Susanville Municipal Code Art. I Purpose and Definitions

It is the intent of this chapter to protect the health, safety and general welfare of the people of the state of California and the city by ensuring that the groundwater of this state will not be polluted, contaminated, wasted or overdeveloped. To this end, minimum requirements are contained in this chapter for construction, reconstruction, maintenance, operation, use, repair, modification and destruction of water wells, cathodic protection wells, geothermal heat exchange wells and monitoring wells within the city. Private and/or commercial property owners shall not be allowed to drill water wells; provided, however, certain water wells may be drilled in connection with and as a condition of development and/or subdivision of property, provided a permit is issued by the city pursuant to this chapter, and provided said water well is dedicated to the city once it meets the standards set forth in this chapter. No person shall be allowed to drill a water well for the purpose of selling water.

(Prior code § 24A.01; Ord. 09-964 § 1, 2009)

For the purpose of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

As Defined in Other Documents. Except as otherwise required by the context of this chapter, the terms used in this chapter shall have the same meaning as in Chapter 10 of the Division 7 of the California Water Code and the Department of Water Resources Bulletin 74-81 and subsequent supplements or revisions.

"City council"

means the governing board of the local jurisdiction having well standards authority within the city of Susanville.

"Community water supply well"

means a water well for domestic purposes in systems subject to Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 5 of the California Health and Safety Code.

"Destroy/destroyed"

means properly filling a well casing or hole with aggregate base or concrete or by other approved method and capping the surface with concrete as directed by the director.

"Director"

means the public works director of the city or his/her duly authorized representative.

"Geothermal heat exchange well,"

as used in this chapter, means any uncased artificial excavation, by any method, that uses the heat exchange capacity of the earth for heating and cooling, in which excavation the ambient ground temperature is 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) or less, and which excavation uses a closed loop fluid system to prevent the discharge or escape of its fluid into surrounding aquifers or other geologic formations. Geothermal heat exchange wells include ground source heat pump wells.

"Groundwater"

means subsurface and/or over land or drainage water, that part of water which is in the zone of saturation.

"Individual domestic well"

means a water well used to supply water for domestic needs of an individual residence or commercial establishment.

"Person"

means any person, firm, corporation or governmental agency, to the extent authorized by law.

"Public works department"

means that agency designated by the city council to administer and enforce this chapter.

Section headings,

when contained in this chapter, shall not be deemed to govern, limit, modify, or in any manner affect the scope, meaning, or intent of the provisions of any section.

Tense or Gender.

Words used in the present tense include the future as well as the present. Words used in the masculine gender include the feminine and neuter. The singular number includes the plural, and the plural the singular.

"Well or water well"

means any excavation constructed by any method for the purpose of extracting water from, or injecting water into, the underground. Potholes, drainage trenches, or canals, waste water ponds, shallow root zone piezometers, stock ponds, or similar excavations are not included within the definition of wells.

(Prior code § 24A.02; Ord. 09-964 § 1, 2009)