For the purpose of this subchapter, the following definitions shall apply unless the context clearly indicates or requires a different meaning.
ABANDONED WELL. Any of the following:
(1) A water well used less than eight hours in any 12-month period;
(2) A monitoring well from which no monitoring data has been taken for a period of two years;
(3) A well which is in such a state of disrepair that it cannot be made functional for its original use or any other use regulated by this subchapter within six months or such other shorter or longer period as determined by the Director depending on well condition and the risk of the aquifer;
(4) An engineering test hole where 24 hours has elapsed after construction and testing work has been completed on the site;
(5) A cathodic protection well which is no longer used for its intended purpose; or
(6) A water well for which annual reports of well usage pursuant to § 52.073.
ACTIVE WELL. A water well that has operated for at least eight hours during a calendar year, a monitoring well from which data has been collected at least once during the past two years, or a cathodic protection well maintained and utilized for its intended purpose.
ACRE-FOOT. The volume of water necessary to cover one acre to a depth of one foot; equal to 43,560 cubic feet or 325,851 gallons.
AGENCY. Ventura County Public Works Agency.
AQUITARD. A confining bed and/or formation composed of rock or sediment that retards but does not prevent the flow of water to or from an adjacent aquifer and that does not readily yield water to wells or springs but stores groundwater.
AQUIFER. A body of rock or sediment that is sufficiently porous and permeable to store, transmit, and yield significant or economic quantities of groundwater to wells and springs.
APPLICANT. The well owner or the well owner's authorized representative.
ARTESIAN PRESSURE. Hydrostatic pressure of artesian water, often expressed in terms of pounds per square inch, or the height, in feet above land surface, of a column of water that would be supported by the pressure and which pressure may cause water to flow from the well.
BASIN. A groundwater basin or subbasin identified and defined in the latest State of California Department of Water Resources' (DWR) Bulletin No. 118.
BACKUP WELL or STANDBY WELL. A well that is not the primary well, but is a well used to provide supplemental water when the primary well is out of service or not fully functional. The backup well shall not be used to initiate any new use or increased use of groundwater, and must meet the minimum requirements for an active status well.
CAN'T LOCATE WELL. Classification assigned to a well which the owner cannot locate.
CAN'T LOCATE REPORT WELL. Classification assigned to a well for which the owner has conducted a well search according to the County's Well Location Procedures, and submitted a report documenting the search efforts and results.
CATHODIC PROTECTION WELL. Any artificial excavation in excess of 50 feet constructed by any method 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. (Water Code § 13711)
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION. A certificate prepared by the county documenting that a well condition inspection has been conducted by a registered inspector and a well condition inspection report has been prepared and deemed satisfactory by the county.
CITY. The City of Santa Paula.
CITY INSPECTOR. A person authorized by the Director to inspect all work for which a permit is issued pursuant to this subchapter.
COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY WELL. Any water well which provides water for public water systems as defined in Cal. Health & Safety Code § 116275.
COMPLETION OPERATION. Any of the following work conducted after artificial excavation:
(1) Placement of a well casing;
(2) Gravel packing;
(3) Sealing;
(4) Perforation of a well casing; or
(5) Any other work listed on a permit issued pursuant to this subchapter as being a required part of a completion operation.
CONFINED AQUIFER. An aquifer that is bounded above and below by formations of distinctly lower permeability than that of the aquifer itself, or an aquifer containing confined groundwater.
CONTAMINANT. Any substance or property preventing the use or reducing the usability of water for ordinary purposes such as drinking, preparing food, bathing, washing, recreation, and cooling, or any solute or cause of change in physical properties that renders water unfit for a given use.
COUNTY INSPECTOR. A person authorized by the Agency to inspect permitted work.
DE MINIMUS EXTRACTOR. A person who extracts, for domestic purposes, two acre-feet or less per year.
DEPARTMENT. The Public Works Department of the city.
DESTROY A WELL. To fill it (including both interior and annular spaces if the well is cased) completely in such a manner that it will not produce water or act as a conduit for the interchange of water between any water-bearing formations penetrated.
DIRECTOR. The director of the department or his or her duly authorized representative.
ENGINEERS TEST HOLE. An uncased excavation used to determine the engineering or geological properties of subsurface materials by seismic investigation, direct observation or any other means.
EXEMPT WELL. An abandoned well for which a well condition inspection report has been conducted and a certificate of exemption has been approved by the County of Ventura.
FLOWMETER. A manufactured instrument for accurately measuring and recording the volume of water pumped from a well or wells.
GOOD STATE OF REPAIR. A well whose condition is adequate to perform its intended function without allowing contaminants to migrate between zones of water bearing sediments where one or more zones contain water of different quality and where the well has a physical barrier that prevents surface water contaminants from entering groundwater.
GROUNDWATER. Water beneath the surface of the earth within a zone below the water table in which the soil is completely saturated with water, but does not include water that flows in known and definite channels.
GROUNDWATER BASIN. An alluvial aquifer or a stacked series of alluvial aquifers with reasonably well-defined boundaries in a lateral direction and having a definable bottom.
INDIVIDUAL DOMESTIC WELL. Any water well used to supply water for domestic needs of an individual residence, commercial establishment, or farming operation.
INSPECT A WELL. To personally witness, record and certify work pursuant to a condition or conditions of a valid permit.
MODIFY OR REPAIR A WELL. To replace its casing in a manner which involves removal or partial removal of the old casing, to reperforate its casing, to install a liner in the well, or to change the depth of the well.
MONITORING WELL. Any artificial excava-tion by any method for the purpose of monitoring fluctuations in groundwater levels, quality of underground waters, or the concentration of contaminants in underground waters.
NON-COMPLIANT WELL. An abandoned well for which the owner does not repair and reuse, destroy or obtain a certificate of exemption.
OWNERSHIP OF A WELL. The person who is assessed as the owner of the well by the County Assessor or, if the well is not separately assessed, the person who owns the land upon which the well is located as shown on the latest equalized assessment roll of the County Assessor.
PERSON. An individual, corporation, company, association, partnership, limited liability company, municipality, public utility, or other public body or institution. (Cal. Health and Safety Code § 116275(g))
POLLUTION. An alteration of waters by waste, salt water intrusion or other material to a degree which adversely affects either the suitability of such waters for beneficial uses or the facilities employed in conjunction with such beneficial uses.
POSSESSES A WELL. In actual possession of the well or has a legal right to the possession thereof.
REGISTERED INSPECTOR. A civil engineer or a professional geologist possessing a current license in the State of California and approved by the Agency. Registered inspectors are required to inspect drilling and sealing operations for engineering test holes and monitoring wells and for the determinations in connection with a certificate of exemption. A technician trained and experienced in drilling and sealing operations who is working under the direct supervision of one of the aforementioned professionals may be deemed qualified to perform required inspection(s) provided one of the aforementioned professionals reviews the well condition inspection report and assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the work by signing the well condition inspection report.
REPLACEMENT WELL. A new well that replaces a well but does not increase the former well's capacity. Well capacity means the name plate performance rating for the existing well equipment or the well's documented historical production.
UNCONFINED AQUIFER. An aquifer which is not bounded on top by an aquitard and the upper surface of which is the water table.
UNSATURATED ZONE. The zone below the land surface in which pore space contains both water and air.
WATER WELL. Any artificial excavation constructed by any method for the purpose of deter- mining the availability of water, extracting water from or injecting water into the underground, except the following:
(1) Oil wells, gas wells, and geothermal wells constructed under the jurisdiction of the State of California Department of Conservation, except those wells converted to use as water wells;
(2) Wells used exclusively for the purposes of dewatering excavation during construction or of stabilizing hillsides or earth embankments (Cal. Water Code § 13710); and
(3) Seepage pits approved for use under permit from the department.
WELL. Includes a cathodic protection well, engineer test hole, monitoring well or water well.
WELL COMPLETION REPORT. A required, confidential report detailing the construction, alteration, abandonment, or destruction of any water well, cathodic protection well, groundwater monitoring well, or geothermal heat exchange well. The reports were called water well drillers' reports prior to 1991 and are often referred to as "driller's logs." The report requirements are described in Cal. Water Code § 13751.
WELL CONDITION INSPECTION REPORT. A report documenting the integrity of a well and its associated components pursuant to § 52.066.
WELL FIELD. Two or more water wells located in close proximity or area, and that extract groundwater.
WELLHEAD PROTECTION AREA. The surface and subsurface area surrounding a water well or well field that supplies a public water system through which contaminants are reasonably likely to migrate toward the water well or well field.
(‘81 Code, § 8.40.020) (Ord. 945, passed - -91; Am. Ord. 1274, passed 6-5-17)