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(A) Standards for construction, repair, modification or destruction of wells shall be those set forth in the Department of Water Resources, California Well Standards Bulletins Nos. 74-81 and 74-90, and Ventura County Water Well Standards Bulletin No. 74-9.
(B) Exceptions.
(1) The Agency may adopt additional or more stringent standards to be applicable in any or all zones of the city as delineated in aforementioned Bulletin No. 74-9.
(2) All community water supply wells and individual domestic wells shall be provided with a pipe or other effective means through which chlorine or other disinfecting agents may be introduced directly into the well. If a pipe is provided, it shall be installed at a height equal to the pump slab, shall be kept sealed, and shall be provided with a threaded or other secure cap. Equivalent protection for excluding contaminants from entering the well shall be provided for subsurface pump discharge installations. If an air relief vent is used, it shall terminate downward and be screened with 16 mesh screen to prevent contaminants from entering the vent.
(3) Every new, repaired or modified community water supply well or individual domestic water well, after construction, modification or repair, and before being placed into service, shall be thoroughly cleaned of all foreign substance and shall be thoroughly disinfected utilizing the procedures set forth in Appendix C of the aforementioned Bulletin No. 74-81.
(4) All wells shall be constructed with a sounding tube, tap hole with plug, or similar access for water level measuring equipment. For wells fitted with a well cap, the cap shall have a removable plug for this purpose. (State of California Department of Water Resources' Bulletin No.74-81.) Well discharge piping shall contain a water sampling port or valve for water quality sampling. Every new water well shall be equipped with a flowmeter. This flowmeter requirement does not apply to de minimis extractors. For those required to have flowmeters, flowmeters will be calibrated and a report submitted to the Agency at a minimum of every three years. The specifications for flowmeter calibration are set forth in Appendix 1. Substitution of comparable flowmeter calibration specifications may be approved upon review by the director.
(5) Engineering test holes deeper than 50 feet shall be destroyed within one working day upon completion of testing by complete filling and/or sealing of the borehole in accordance with criteria established by the Agency. The Agency may waive complete sealing if the permittee demonstrates to the director's satisfaction that the purpose of this subchapter as set forth in § 52.055 will be satisfied.
(6) All pump discharge pipes not discharging or open to the atmosphere shall be equipped with an automatic device to prevent backflow and/or siphonage into a well. Specific backflow prevention measures are required for drinking water supply wells as prescribed in Title 17, Public Health, Cal. Code of Regulations (§§ 7583-7565 and 7601-7605), effective June 25, 1987. (State of California Department of Water Resources' Well Standard Bulletin No. 74-90). Irrigation well systems, including those used for landscape irrigation and other well systems that employ, or which have been modified to employ, chemical feeders or injectors, shall be equipped with a backflow prevention device (State of California Department of Water Resources' Well Standard Bulletin No.74-90). A check valve may also be utilized to meet this backflow prevention requirement.
(7) For irrigation and industrial wells chemicals of any type are not to be injected, pumped or poured into the well with the exception of disinfectants following any well rehabilitation work. Rehabilitation work may include use of chemicals to clean or remove scale from the well casing and gravel pack (if installed). Chemicals used for disinfection of groundwater extracted from the well shall be injected downstream from a backflow prevention device. Continuous injection or drip of chemicals into the well is prohibited.
(8) No well, regardless of status, shall be left unattended without a cap that has been constructed to prevent the accidental access to the well by a person or animal, or have an opening that allows the well to be susceptible to contaminants or pollution.
(9) All wells shall be located an adequate horizontal distance from potential sources of contamination and pollution as specified in the Department of Water Resources, California Well Standards Bulletins No. 74-81, § 8.A.
(‘81 Code, § 8.40.100) (Ord. 945, passed - -91; Am. Ord. 1274, passed 6-5-17)
(A) (1) Licensed water well contractors who have performed any work for which a permit is required by § 52.057 and which involves drilling, digging, excavating or boring of a well, except for an engineering test hole, shall, within 30 days of completion of such work, submit to the Agency an accurate and complete report.
(2) For the purpose of obtaining sealing requirements from the Agency, geophysical well logs will be required as described in this section. New water wells in Sealing Zone III shall have a geophysical log. New water wells in Sealing Zone II shall either have a geophysical log, or soil samples shall be collected and recorded for every ten feet of depth within potential sealing zones. Geophysical logs must include spontaneous potential, and resistivity (short and normal, or lateral log). All abandoned water wells to be destroyed in Sealing Zones II and III shall have a geophysical log by gamma ray if no existing electric log or satisfactory drilling report is available for that well, unless it is determined by the Agency that a log is not warranted.
(B) Any permittee whose water well contractor fails to comply with this provision shall be in violation of this section and shall not be granted any new permits until the violation has been corrected. This shall not preclude the application of other penalties for violation of this subchapter. A well log shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) A detailed record of the boundaries, character, size, distribution and color of all lithologic units penetrated;
(2) The type and size of well casing;
(3) The location of perforations, sealing zones and existing seals;
(4) Reports on the quantity and quality of groundwater; and
(5) Any other data required by the Agency as a condition of the permit.
(‘81 Code, § 8.40.110) (Ord. 945, passed - -91; Am. Ord. 1274, passed 6-5-17)
(A) Well construction seal inspection report. A County Inspector will prepare a well seal inspection report for water wells and cathodic protection wells constructed pursuant to and in compliance with an unexpired permit issued under this subchapter.
(B) Well destruction seal inspection report. A County Inspector will prepare a well seal inspection report for water wells and cathodic protection wells destroyed pursuant to and in compliance with an unexpired permit issued under this subchapter.
(C) Monitoring well/engineering test hole construction seal inspection report. The well seal inspection report for monitoring wells and engineering test holes constructed pursuant to and in compliance with an unexpired permit issued under this subchapter shall be submitted by a registered inspector within 30 days of sealing on a form* satisfactory to the Agency, and shall include:
(1) Permit number;
(2) Dates of sealing work;
(3) Number of wells constructed under this permit;
(4) Diameter and depth of bore hole(s), diameter and depth of casing(s) to top of annular filter pack;
(5) Depth to water;
(6) Depth and type of sealing material(s);
(7) Method of placement of sealing material(s);
(8) Method of protection of wellhead or open (engineering test) bore hole; and **
(9) Signature of registered inspector.
* Bulletin 74-90 (DWR) requires that monitoring well construction, alteration, and destruction reports be completed on forms provided by the California Department of Water Resources.
** Section 52.064(H) requires that all engineering test holes be destroyed within one working day after completion of testing.
(D) Monitoring well destruction seal inspection report. The well seal inspection report for monitoring wells and engineering test holes destroyed pursuant to and in compliance with an unexpired permit issued under § 52.059 shall be submitted by a registered inspector within 30 days of sealing on a form* satisfactory to the Agency, and shall include:
(1) Permit number;
(2) Date(s) of sealing work;
(3) Number of wells destroyed under this permit;
(4) Diameter and depth of bore hole(s) and diameter and depth of casing(s) installed (monitoring wells);
(5) Depth to water;
(6) Depth and type of sealing material(s);
(7) Method of placement of sealing material;
(8) Method of restoration of site area; and
(9) Signature of registered inspector.
(E) Water well condition inspection report for certificate of exemption or returning well to active status. Any person who owns or who possesses a water well that is abandoned or about to become abandoned due to lack of use, but who does not desire to destroy the well, may submit to the Agency a well condition inspection report signed by a registered inspector pursuant to § 52.069. The report shall include:
(1) State well number;
(2) Driller's report;
(3) Assessor parcel number of the property on which the well is located;
(4) An accurate location description with respect to nearby wells, septic systems, animal enclosures, roads, and property boundaries;
(5) Photographs of the well site, taken not more than six months prior to application for a certificate of exemption;
(6) Video log of well casing, conducted not more than six months prior to application for a certificate of exemption;
(7) A description of the well casing condition based upon a review of the most recent video log of the well;
(8) An opinion that the well is, or is not, equipped with an annular seal or seals to prevent the interchange of waters between water-bearing strata penetrated by the well;
(9) A statement that the well is, or is not, protected from artesian flow and from entry by surface waters;
(10) A description of any work necessary to assure the safety of local groundwater supplies due to the continued existence of the well; and
(11) A description of any repair work necessary to allow the well to function for its intended purpose.
(‘81 Code, § 8.40.120) (Ord. 945, passed - -91; Am. Ord. 1274, passed 6-5-17)
Any person who owns a well and any person who is in possession of a well may be required to take corrective action with respect to the well as provided in this section.
(A) Grounds. Any of the following occurrences constitutes a ground for ordering corrective action:
(1) Maintenance, operation or use of the well in a manner that will cause or contribute to, or run a substantial risk of causing or contributing to, the pollution or contamination of the groundwater; allowing water to be wasted as a result of artesian pressure; or
(2) Construction, maintenance, repair, modification or destruction of the well in a manner that violates any provision of this subchapter.
(B) Notice. To initiate proceedings to order corrective action, the director shall send written notice to the person who owns the well or the person in possession of the well or both of them. The notice shall briefly describe the grounds for ordering corrective action, shall describe the proposed corrective action, shall specify a time and place of a hearing at which such person shall be afforded an opportunity to present evidence showing that the grounds for corrective action do not exist or that the proposed corrective action is inappropriate, and shall state that failure to appear and present such evidence may result in an order requiring such a person to take some or all of the proposed corrective action.
(C) Hearing. The director shall conduct the hearing specified in the notice. The hearing shall be informal and shall not be governed by rules of evidence applicable to courts of law. The person to whom the permit was issued shall have the right to present relevant evidence at the hearing. The director may, but need not, permit other persons to present relevant evidence. At the conclusion of the hearing, or within 30 calendar days thereafter, the director shall determine, based upon the preponderance of the evidence accepted at the hearing, whether there are grounds for ordering corrective action, and, if so, whether the proposed corrective action is appropriate. Such determination shall be in writing and shall contain a brief statement of the findings of fact upon which the determination is based.
(D) Order. If the determination is that there are grounds for corrective action and that some or all of the proposed corrective action is appropriate, the director may issue and serve upon the person or persons who were served with notice of the hearing a written order requiring such appropriate corrective action. The order shall state a deadline for commencing the corrective action if such action is to be ongoing and shall state a deadline for completing the corrective action if such corrective action is not taken in compliance with the order, such action may be taken by the county at the expense of the person served with the order and, in addition, such person may be subject to criminal prosecution.
(E) Compliance. Any owner or possessor of the well who is served with such an order shall, on or before the deadline stated therein, commence every corrective action described therein as being ongoing and complete every corrective action described therein as not being ongoing. Any owner or possessor of the well served with such an order, and any person who thereafter acquires ownership or possession of the well with actual or constructive notice of the order, shall, for so long as such person owns or possesses the well, continue to take every corrective action described in the order as ongoing, until such time as either the well is destroyed pursuant to this subchapter or the director states in writing that such ongoing corrective action is no longer necessary.
(‘81 Code, § 8.40.130) (Ord. 945, passed - -91; Am. Ord. 1274, passed 6-5-17) Penalty, see § 52.999
No person shall own or possess an abandoned cathodic protection well which is over 50 feet deep, an abandoned monitoring well, an abandoned engineering test hole which is over 50 feet deep, or an abandoned water well unless either such well has been destroyed pursuant to this subchapter or a current certificate of exemption has been issued for such well pursuant to § 52.069. Any down-hole explosive work shall be conducted by a state licensed blaster who has obtained all appropriate city and county permits.
(‘81 Code, § 8.40.140) (Ord. 945, passed - -91; Am. Ord. 1274, passed 6-5-17) Penalty, see § 52.999
(A) Any person who owns or possesses a water well or monitoring well which is abandoned or about to become abandoned but who does not desire to destroy the well, or a person who desires to return an abandoned well to active status, may submit to the Agency a report prepared and signed by a registered inspector. Recommendations for repair must be submitted for review and approval of the Agency. If the Agency determines that the well would not result in pollution of ground water and would not create a hazard to health and safety, the Agency may issue a certificate of exemption or may approve the well to be returned to active status. Either alternative requires a satisfactory well condition inspection report.
(B) A certificate of exemption shall expire five years after issuance and may be terminated by the Agency at any time prior to expiration upon a determination that destruction of the well is necessary to prevent pollution or contamination of groundwater or to avoid a hazard to health or safety. Successive certificates of exemption may be issued with respect to a well in the same manner as the original certificate was issued. The well condition inspection report shall only be valid when the report has been shown to meet the requirements of § 52.066(E). The well condition inspection report will expire after 12 months and a new well condition inspection report will be necessary for well status changes.
(‘81 Code, § 8.40.150) (Ord. 945, passed - -91; Am. Ord. 1274, passed 6-5-17)
The Board of Supervisors may, by resolution, establish fees for the issuance of a permit, extension of a permit, a certificate of exemption, or an appeal pursuant to this subchapter. The payment of such fee, if any, established by such resolution shall accompany the application to which it pertains. If the application is withdrawn before the issuance of the permit, the Agency shall compute the cost to the county of processing the application up to that point in accordance with the city’s standard cost accounting procedures and, if such cost is less than the amount of the fee paid, the difference shall be refunded to the applicant.
(‘81 Code, § 8.40.160) (Ord. 945, passed - -91; Am. Ord. 1274, passed 6-5-17)
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