[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health
of the Town of Eastham 3-5-2020. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Eastham Board of Health voted to adopt the following regulation,
under the authority of MGL c. 111, § 31, to better protect
the public health of the inhabitants of the Town of Eastham.
A.
ABANDONED WELL
BOARD OF HEALTH
POLLUTION
POTABLE
RENTED OR LEASED PROPERTY
WELL
WELL INTENDED FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION
Definitions. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
A well that has not been used for water supply for a period
of one year or more, unless the owner declares his/her intention to
use the well again for supplying water within one year.
The Board of Health or its agent.
Adverse effect on water quality created by the introduction
of any matter.
Water which is pure and free from impurities that may cause
disease or harmful physiological effects and is safe for human consumption,
bathing and/or washing purposes.
Any dwelling used for habitation or business purposes by
an occupant other than the owner, for the use of which a fee is paid.
This includes, but is not limited to, campgrounds, motels, bed-and-breakfasts,
inns, and other accommodations used on a transient basis, as well
as community-type buildings which are rented to community groups.
Any pit, pipe, excavation, spring, casing, drill hole, or
other source of water to be used for any purpose of supplying water,
and shall include dug wells, driven or tubular wells, drilled wells
(artesian or otherwise) and springs, gravel packed, gravel walled
wells, gravel developed and washed borings and as further described
in the U.S. EPA Manual of Individual Water Supply Systems. For the
purpose of these regulations, it shall include both private potable
water wells and nonpotable water wells.
Any well supplying water for human consumption, bathing or
washing purposes, which is not otherwise regulated as a "public water
system" (community or noncommunity water supply) under 310 CMR 22.00.
B.
Registration of well drillers: All well drillers doing business in
the Town of Eastham shall annually file with the Board of Health a
copy of their current well driller registration certificate issued
by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under the MGL c. 21G, § 20.
C.
Well installation, alteration and repair.
D.
Well construction permit.
(1)
No well shall be installed, or altered, until a well construction
permit has been obtained from the Board of Health. A permit so granted
shall expire six months from the date of issue, unless construction
has begun. A six-month extension may be granted at no additional cost.
(2)
The fee for a well permit for a new construction permit shall be
determined by Eastham Board of Selectmen.
(3)
An application for a well construction permit shall be submitted
by the drilling contractor or his/her agent to the Board of Health
on forms furnished by the Board. The well driller is responsible for
obtaining said permit prior to construction.
(4)
The location and design of the water well must be approved by the
Board of Health, prior to the issuance of a well construction permit.
Prior to approval, the Board of Health requires the following information
be submitted.
(a)
The assessor's map, parcel and lot number of the property
on which the well will be located.
(b)
Design and capacity of the water system, as described under
well yield and water system design. Wells that are nonpotable and
are not intended for human consumption are not required to submit
design and capacity of the water system to the Board of Health.
(c)
A site plan showing proposed location of well in relation to
building foundations, property lines, the water supply well intended
for human consumption and the subsurface sanitary disposal system(s)
serving the lot. The site plan need not be prepared by a qualified
professional.
(d)
For emergency repair, alteration, or replacement of an existing
well, the Board of Health may waive the requirements that a site plan
be submitted.
(5)
All permits issued shall be subject to the conditions that all facilities
shown shall be constructed in the location approved by the Board of
Health. All permits issued shall be subject to the requirements of
these regulations and to such further conditions, as the Board of
Health shall prescribe.
E.
Well construction.
(1)
The Board of Health recommends that well construction meet the guidelines
outlined in the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
Private Well Guidelines.
(2)
Upon completion of drilling operation the top of well casing shall
be protected with a PVC, stainless steel, or steel cap to prevent
contamination.
(3)
The top of a well shall be above ground that is higher than any surface
sources of contamination and above any known conditions of flooding
by drainage or runoff from the surrounding land, unless located in
a flood-proofed well house.
(4)
Wells must be constructed so as to maintain existing natural protection
against all known or potential pollution of the groundwater and to
exclude all known sources of pollution from entering the well.
(5)
All non-yielding holes which are installed in the process of constructing
a well must be filled so as to not act as a conduit to the groundwater.
(6)
A metal tag shall be affixed to the top of any subsurface well casing
at the time of installation so that the well may later be located,
if necessary, by a metal detector.
(7)
In areas where salt water or other pollutant intrusion is known or
likely to occur, the Board of Health, working with a design engineer
and/or well driller as appropriate, may specify the well screen level,
pumping rate, water storage capacity, or any other construction parameter
which must be used to ensure that water of adequate quality is obtained.
F.
Well drillers report. Within 30 days after completion of any well
(productive or non-productive), a registered well driller shall submit
to the Board of Health a copy of the report containing the name of
the owner of the well, the geographic location of the well, well depth,
depth to bedrock or refusal, casing type, casing size and casing length,
well screen type, well screen length, and depth at which well screen
is set, static water level, method used to test well yield, length
of time (in hours) well pumped, drawdown, well yield, and drilling
logs describing the material penetrated. The Board of Health will
not issue a compliance potability certificate for the well until this
report has been received.
G.
Well destruction.
(1)
Upon destruction of any well, a well completion report must be submitted
by the owner or his/her agent to the Board of Health. The well completion
report for decommissioned wells must meet the standards of well completion
reporting to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
(2)
Any abandoned well shall be cut three to four feet below grade and
below pitless adapter, if present, capped and buried. Where in the
opinion of the Board of Health adverse conditions exist, more stringent
abandonment protocols may be required.
H.
Well location.
(1)
In general, wells intended for human consumption shall be located
as far as possible from potential sources of contamination. The following
minimum distances are required:
|
Potable
|
Nonpotable
| |
|---|---|---|
|
Property line
|
10 feet
|
10 feet
|
|
Leaching catch basin/drywell
|
25 feet, but recommended that this distance be maximized
|
25 feet, but recommended that this distance be maximized
|
|
Roadway
|
25 feet from edge of road layout (not edge of pavement)
|
25 feet from edge of road layout (not edge of pavement)
|
|
Utility rights-of-way
|
50 feet, but recommended that this distance be maximized
|
50 feet, but recommended that this distance be maximized
|
|
Septic tank
|
50 feet
|
10 feet
|
|
Septic leaching facility
|
100 feet
|
25 feet
|
|
Septic distribution box
|
50 feet
|
10 feet
|
|
Building sewer lines
|
10 feet
|
10 feet
|
|
Subsurface drains
|
25 feet, but recommended that this distance be maximized, as
pollutants frequently travel along the outside of subsurface drain
pipes
|
25 feet, but recommended that this distance be maximized, as
pollutants frequently travel along the outside of subsurface drain
pipes
|
(2)
Where, in the opinion of the Board of Health, adverse conditions
exist, the above distances may be increased. In certain cases, the
Board of Health may require the owner to provide additional means
of protection. Where possible, the well shall be located up the groundwater
gradient from sources of contamination.
Wells that serve the purpose of providing potable water for
human consumption must meet the following requirements, in addition
to the requirements set forth Section A - Private Wells Regulations.
A.
Water quality:
(1)
Prior to the issuance of the compliance potability certificate of
the well, the owner or his/her agent, shall take a water sample(s)
from the well and submit it to a state certified testing laboratory
for analysis, with the cost to be borne by the owner. The results
of all analyses shall be submitted to the Board of Health. At a minimum,
water must be tested for the following chemical and bacteriological
standards: total coliform, nitrate- nitrogen, pH, conductivity, sodium
and iron.
(2)
The Board of Health will determine the potability of the well, using
as guidelines the National Interim Primary and Secondary Drinking
Water Standards and the U.S. Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). The
water quality standards for common parameters are as follows:
|
Primary Standards
| |
|---|---|
|
Total coliform
|
0 colonies/100ml by membrane filtration
|
|
Nitrate
|
10 ppm
|
|
Secondary Standards
| |
|---|---|
|
pH
|
Recommended pH above 5.0
|
|
Sodium
|
Recommended below 20 ppm
|
|
Iron
|
0.3 ppm
|
(a)
In the event that any secondary standards are exceeded, yet
the water is deemed fit for human consumption by a state certified
testing lab, the owners of said property shall be notified of test
results so as to allow any corrective measures to be implemented.
(b)
Test results must meet current established maximum contaminant
levels (MCLs) for volatile organic compounds.
(3)
Commercial establishments that meet the state definition of non-community
public water supply must submit routine water quality test results
with applications for all Board of Health licenses or renewals.
B.
Testing requirements.
(1)
Rationale. The area surrounding the capped landfill has been the
focus of testing and concern vis a vis water quality in recent years.
Some limited traces of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) have been
found in this area, and occasionally even an exceedance has been found.
(2)
Water quality: Approval of any well as a supply of potable water
(intended for human consumption) shall require the owner or owner's
agent to provide the Board of Health satisfactory test results as
required by 310 CMR 22.00 et seq., as amended to the date of application,
from water sample(s) taken from any potential well and submitted to
a state-certified laboratory test, at the owner's expense, for
the following tests:
(3)
In locations where potential sources of contamination are believed
to exist, or where geologic or hydrologic conditions require more
restrictive or additional standards than those outlined above, additional
water testing and special standards may be required by the Board of
Health to ascertain that water meets the maximum contaminant levels
set for public water supplies by the U.S. EPA under the Safe Drinking
Water Act and 1986 SDWA amendments.
(4)
When the Board of Health deems it necessary, the Health Agent, or
other agent of the Board of Health, may be present to witness the
taking of a water sample and/or may take the water sample and deliver
it to the testing laboratory him/herself.
(5)
The Board of Health further recommends that all well owners have
their wells tested, at a minimum of every two years, and at more frequent
intervals when water quality problems are known to exist.
(6)
In cases where the well water does not meet the water quality standards
outlined above the Board of Health may require the property owner
to provide an alternative approved source of drinking water for the
inhabitants or the building which is served by the well.
(7)
Routine and VOC tests of a property's well water by a state
certified testing lab to verify suitability for human consumption
shall be required in change of ownership of said property. The buyer
shall be notified of test results prior to finalization of transfer.
(8)
Well yield and water system design:
(a)
Before approval, every well shall be pump tested to determine
yield. The pump test shall include a drawdown test at a minimum pumping
rate of five gallons per minute for one hour.
(9)
Submission of well water test results:
(a)
Prior to issuance of a compliance potability certificate for
well water intended for human consumption, the results of all water
quality and yield tests shall be submitted to the Board of Health.
The owner of the property, which the well will serve, or the well
driller, acting as agent for the owner, shall certify, on a form provided
by the Board of Health, the following:
C.
Well approval:
(1)
New wells shall not be placed into use for human consumption until
the Board of Health has approved the potability and quantity of the
water provided and issued a compliance potability certificate for
the well to the owner of the property which the well serves.
(2)
A compliance potability certificate for a well will not be issued
until:
(a)
The well water has been shown to meet the water quality criteria
outlined in the regulations, and/or has been certified fit for human
consumption by a state certified testing lab.
(b)
For wells installed at newly constructed buildings, the Board
of Health shall require that a certified as-built plot plan, drawn
by a qualified professional be submitted to the Board of Health. Such
plot plan must show the actual location of the well on the lot as
cross tie distances from lot corners, and must show the location of
the septic system, as installed, in relation to the well. The plot
plan must also identify, by assessors map, parcel and lot number,
the property on which the well is located.
(c)
Wells which fail to meet some or all of the requirements in
these regulations may be approved by the Board of Health after a hearing
at which a variance from these standards may be granted.
Due to the potential contamination of groundwater in the Mandatory
Municipal Water Supply Zone (bounded by Glacier Hills Road, Nauset
Road, Doane Road, State Highway and the Bike Trail on the attached
map) the following restrictions will apply:
A.
In the Central Area bounded by Glacier Hills Road, Schoolhouse Road,
Route 6 and Bike Trail (see attached map) all private wells (potable
and nonpotable) must be abandoned.
B.
In areas outside the Central Area but within the Mandatory Municipal
Water Supply Zone conversion of private drinking water wells for irrigation
use may be allowed if the well:
C.
All private wells tested with a 1, 4 Dioxane concentration above
0.3 ug/l (or the current ORS-G, GW-1 standard/guideline) shall be
plugged and abandoned per Massachusetts Department of Environmental
Protection Policy "Standard References for Monitoring Wells" or the
Massachusetts DEP "Private Well Guidelines" Policy.
D.
All private wells tested with 1, 4 Dioxane concentration less than
0.3 ug/l (or the current ORS-G GW-1 standard/guideline) shall be cut
three to four feet below grade and below pitless adapter, if present,
capped and buried simultaneous as part of the connection to municipal
water.
[1]
Editor’s Note: Said map is included as an attachment to this chapter.
A.
A certificate to convert the existing potable well for nonpotable
use must be obtained from the Board of Health and is subject to Eastham
Municipal Water Regulations Section 6.9.
A.
The Board of Health may vary the application of any provision of
this chapter with respect to any particular case when, in its opinion,
the enforcement thereof would do manifest injustice; provided that
the decision of the Board of Health shall not conflict with the spirit
of these minimum standards, nor with the protection of human health
and environmental quality.
B.
Every request for a variance shall be made in writing and shall state
the specific variance requested and the reasons therefor. Any variance
granted by the Board of Health shall be in writing.
If any provision of this regulation is declared invalid by a
court of competent jurisdiction, such invalidity shall not affect
any remaining provisions of this regulation. Any part of these regulations
subsequently invalidated by a new state law or modification of an
existing state law shall automatically be brought into conformity
with the new or amended law and shall be deemed to be effective immediately.
