[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Trempealeau as indicated in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Health and sanitation — See Ch. 293.
Sewer use — See Ch. 415.
Wellhead protection — See Ch. 482.
[The current Water Utility Regulations and Rates are on file in the Village office and are also available on the PSC website.]
[Adopted 10-5-2009 by Ord. No. 8-2009; amended in its entirety 5-7-2012 by Ord. No. 4-2012]
The purpose of this article is to protect public health, safety and welfare and to prevent contamination of groundwater by assuring that unused, unsafe or noncomplying wells or wells which may act as conduits for contamination of groundwater or wells which may be illegally cross-connected to the municipal water system are properly maintained or abandoned.
This article applies to all wells located on premises served by the Trempealeau municipal water system. Utility customers outside the jurisdiction of the municipal system may be required under contract agreement or utility rule to adopt and enforce equivalent ordinances within their jurisdictions for purpose stated in § 476-1 above. Village residents operating private wells in the Lakes District, a floodplain zone, are specifically exempted from this article. Trempealeau County shall regulate floodplain well permitting in the Lakes District.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEMS
A community water system owned by a city, village, county, town, town sanitary district, utility district, public inland lake and rehabilitation district, municipal water district or a federal, state, county, or municipal-owned institution for congregate care or correction, or a privately owned water utility serving the foregoing.
NONCOMPLYING
A well or pump installation which does not comply with § NR 812.42, Wisconsin Administrative Code, Standards for Existing Installations, and which has not been granted a variance pursuant to § NR 812.43, Wisconsin Administrative Code.
PUMP INSTALLATION
The pump and related equipment used for withdrawing water from a well, including the discharge piping, the underground connections, pitless adapters, pressure tanks, pits, sampling faucets and well seals or caps.
UNSAFE
Well or pump installation means one which produces water which is bacteriologically contaminated or contaminated with substances which exceed the drinking water standards of Chs. NR 140 or 809, Wisconsin Administrative Code, or for which a health advisory has been issued by the Department of Natural Resources.
UNUSED
Regarding a well or pump installation, means one which is not used for does not have a functional pumping system.
WELL
A drill hole or other excavation or opening deeper than it is wide that extends more than 10 feet below the ground surface constructed for the purpose of obtaining groundwater.
WELL ABANDONMENT
The proper filling and sealing of a well according to the provisions of § NR 812.26, Wisconsin Administrative Code.
All wells on premises served by the municipal water system shall be properly abandoned in accordance with § 476-6 of this article by November 1, 1988, unless a valid well operation permit has been issued to the well owner by the Village Clerk-Treasurer under terms of § 476-5 of this article.
A. 
Owners of wells on premises served by the municipal water system wishing to retain their wells for any use shall make application for a well operation permit for each well. The Village Clerk-Treasurer shall grant a permit to a well owner to operate a well for a period not to exceed five years, providing all conditions of this section are met. A well operation permit may be renewed by submitting an application verifying that the conditions of this section are met. The Village or its agent may conduct inspections and water quality tests or require inspections and water quality tests to be conducted at the applicant's expense to obtain or verify information necessary for consideration of a permit application or renewal. Permit applications and renewals shall be made on forms provided by the Clerk-Treasurer.
B. 
The following conditions must be met for issuance or renewal of a well operation permit:
(1) 
The well and pump installation shall meet the Standards for Existing installations describe in § NR 812.42, Wisconsin Administrative Code.
(2) 
The well and pump shall have a history of producing safe water evidenced by one bacteriological safe water sample. In areas where the Department of Natural Resources has determined that groundwater aquifers are contaminated with substances other than bacteria, additional chemical test may be required to document the safety of the water.
[Amended 5-5-2022 by Ord. No. 2-2022]
(3) 
There shall be no cross-connections between the well's pump installation or distribution piping and the municipal water system.
(4) 
The water from the private well shall not discharge into a drain leading directly to a public sewer utility unless properly metered and authorized by the sewer utility.
(5) 
The private well shall have a functional pumping system.
(6) 
The proposed use of the private well shall be justified as reasonable in addition to water provided by the municipal water system.
A. 
All wells abandoned under the jurisdiction of this article shall be done according to the procedures and methods of § NR 812.26, Wisconsin Administrative Code. All debris, pumps, piping, unsealed liners and any other obstructions which may interfere with sealing operations shall be removed prior to abandonment.
B. 
The owner of the well, or the owner's agent, shall notify the Clerk-Treasurer at least 48 hours in advance of any well abandonment activities. The abandonment of the well may be observed or verified by personnel of the municipal system.
C. 
An abandonment report form, supplied by the Department of Natural Resources, shall be submitted by the well owner to the Clerk-Treasurer and the Department of Natural Resources within 30 days of the completion of the well abandonment.
If any person fails to comply with this article for more than 30 days after receiving written notice of the violation, the municipality may impose a penalty and cause the well abandonment to be performed and the expense to be assessed as a special tax against the property.
[Adopted 5-7-2012 by Ord. No. 3-2012]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
CROSS-CONNECTION
Any physical connection or arrangement between two otherwise separate systems, one of which contains potable water from the Village's public water system, and the other of which contains water from a private source, water of unknown or questionable safety, or steam, gases, or chemicals, whereby there may be a flow from one system to the other, with the direction of flow depending on the pressure differential between the two systems.
No person, firm, or corporation may establish or maintain, or permit to be established or maintained, any unprotected cross-connection. Cross-connections shall be protected as required in Ch. SPS 382, Wisconsin Administrative Code.
The water utility may inspect, or arrange for an inspection of, property served by the public water system for cross-connections. The frequency of inspections shall be established by the water utility in accordance with Wisconsin Administrative Code. Any unprotected cross-connections identified by the inspection shall be promptly corrected. Failure to promptly correct an unprotected cross-connection shall be sufficient cause for the water utility to discontinue water service to the property, as provided under § 476-13 of this article.
Upon presentation of credentials, a representative of the water utility shall have the right to request entry, at any reasonable time, to a property served by a connection to the public water system for the purpose of inspecting the property for cross-connections. Refusing entry to such utility representative shall be sufficient cause for the water utility to discontinue water service to the property, as provided under § 476-59 of this article. If entry is refused, a special inspection warrant under § 66.0119 of the Wisconsin Statutes may be obtained.
The water utility may request an owner, lessee, or occupant of property served by a connection to the public water system to furnish the water utility with pertinent information regarding the piping systems on the property. Refusing to provide requested information shall be sufficient cause for the water utility to discontinue water service to the property, as provided under § 476-13 of this article.
The water utility may discontinue water service to any property wherein any unprotected connection in violation of this article exists, and take other precautionary measures deemed necessary to eliminate any danger of contamination of the public water system. Water service may be discontinued, however, only after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing under Chapter 68, Wisconsin Statutes, except as provided in § 476-14 of this article. Water service to such property shall not be restored until the unprotected cross-connection has been eliminated.
If it is determined by the water utility that an unprotected cross-connection or emergency endangers public health, safety, or welfare, and requires immediate action, and if a written finding to that effect is filed with the Village Clerk-Treasurer and delivered to the customer's premises, water service may be immediately discontinued. The customer shall have an opportunity for hearing under Chapter 68, Wisconsin Statutes, within 10 days of such emergency discontinuance. Water service to such property shall not be restored until the unprotected cross-connection has been eliminated.