St. Helena Municipal Code Ch. 13.16 Water Wells

WATER WELLS

Sections:

• 13.16.010 Purpose. 13.16.020 Findings. 13.16.030 Definitions. 13.16.040 Design standards. 13.16.050 Existing wells. 13.16.060 Permit required.

13.16.070 Permit approval/denial. 13.16.080 Limitations upon well drilling permits. 13.16.090 Appeals. 13.16.100 Inspections. 13.16.110 Enforcement. 13.16.120 Violations.

This chapter is intended to regulate all water wells within the incorporated limits of the city and to protect and preserve the surface waters and the groundwater aquifers lying under and adjacent to the city. (Ord. 12-1 § 1; prior code § 19.1)

The city council finds and determines as follows:

A. It is necessary to establish standards for construction, placement, maintenance and destruction of water wells in order to assure that water wells will produce pure, wholesome and potable water, to prevent pollution of and damage to potable underground water stratas, and to ensure an adequate supply of groundwater is available to the community.

B. The city of St. Helena has an obligation to protect the groundwater aquifer from, among other things, contamination and undue waste.

C. The city council, in exercising its police powers, has the authority to adopt ordinances and resolutions for the regulation of groundwater, thereby conserving said waters and materially benefiting the public welfare.

D. Improperly constructed, operated or maintained water wells and water supply sources can affect the public health and safety adversely by affecting the community’s supply and quality of drinking, commercial or industrial, and irrigation water.

E. The city desires to require the location, construction and repair of water wells and other water systems to conform to California State Department of Water Resources Standards as noted in DWR Bulletin Numbers 74-81 and 74-90 and as required in California Water Code Section 13801.

F. At its regular meetings of February 28 and March 13, 2012, the city council introduced and considered, at duly noticed and open public meetings, the adoption of an ordinance to amend Chapter 13.04, Water Service System, and Chapter 13.16, Water Wells, of the St. Helena Municipal Code to require connection to the public water supply system and to limit and regulate construction of water wells. (Ord. 12-1 § 1; prior code § 19.2)

For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

“Agricultural purpose” means the breeding, raising, pasturing, and grazing of livestock for the production of food and fiber, and the planting, raising, harvesting and producing of viticultural crops, food crops, fiber crops, horticultural crops, and forestry crops.

“Public works director” or “director” means the public works director, including his or her designee.

“Well” means any artificial excavation constructed by any method for the purpose of extracting water from, or injecting water into, the ground. This definition does not include test wells, monitoring wells, or wells used for the purpose of dewatering excavations during construction, or stabilizing hillside or earth embankments. (Ord. 12-1 § 1; prior code § 19.3)

The design and construction of water wells shall be in accordance with the current California water well standards contained in Department of Water Resources Bulletins 74-81 and 74-90 and applicable regulations contained in the Napa County Code Chapter 13.12 and subsequent revisions. (Ord. 12-1 § 1)

The use and maintenance of existing water wells within the city shall be allowed. (Ord. 12-1 § 1)

A. No person shall drill, modify, construct or reconstruct, or destroy a water well without first submitting an application to, and receiving a permit from, the director of public works.

B. Such application shall be on a form provided by the city and shall provide information sufficient to determine that such well will comply with the provisions of this chapter, all laws of the state of California, and rules and regulations issued thereunder.

C. The application shall be accompanied by a fee in an amount to be fixed from time to time by resolution, to cover the administrative costs of issuing a well permit, including, but not limited to, plan check and inspection related to initial well construction and ongoing operation.

D. The applicant shall also submit a well permit application to, and receive a permit from, the Napa County department of environmental management pursuant to Chapter 13.12 of the Napa County Code and subsequent revisions. (Ord. 12-1 § 1)

A. The director of public works shall provide notice of a well permit request to property owners within three hundred (300) feet from the lot on which the proposed well is located prior to the approval of the well permit request.

B. The director of public works shall evaluate each application for a water well permit and may issue such permits which, in his or her sole discretion, are deemed to be consistent with the provisions of this chapter. The director, in issuing such permits, may impose conditions as may be reasonably necessary to ensure compliance with this chapter.

C. Applying the criteria contained in a separate resolution established by the city council, the director of public works may require, as a part of the well permit request, the preparation of a study by a qualified hydrogeologist, or equivalent professional, to ascertain the potential effects of the proposed well on the Napa Valley Floor-St. Helena Subarea groundwater basin or upon existing wells in the immediate vicinity of the subject well. Such a study shall be prepared at the applicant’s expense by an individual found, by the director of public works, to possess the appropriate qualifications. The scope of the study shall be determined by the director of public works. Should the director of public works conclude upon review of the study that the proposed well will have a significant adverse impact upon the Napa Valley Floor-St. Helena Subarea groundwater basin or existing well(s) in the immediate vicinity of the proposed well, the director of public works shall either deny the request or apply appropriate conditions upon the well permit to avoid the adverse effects. Such conditions may include, but are not limited to, a volumetric limit on the groundwater which may be extracted annually from the approved well. (Ord. 12-1 § 1)

Permits for water wells issued after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be subject to the following limitations:

A. Wells shall not be drilled nor the water produced therefrom used for residential, commercial or industrial land use activities except that replacement well(s) for residential, commercial and/or industrial land uses may be established for well(s) which existed and were in active use prior to the effective date of this chapter; provided, that no net increase in water production results from the replacement well(s).

B. No well permit for uses other than agricultural purposes, as defined in Section 13.16.030 and as determined by the public works director, shall be granted without first receiving approval of an exception pursuant to the provisions of Section 13.04.055. Groundwater extracted from wells approved for agricultural purposes shall not be used for any other purpose including, but not limited to, landscaping and residential and commercial uses.

C. All property owners with approved well permits pursuant to this chapter shall meter the well’s water production and report the amount of groundwater extracted each calendar year. This report shall be submitted to the department of public works prior to July 1st of each year on a form approved by the director of public works, or at the close of any shorter reporting period which may be established by the director. The property owner shall maintain the meter in sound operating condition at all times.

D. All property owners with wells approved pursuant to this chapter shall meter the well’s water level on a monthly basis and submit such water level data to the department of public works on a form approved by the director. This report shall be submitted annually to the director of public works prior to July 1st of each year, or at the close of any shorter reporting period which may be established by the director. The property owner shall maintain the meter in sound operating condition at all times.

E. As a condition of all approved well permits pursuant to this chapter, the permittee shall assume all liability imposed by law for personal injury or property damage resulting from any work performed by the permittee or his agent under a permit, or resulting from the failure of the permittee to perform his obligation under a permit. If any claim of such liability is made against the city, its officers, employees, or agents, the permittee shall defend, indemnify and hold them, and each of them, harmless from such claims. (Ord. 12-1 § 1)

Any person whose application for a permit has been suspended, revoked or denied, or any person excepting to any administrative decision made by the director of public works pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, may appeal to the city council in accordance with the provisions of Chapter 1.16 of this code. Said appeal shall be accompanied by a filing fee, if any, as established by the city council. (Ord. 12-1 § 1)

The director of public works shall have the right to enter upon any property at any reasonable time to make inspections and examinations for the purpose of enforcement of this chapter, subject to the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure Section 1822.50 et seq. Prior to entry, the director of public works shall present proper identification, state the purpose of the visit, and request permission of the owner or responsible person to enter the premises. (Ord. 12-1 § 1)

The director of public works may suspend or revoke a well permit issued under this chapter whenever he/she determines that a condition resulting from any work performed under such a permit constitutes a nuisance, or when the applicant, his/her agents, employees, or the licensed well drilling contractor performing the work: (A) violates any condition of the permit; (B) violates any provision of this chapter; or (C) misrepresents any material facts in the application for a permit. Upon notification by the director of public works that no valid permit has been issued or that the permit is suspended or revoked, no further work shall be performed until such violation has been abated. (Ord. 12-1 § 1)

A. Any property owner who drills, modifies, constructs, reconstructs, destroys, maintains or operates a water well in violation of this chapter is guilty of a misdemeanor for each day in which such well is used or operated in violation of this chapter. Such violation shall be punishable pursuant to Chapter 1.20 of this code.

B. In addition or as an alternative to the penalties provided in subsection A of this section, it is a threat to the public health, safety or welfare and is thus declared to be unlawful and a public nuisance for any water well to be operated or used in violation of any of the provisions of this chapter, any other provision of the municipal code, or any other applicable law. Any such nuisance may be abated and/or restored by the enforcement official and also may be abated pursuant to Chapter 1.12 of this code, except that the civil penalty for a violation shall be one thousand dollars ($1,000). Each day the violation occurs shall constitute a separate offense. The city attorney also is authorized to pursue any remedy he or she deems necessary or appropriate to abate, enjoin, or otherwise compel the cessation of the nuisance.

C. Any person who knowingly makes any false statements, representation, record, report, plan or other document filed with the city, or who falsifies, tampers with or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required under this chapter, shall be punished by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months, or by both. The city attorney, upon order of the city council, shall petition the superior court to impose, assess, and recover such sums. (Ord. 12-1 § 1)