[HISTORY: Adopted by the Village Board of the Village of Rothschild 7-22-2019[1]. Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Excavations — See Ch. 289.
Plumbing standards — See Ch. 430.
Water and sewers — See Ch. 535.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 546, Wells, adopted 1-28-1991, as amended.
A. 
Whereas, § NR 810.16, Wis. Adm. Code, directs suppliers of water for municipal water systems to require the abandonment of all unused, unsafe, or noncomplying wells located on the premises served by their municipal water system, and to provide a permit system to allow retention of safe and code-complying wells, by local ordinance or water utility rule, to eliminate sources of unsafe water and to prevent such wells from becoming channels for vertical movement of contaminated water and to eliminate all existing cross-connections and prevent all future cross-connections.
B. 
Therefore, Village Code Chapter 546, entitled "Wells," is enacted 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 Village water system are properly maintained or abandoned.
This Chapter applies to all wells located on premises served by the Village water system. Utility customers outside the jurisdiction of the Village water system may be required under contract agreement or utility rule to adopt and enforce equivalent ordinances within their jurisdictions for the purposes stated in Village Code § 546-1.
MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM
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, Wis. Adm. Code, Standards for existing installations, and which has not been granted a variance pursuant to § NR 812.43, Wis. Adm. 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.
UNSAFEWELL OR PUMP INSTALLATION
One which produces water which is bacteriologically contaminated or contaminated with substances which exceed the drinking water standards of Ch. NR 140 or 809, Wis. Adm. Code, or for which a health advisory has been issued by the Department of Natural Resources.
UNUSED
Well or pump installation means one which is not used or does not have a functional pumping system.
VILLAGE
The Village of Rothschild, Marathon County, Wisconsin.
WELL
A drillhole 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, Wis. Adm. Code.
All wells on premises served by the Village water system shall be properly abandoned in accordance with Village Code § 546-6 by the effective date of this Chapter or not later than one year from the date of connection to the Village water system, unless a valid well operation permit has been issued to the well owner by the Village under the terms of Village Code § 546-5.
Owners of wells on premises served by the Village water system wishing to retain their wells for any use shall make application for a well operation permit for each well no later than one year after connection to the Village water system. The Village 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 Chapter are met. A well operation permit may be renewed by submitting an application verifying that the conditions of this Chapter 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 Village Utility Clerk. All initial and renewal applications must be accompanied by a fee in an amount determined by the Village Board. The following conditions must be met for issuance or renewal of a well operation permit:
A. 
The well and pump installation shall meet the standards for existing installations described in § NR 812.42, Wis. Adm. Code. The well and pump system shall be evaluated by a licensed well driller or pump installer and certified on the Ch. NR 812, Wis. Adm. Code., Compliance Report Form No. 3300-305 to comply with Ch. NR 812, Wis. Adm. Code, Subch. IV, prior to issuing the initial permit and no less than every 10 years afterwards.
B. 
The well and pump shall have a history of producing safe water evidenced by at least one coliform bacteria sample. In areas where the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has determined that groundwater aquifers are contaminated with substances other than bacteria, additional chemical tests may be required to document the safety of the water.
C. 
There shall be no cross-connections between the well's pump installation or distribution piping and the Village water system.
D. 
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.
E. 
The private well shall have a functional pumping system.
F. 
The proposed use of the private well shall be justified as reasonable in addition to water provided by the Village water system.
A. 
All wells abandoned under the jurisdiction of this Chapter shall be done according to the procedures and methods of § NR 812.26, Wis. Adm. 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 be required to obtain a well abandonment permit prior to any well abandonment and shall notify the Village Utility Clerk 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 Village.
C. 
An abandonment report form, supplied by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, shall be submitted to the Village Utility Clerk and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources within 30 days of the completion of the well abandonment. The form must be completed by the licensed well driller, pump installer, or certified operator performing the abandonment.
Any well owner violating any provision of Village Code Chapter 546 shall be subject to § 1-2 of this Code. In addition, if any person fails to comply with this Chapter for more than 30 days after receiving written notice of the violation, the Village may also cause a well abandonment to be performed with the resulting expense assessed as a special charge against the property.