(A) The purpose of this chapter is to protect the municipal water supply and distribution system from contamination resulting from cross-sections with privately owned wells.
(B) It is also the purpose of this chapter to protect the water supply of the city and to insure equitable distribution of clean water and its related costs, to include water for fire protection, to the residences and businesses of the city.
(1) No new privately owned wells will be permitted within the city following the passage of this chapter except as follows.
(a) Wells used exclusively for outside irrigation of lawns and/or gardens.
(b) Wells used exclusively for heat transfer systems (heat pumps).
(c) Domestic wells will be permitted only if the municipal water distribution system is more than 350 feet from the boundary of the property to be served.
(d) If in the opinion of the Building Official or Public Works Engineer it is not feasible or reasonable to extend the system due to inaccessibility (topography, rock and the like).
(2) No property or facility will be permitted to be served simultaneously by a privately owned well and the municipal water supply for domestic service. Privately owned wells are permitted for outside irrigation systems and heat transfer systems provided they are physically separated from the domestic service with no pipes, valves or fittings connecting the two systems together.
(3) All properties and facilities currently receiving domestic, irrigation or heat pump water from privately owned wells, and all future wells whether for outside irrigation or heat transfer systems shall have no pipe, valve or fitting connecting any of these systems with the municipal water system. Privately owned wells and the municipal water system must have no physical connection. Exception: provisions for municipal water supply for back-up or emergency operations may be approved by the Public Works Engineer.
(4) Before a privately owned well can be installed, the owner must first obtain a building permit from the City Building Official which shows the location, depth, planned capacity and proposed piping schematics. The permit must also show where the discharge from the system will be delivered. All new installations will be subject to the inspection and approval of the Building Official.
(5) When an existing privately owned well is discontinued from service by the owner, the well will be permanently discontinued and will not be permitted to operate again. The owner of property on which a discontinued or abandoned well is located is deemed to be the owner of that well. The owner is responsible for plugging the abandoned well or wells as required by SDCL §§ 46-6-18 and 46-6-27.
(Prior Code, § 26-A-14) (Ord. 1196, passed 12-3-2018)