[Adopted 7-14-1997 by Ord. No. 78]
The following words or phrases, when used in this article, shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in this article, except where the
context clearly indicates a different meaning:
APPLICANT
The owner or administrator of a property who is seeking a
permit to withdraw the underground waters of the Township.
AVERAGE DAILY DEMAND
Average daily demand for residential uses shall be based
on 350 gallons per day per dwelling unit or 100 gallons per person,
depending on which measure is greater. For nonresidential uses, the
average daily demand shall be determined according to Pennsylvania
Code Title 25, Chapter 73, § 73.17.
CAPACITY
Capacity of the well shall mean the maximum amount of water
which can be extracted from the well either by pumping or flowing
continuously for a period of 48 hours with less than one foot of change
in drawdown once a stable level is achieved. The "capacity" does not
mean the contemplated draft on the well.
CCHD
Chester County Health Department.
DRBC
Delaware River Basin Commission.
DRILLING
All acts necessary in the construction of wells, such as
drilling, boring, coring, washing, digging, driving or jetting.
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
The capacity of a rock to transmit water. It is expressed
as the volume of water at the existing kinematic viscosity that will
move in a unit time under a unit hydraulic gradient through a unit
area measured at right angles to the direction of flow. This measurement
is usually expressed in feet per day.
PADEP
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
PEAK DEMAND
Equal to 150% of the expected average demand. For instance,
10 homes using 350 gpd means an average consumption rate of 3,500
gallons/1,440 minutes = 2.43 gpm. Thus the peak demand would be 3.64
gpm.
PERSON
A corporation, partnership, municipal authority, or association,
as well as a natural person.
SPECIFIC CAPACITY
An expression of the productivity of the well. The number
is obtained by dividing the pumping rate by the drawdown in the well.
This number should be generated for the length of the pump test. If
the pumping rate is changed, the lowest pumping rate should be applied
to the entire drawdown from the beginning of the test.
TOWNSHIP HYDROGEOLOGIST
A professional hydrogeologist licensed by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania and duly designated by the Township of West Vincent
to perform the duties as hydrogeologist as herein specified.
TRANSMISSIVITY
The rate at which water of a particular density and viscosity
is passed through a unit width of aquifer under a unit hydraulic gradient.
Usually measured in square feet/day.
UNDERGROUND WATERS
Waters which are underground in the saturated zone. This
water is stored in core spaces, crevices, cracks along bedding plains,
along joint surfaces in channels or artesian basins or other bodies
of water in and under the ground. These waters are often referred
to as "percolating waters" in groundwater litigation.
WELL
Any excavation that is drilled, cored, washed, driven, dug
or otherwise constructed for the location, diversion or acquisition
of underground waters or charging of waters into the underground strata.
WELL CLUSTER
Any subdivision creating four or more lots to be served by
individual wells.
WELL DRILLER
Any water well contractor, his employee, or representative
in charge of drilling or otherwise constructing a well.
Whereas the Township of West Vincent recognizes that there are
within the Township a wide variety of geologic formations, the following
groundwater zones are established to ensure that the specific requirements
of each formation are more appropriately addressed in the hydrogeologic
impact studies required of Class 2 and Class 3 applicants.
A. Groundwater zone boundaries.
(1) The boundaries of all groundwater zones shall be shown upon an official
Groundwater Zone Map made a part of this article. The Groundwater
Zone Map, and all notations, references, and other data shown thereon,
are hereby incorporated by reference into this article as if they
were fully described herein. The boundaries of the groundwater zones
shall be interpreted to follow the boundaries of the zoning districts
named hereafter, except in the case of Zone A, in which explicit boundaries
are declared.
(a)
Zone A. The portion of the Township lying within the area bounded
by French Creek, Pughtown Road, and the boundary with East Pikeland
Township. This area corresponds with the Stockton Formation.
(b)
Zone B. The bulk of the Township. All areas not included within
either Zone A or Zone C.
(c)
Zone C. This zone includes the Rural Conservation, Mobile Home
Park, Light Industrial, and Planned Commercial Zoning Districts as
well as the Planned Commercial Overlay into the Mobile Home Park;
all of these zones lie in a contiguous entity enclosing the Ludwigs
Corner area.
B. Groundwater zone boundary tolerances.
(1) The above zones incorporate all the territory within the jurisdiction
of the Township of West Vincent. Any question as to which zone's
requirements a property must comply with shall be determined by the
Township Zoning Officer.
(2) Some of the boundaries of the groundwater zones are generally based
on the boundaries of zoning districts. As such, there will be instances
in which the geologic formation characteristics do not match the groundwater
zone boundary. Waivers based on the geologic circumstances of specific
lots may be available. Waivers should be requested from the Board
of Supervisors and are strictly at the discretion of that body.
The permit procedure shall consist of two phases. Phase I constitutes
an application for a drilling permit, the requirements of which are
referred to hereafter as "Phase I requirements." All elements of the
Phase I requirements must be fulfilled before a Township drilling
permit will be granted. Phase II constitutes the testing of the drilled
well. The testing requirements for Phase II are hereafter referred
to as "Phase II requirements." All elements of the Phase II requirements
must be fulfilled prior to the granting of either an occupancy permit
or preliminary plan approval, depending on the use of the well. There
shall be three classes of permits, depending on the withdrawal rate
in gallons per day. There will also be additional procedures based
on the hydrologic potential of the aquifer.
A. Class 1 permit.
(1) Application.
(a)
A well to be drilled, redrilled, expanded, or have increased
withdrawals which will produce an average of less than 1,000 gallons
per day for a single-family dwelling or a nonresidential use.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
(b)
This procedure also applies to individual wells in well clusters,
even if the cluster as a whole has already been the subject of a Class
2 or Class 3 hydrogeologic impact study.
(2) Phase I requirements.
(a)
A Chester County Health Department well drilling permit shall
accompany the West Vincent well drilling permit application.
(b)
The drilling permit application shall be submitted with the
building permit application to the Township Manager on forms provided
by the Township.
(3) Phase II requirements. Proof of quantity and quality of groundwater
shall be provided prior to the issuance of an occupancy permit.
(a)
Quantity. The well must be capable of producing at least one
gallon per minute. If the yield is between one and five gallons per
minute, a storage system capable of supplying five gallons per minute
for a sixty-minute period (300 gallons of storage capacity) must also
be supplied.
(b)
Quality. If the water is not in compliance with the quality
requirements established by the Chester County Health Department,
a system must be installed to bring the water into compliance prior
to the issuance of an occupancy permit. In addition to Chester County
Health Department testing parameters, Radon levels shall also be determined.
No limit is established for radon levels.
B. Class 2 permit:
(1) Application. A well or well cluster to be drilled, redrilled, expanded,
or have increased withdrawals which will produce 1,000 to 9,999 gallons
per day for residential or nonresidential use.
(2) Phase I requirements:
(a)
A Chester County Health Department well drilling permit shall
accompany the West Vincent well drilling permit application.
(b)
Written application on forms supplied by the Township;
(c)
A topographic map of the site, including site boundaries, proposed
well locations (both supply and monitoring) and surrounding areas
to a distance of at least 2,000 feet beyond each boundary of the site;
(d)
Superimposed on that map must be a current map of the elevation
of the potentiometric surface under the proposed building site and
the two-thousand-foot buffer;
(e)
An assessment of known aquifer characteristics, including but
not limited to transmissivity, specific yield, and hydraulic conductivity,
as well as evidence that the following works have been referenced
prior to submission of the request for a drilling permit:
[1]
Geology, Hydrology, and Groundwater Quality of Chester County,
Pennsylvania, published by the Chester County Water Resources Authority
as Water Resource Report 2. (1994)
[2]
Water Resources Management Study, prepared by the Federation
of Northern Chester County Municipalities, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
(1988)
[3]
Groundwater Resources of Chester County, Pennsylvania, Water
Resources Investigation 77-67, United States Geological Survey. (1977)
[4]
Engineering Characteristics of the Rocks of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania
Geologic Survey, Fourth Series. (1972)
[5]
Development of a Digital Model of Groundwater Flow in a Deeply
Weathered Crystalline Rock, Chester County, Pennsylvania Water Resources
Investigation 80-2, United States Geological Survey. (1980)
[6]
Any study or studies developed by other agencies or developers
relating to sites in geologic proximity to the proposed site that
may provide information on the geology or hydrology of the site.
(f)
The study shall contain geologic and soils maps which have been
updated with site-specific refinements.
(g)
The study shall contain an analysis of water quantity which
shall show the location, design and construction of the proposed well
or wells intended to serve the development area.
(h)
Additional requirements based on groundwater zone:
[1]
Zone C requirements. A map of linears based on aerial photo
interpretation shall be required as part of Phase I for well development
within Zone C.
(3) Phase II requirements:
(a)
Dependent upon which groundwater zone contains the proposed
location of the Class 2 well, certain elements shall be included in
the hydrogeologic impact study.
(b)
All permits and documentation shall be submitted to the Township
prior to preliminary plan approval or the issuance of an occupancy
permit if no subdivision or land development approval is required.
[1]
Zone A requirements:
[a] If the proposed well or well cluster is to be located within the region designated Groundwater Zone A, the owner or administrator of the property is required to prepare a hydrogeologic impact study prepared in accordance with the requirements of §
368-5.
[b] In addition to the requirements of §
368-5, the applicant shall include the following within the hydrogeologic impact study:
[i] A flow net of the static groundwater conditions
of both the site and the two-thousand-foot buffer before pumping;
[ii] An inventory of the known and suspected fractures
within both the site and the two-thousand-foot buffer; and
[iii] A water quality analysis fulfilling the requirements of §
368-7 of this article.
[c] If the well or well cluster will produce an average
of between 1,000 and 3,150 gallons per day, the applicant has the
option of installing and testing the individual wells or preparing
the hydrogeologic impact study. The test results shall meet the stated
requirements for quantity and quality or an engineer's report
shall be submitted addressing the measures necessary to comply with
the quantity and quality standards.
[2]
Zone B requirements:
[a] If the proposed well or well cluster is to be located within the region designated Groundwater Zone B, the owner or administrator of the property is required to prepare a hydrogeologic impact study prepared in accordance with the requirements of §
368-5.
[b] In addition to the requirements of §
368-5, the applicant shall include the following within the hydrogeologic impact study:
[i] The results of a forty-eight-hour continuous drawdown
test;
[ii] A map of the estimated stable cone of depression
based on the results of the forty-eight-hour pumping test;
[iii] A potentiometric surface map and flow net of
both the site and the two-thousand-foot buffer under the conditions
of a sixty-day, zero-recharge drought based on the data from the above
drawdown test; and
[iv] An assessment of the characteristics of the well
and aquifer based on the drawdown test, to include, but not limited
to, transmissivity, hydraulic conductivity, specific capacity, and
specific yield or storativity.
[c] If the well or well cluster will produce an average
of between 1,000 and 3,150 gallons per day, the applicant has the
option of installing and testing the individual wells or preparing
the hydrogeologic impact study. The test results shall meet the stated
requirements for quantity and quality or an engineer's report
shall be submitted addressing the measures necessary to comply with
the quantity and quality standards.
[3]
Zone C requirements. If the proposed well or well cluster is
to be located within the region designated as Groundwater Zone C,
the owner or administrator of the property is required to include,
in addition to the items listed under Zone A and Zone B requirements,
within the hydrologic impact study:
[a] An aerial inventory of fractures described in Phase
I.
C. Class 3 permit:
(1) Application. A Class 3 well is any well or well cluster producing
an average of 10,000 gallons per day or more for a period of 30 days
or longer.
(2) Phase I requirements:
(a)
A Chester County Health Department well drilling permit shall
accompany the West Vincent well drilling permit application.
(b)
Written application on forms supplied by the Township;
(c)
A topographic map of the site, including site boundaries, proposed
well locations (both supply and monitoring), and surrounding areas
to a distance of at least 2,000 feet beyond each boundary of the site;
(d)
Superimposed on that map must be a current contour map of the
potentiometric surface under the proposed building site and the two-thousand-foot
buffer;
(e)
An assessment of known aquifer characteristics, including but
not limited to transmissivity, specific yield, and hydraulic conductivity,
as well as evidence that the following works have been referenced
prior to submission of the request for a drilling permit:
[1]
Geology, Hydrology, and Groundwater Quality of Chester County,
Pennsylvania, published by the Chester County Water Resources Authority
as Water Resource Report 2. (1994)
[2]
Water Resources Management Study, prepared by the Federation
of Northern Chester County Municipalities, Chester County, Pennsylvania.
(1988)
[3]
Groundwater Resources of Chester County, Pennsylvania; Water
Resources Investigation 77-67, United States Geological Survey. (1977)
[4]
Engineering Characteristics of the Rocks of Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania
Geologic Survey, Fourth Series. (1972)
[5]
Development of a Digital Model of Groundwater Flow in a Deeply
Weathered Crystalline Rock, Chester County, Pennsylvania; Water Resources
Investigation 80-2, United States Geological Survey. (1980)
[6]
Any study or studies developed by other agencies or developers
relating to sites in geologic proximity to the proposed site that
may provide information on the geology or hydrology of the site.
(3) Phase II requirements. Prior to preliminary plan approval, the applicant
must submit all the elements of the Class 2 Zone C requirements, with
the following substitution:
(a)
Instead of the forty-eight-hour continuous drawdown test, the applicant shall conduct a ninety-six-hour continuous drawdown test in compliance with the description given in §
368-9 of this article. This requirement applies to all groundwater zones within the Township.
The following requirements are to serve as the minimum information required for the completed hydrogeologic impact study for Class 2 and Class 3 wells. Applicants for Class 1 wells need not follow these requirements. Applicants for Class 1 wells are referred to the requirements discussed in §
368-4.
A. Any study required under this article must be prepared by a registered
professional engineer or professional geologist licensed by the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania. The study shall be required as part of the preliminary
plan submission requirements.
B. The study shall certify that the following have been reviewed and
referenced:
(1) Geology, Hydrology and Groundwater Quality of Chester County, Pennsylvania,
published by the Chester County Water Resources Authority as Water
Resource Report 2. (1994)
(2) Water Resources Management Study, prepared by the Federation of Northern
Chester County Municipalities, Chester County, Pennsylvania. (1988)
(3) Groundwater Resources of Chester County, Pennsylvania; Water Resources
Investigation 77-67, United States Geological Survey. (1977)
(4) Engineering Characteristics of the Rocks of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania
Geologic Survey, Fourth Series. (1972)
(5) Any study or studies developed by other agencies or developers relating
to sites in geologic proximity to the proposed site which may provide
information on the geology or hydrology of the site.
C. The text of the study shall contain only pertinent data analyses
and the methods used to arrive at significant conclusions shall be
described. The appendixes shall contain the raw data and summary data.
D. All tables, maps, figures and other nontextual materials in the study
shall contain complete legends, titles and scales; they must be self-explanatory
and contain sufficient information to interpret them correctly. All
numerical parameters shall be presented with appropriate units.
E. All materials taken from other sources shall be identified by source,
date, location and time, where appropriate.
F. Every study shall contain a topographic map.
G. All maps provided to describe site-specific features and impacts
shall be drawn at an appropriate scale and shall include, at a minimum,
the following:
(1) The area 2,000 feet beyond the perimeter of the proposed development
(2) The area impacted by the proposed development with respect to the
pumping drawdown of one foot or greater or any anticipated degradation
in water quality if this area extends beyond the limits of the parcel.
H. The study shall be expanded to provide a conclusive assessment of
expected conditions and impacts of the proposed development if these
general study requirements and the specific groundwater zone requirements
are insufficient to do so.
I. The study shall set forth a detailed plan for the correcting of adverse
impacts, including but not limited to the following:
(1) The lowering of any water level in neighboring wells to the point
of eliminating that well as a reliable source of water during a drought
condition.
(2) Insufficient rate of flow from the well to provide for the water
supply needs of the development during drought conditions.
(3) Reduction in low-flow discharge of streams affected by the wells.
J. The study shall contain an estimate of predevelopment and post-development
runoff and assess the impacts on groundwater recharge.
K. Where separate wells are proposed for individual lots, the study
shall demonstrate that each well is capable of producing five gallons
or more per minute or include provisions which allow the system to
deliver five gallons per minute for a period of 60 minutes.
If the applicant can demonstrate that the entirety of the property
in question as designed will have a recharge coefficient greater than
one, the applicant may request that portions of the Phase II permit
requirements be waived. This option does not apply to Class I permits.
A Class II or III well cluster with a recharge coefficient greater
than one may request to be held only to the Class I requirements,
so long as individual wells will not exceed an average production
of 1,000 gallons per day.
A. Recharge coefficient formula.
The following formula shall be used to determine the recharge coefficient:
Number of dwellings x consumption coefficient = dwelling consumptive
loss (cubic feet)
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Consumption Coefficients
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Household:
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Subsurface disposal = 1,711.85 cubic feet
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Spray irrigation = 6,847.4 cubic feet
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Stream discharge or off-site disposal = 17,118.5 cubic feet
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Other:
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17118.5 cubic feet x (1 - recharge rate) = consumption coefficient
(cubic feet)
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Commercial/multiunit dwelling:
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Expected usage x (1 - recharge rate) x 48.91 = consumption coefficient
(cubic feet)
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Off-site water supply:
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All consumption coefficients = 0 (cubic feet)
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Impervious area (square feet) x 1.05 feet = recharge loss (cubic
feet)
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Area1 (square feet) x recharge rate x
3.75 feet = design recharge1 (cubic feet)
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Area2 (square feet) x recharge rate x
3.75 feet = design recharge2 (cubic feet)
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Area3 (square feet) x recharge rate x
3.75 feet = design recharge3 (cubic feet)
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Design recharge1, + design recharge2 + design recharge3 = Total design
recharge (cubic feet)
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Total design recharge
Dwelling consumptive loss + recharge loss
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= Recharge Coefficient
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Where:
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"Areax" indicates the area served by
one runoff mitigation technique, e.g., french drains.
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"Recharge rate" denotes the recharge rate for the mitigation
technique. For instance, a french drain might return 90%, 0.9 of rainfall,
to the aquifer. These recharge rates should be documented or otherwise
justified. The validity of the rate will be considered when the waiver
is reviewed.
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The owner of any well or test hole shall, upon proposal to abandon,
notify the Township. Unless the Township desires to acquire the well,
it shall be effectively sealed. All wells shall be abandoned in accordance
with the well abandonment procedures as stipulated in the PADEP Groundwater
Quality Protection Strategy.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
Where literal compliance with the requirements of this article
can be demonstrated by the applicant to be unreasonable or to cause
undue hardship, or when an alternative standard can be demonstrated
by the applicant to provide equal or better results, the Board of
Supervisors may, upon written request by the applicant, waive any
of the requirements of this article. All requests for waivers shall
be in writing, setting forth the grounds and facts upon which a claim
of unreasonableness or hardship or equivalent or superior standard
is based.
The Appendix to this article is incorporated herein and made
a part thereof, the said Appendix consisting of the following items:
E. USEPA Listing of Selected Drinking Water Constituents in Drinking
Water.
F. Map of Groundwater Zones.
G. Well Approval Process Flow Chart.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township of West Vincent is
hereby authorized, from time to time, to adopt appropriate rules and
regulations providing for the implementation of the terms and conditions
of this article.
Any person who violates this article shall, upon being found
liable therefor in a civil enforcement proceeding commenced by the
Township, pay a penalty of $1,000 for each violation plus all court
costs, including reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by the Township.
[Adopted 10-13-1997 by Ord. No. 84]
The Township of West Vincent ("Township") is hereby authorized
to acquire, own, construct, manage, maintain, repair and rebuild a
municipal water system serving such parts of the Township as the Board
of Supervisors may from time to time determine. The Township Board
of Supervisors is hereby further authorized to adopt by resolution
approved by a majority of the Board the following supplementary provisions
to govern the Township's ownership and management of the municipal
water system or systems:
A. Water Service Rules and Regulations ("Regulations").
B. The Standards for Construction of Water Facilities ("Specifications").
C. A Schedule of Water User Rates, Fees, and Other Charges ("Rate Schedule").
All financial transactions relating to the revenues received
and expenditures made on account of the municipal water system shall
be set aside and accounted for in separate books of account, applicable
only to the Township water system.
[Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General
Provisions, Art. I)]
All plumbing fixtures and methods of installation shall comply
with the requirements of the Uniform Construction Code and shall also
comply with the Township's Specifications.
No person shall open any fire hydrant except for the bona fide
purposes of firefighting usage and/or maintenance by Township personnel.
All Township employees and officials shall have access at reasonable
hours to all parts of the premises to which water is supplied by the
Township water system: in order to make necessary examinations, wherever
there is reason to believe that there are leakages, or for other bona
fide purposes relating to proper administration of the water system.
The Board of Supervisors may, at any time in which the Board
determines, in its reasonable discretion, that normal water usage
may adversely affect the ability of the Township to properly maintain
necessary water supplies, to order a reduction in water usage. In
such event, the terms and conditions of such reduction in water usage
shall be specifically set forth in a motion or resolution passed by
the Board of Supervisors.
Any person who has violated the terms of this article shall,
upon judgment of the Magisterial District Judge, pay a civil penalty
in an amount not to exceed $500. In the event of intentional violations
of this article, each day of continued violation shall constitute
a separate offense. Nothing herein shall prevent the Township from
seeking enforcement of this article by civil action in the Court of
Common Pleas of Chester County.