Ord. 1862)

As used in this division:

(a) Abandoned Well is any well whose original purpose and use has been permanently discontinued or which is in such a state of disrepair that it cannot be used for its original purpose.

(b) Agricultural Well is any water well used to supply water for irrigation, livestock operation or other agricultural purposes not including any uses of domestic water.

(c) Air Conditioning Wells are wells constructed to return to the ground, in a closed system, well water which has been used as a coolant in air conditioning processes.

(d) Board of Trustees means the Board of Trustees of the San Joaquin Local Health District.

(e) A Cathodic Protection Well means any artificial excavation in excess of fifty (50) feet deep constructed by any means for the purpose of installing equipment or facilities for the protection electrically of metallic equipment in contact with the ground (commonly referred to as cathodic protection).

(f) Contamination means an impairment of the quality of the waters by waste to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning or through the spread of disease. Contamination shall include any equivalent effect resulting from the disposal of waste, whether or not waters of the County are affected.

(g) Destruction of Well means to restore as nearly as practicable those conditions which existed prior to the construction of the well.

(h) Disposal Well means a hole dug, bored, or drilled into any known aquifers in which are deposited matters or substances, which, by reason of temperature or content, may be deleterious to ground water.

(i) District Health Officer means the Health Officer of the San Joaquin Local Health District or his authorized representative.

(j) Geophysical Well means a well used for testing or logging strata or to obtain data from the underground.

(k) Health District means the San Joaquin Local Health District.

(l) Individual Domestic Water Well is any water well used to supply water for domestic needs of an individual residence or duplex.

(m) Industrial Well is any water well used to supply industry on an individual basis.

(n) Injection or Recharge Well is any well constructed to introduce water into the underground as a means of replenishing ground water basins.

(o) Person means any natural person, individual, firm, partnership, company, corporation, association, joint venture, joint stock company, organization, club, company, business trust, lessee, agent, servant, officer, employee, unincorporated association or representative of same.

(p) Pollution means an alteration of the quality of the waters by waste to a degree which unreasonable affects: (1) the value of such water for beneficial uses, or (2) facilities which serve such beneficial uses. Pollution may include Contamination.

(q) Public Domestic Water Supply Well means any water well used to supply domestic water to more than one (1) individual parcel of property or any water supply which services any premise which contains a temporary or permanent resort, hotel, apartment house, triplex, motel, institution, labor camp, trailer park, gas station, cafe, school, subdivision or any commercial establishment.

(r) Pump Contractor means any person or company licensed by the State Contractors License Law, as provided in Division 3, Chapter 9, of the Business and Professions Code, to install, service or repair a pump.

(s) Recharge Well (See Injection Well).

(t) Sanitary Hazards are inadequacies, actual or potential, which may permit the entrance of pollutants, contaminants, or pathogenic organisms into the water, thereby impairing the water quality or rendering it injurious to public health.

(u) Seal, Annular is the cement grout between the conductor casing or bore and the casing.

(v) Seal, Sanitary is a grout, mastic or mechanical device used to make a water tight joint between the pump and casing or the concrete base.

(w) Seal, Surface is a monolithically poured concrete platform constructed around the top of the well casing on thoroughly compacted earth.

(x) Test Well (See Geophysical Well).

(y) Waters of the County means any water, surface or underground, including saline waters, within the boundaries of the County.

(z) Water Quality is a term used to describe the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water in respect to its suitability for a particular purpose. The same water may be of good quality for one purpose or use, and bad or poor for another, depending upon its characteristics and the requirements for the particular use.

(aa) Well Contractor means any person or company licensed by the State Contractors License Law, as provided in Division 3, Chapter 9, of the Business and Professions Code.

(bb) Well Pit is an excavation in which the well head or top of well casing is installed below the ground surface.

(cc) Well or Water Well means any artificial excavation constructed by any method for the purpose of extracting or recharging ground water or testing or logging of stratum to obtain data from the underground. This definition shall not include: a) oil and gas wells or geothermal wells constructed under jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation, State of California, except those wells converted to use as water wells; b) wells used for the purpose of (1) dewatering excavation during construction, or (2) stabilizing hillsides or earth embankments.

(Ord. 1862)

This Division shall apply to all territory lying within the limits of the County of San Joaquin, State of California, excluding that territory lying within any incorporated city.

(Ord. 1862)

In all areas of County where poor quality water could infiltrate good quality ground water due to well construction, special requirements will be set to protect the good quality water. These areas of quality problem are near Stockton, Tracy, Lathrop, French Camp and Manteca.

(Ord. 1862)