Definitions.
ABANDONED WELL
Shall mean any well which is not in use, has been illegally
installed or improperly constructed, has been improperly maintained
or is damaged, has not been maintained in a condition that ensures
that the subsurface or percolation water of the State are protected
from contamination, has been replaced by another well or connection
to a public supply, is contaminated, is nonproductive, or no longer
serves its intended use pursuant to the State Act.
ALTER
Shall mean to enlarge, deepen or replace any portion of an
existing water supply system. The terms "alteration" and "altered"
shall be construed accordingly.
APPLICANT
Shall mean a developer or property owner submitting an application
for development or permit to install or use a well.
APPLICATION FOR DEVELOPMENT
Shall mean the application form and all accompanying documents
required by ordinance for approval of a subdivision plat, site plan,
planned development, conditional use, zoning variance, or direction
of the issuance of a permit pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-34 or N.J.S.A.
40:55D-36.
APPLICATION FOR WELL PERMIT
Shall mean the application form and all accompanying documentation required by the township for approval to locate, construct or alter a water supply in accordance with subsection
16-6.5 of Chapter
16 and as authorized by N.J.A.C. 7:10-12.40.
AQUICLUDE
Shall mean a low-permeability unit that forms either the
upper or lower boundary of a groundwater flow system.
AQUIFER
Shall mean rock or sediment in a formation, group of formations,
or part of a formation which is saturated and sufficiently permeable
to transmit economic quantities of water to wells and springs.
AQUIFER TEST
Shall mean a three-part test conducted to obtain background,
pumping, and recovery data from a pumping well and observation wells
in order to determine aquifer characteristics and assess potential
well interference.
AQUIFER, CONFINED
Shall mean an aquifer that is overlain by a confining bed.
The confining bed has a significantly lower hydraulic conductivity
than the aquifer.
AQUIFER, PERCHED
Shall mean a region in the unsaturated zone where the soil
may be locally saturated because it overlies a low-permeability unit.
AQUIFER, SEMI-CONFINED
Shall mean an aquifer confined by a low-permeability layer
that permits water to slowly migrate through to the aquifer. Also
termed leaky artesian or leaky confined aquifer.
AQUIFER, UNCONFINED
Shall mean an aquifer in which there are no confining beds
between the zone of saturation and the ground surface. Water-table
aquifer is a synonym.
AQUITARD
Shall mean a low-permeability unit that can store groundwater
and also transmit water slowly from one aquifer to another.
BARRIER BOUNDARY
Shall mean an aquifer-system boundary represented by a rock
mass that is not a source of water.
BUILDING LOT
Shall mean a designated parcel, tract or area of land established
by plat or otherwise permitted by law, to be used, developed or built
upon as a unit and for which the water supply is obtained from a private
on-site well.
COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM
Shall mean a source and distribution system for potable water
subject to the requirements of N.J.S.A. 58:12A-1.1 et seq. and N.J.A.C.
7:10-1.1 et seq.
CONE OF DEPRESSION
Shall mean the area around a pumping well in which the head
in the aquifer has been lowered.
CONFINING BED
Shall mean a body of material of low hydraulic conductivity
that is stratigraphically adjacent to one or more aquifers.
DEVELOPER
Shall mean the legal or beneficial owner or owners of a lot
or of any land proposed to be included in a proposed development including
the holder of an option or contract to purchase, or other person having
an enforceable proprietary interest in such land.
DRAWDOWN
Shall mean the lowering of the water table of an unconfined
aquifer or the potentiometric surface of a confined aquifer caused
by pumping of groundwater from wells. Drawdown is determined by subtracting
the depth to water from the static water level determined prior to
the start of pumping.
FRACTURE TRACE
Shall mean the surface representation of a fracture zone.
GROUNDWATER
Shall mean water in the saturated zone that is under a pressure
equal to or greater than atmospheric pressure.
GROUNDWATER MINING
Shall mean the practice of withdrawing groundwater at rates
in excess of natural recharge.
HEAD
Shall mean the height above a datum plane of a column of
water. In a groundwater system, it is composed of elevation head and
pressure head.
HYDRAULIC CONDUCTIVITY
Shall mean the capacity of a rock to transmit water. It is
expressed as the volume of water at the prevailing density and viscosity
that will move in unit time under a unit hydraulic gradient through
a unit area measured at right angle to the direction of flow.
HYDRAULIC GRADIENT
Shall mean change in head per unit of distance measured in
the direction of the steepest change.
HYDROGEOLOGY
Shall mean the study of the interrelationships of geologic
materials and process with water, especially groundwater.
INFILTRATION
Shall mean the flow of water downward from the land surface
into and through the upper soil layers.
INTERFLOW
Shall mean the lateral movement of water in the unsaturated
zone during and immediately after a precipitation event. Water moving
as interflow discharges directly into a surface-water body.
IRRIGATION SYSTEM
Shall mean equipment including but not limited to pumps,
piping, and sprinkler heads used to distribute water to grasses, landscape
materials, and other vegetation.
LOCAL AGENCY
Shall mean the board of health, which is the municipal agency
responsible for review and approval of an application for well operation.
LOCAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICER
Shall mean the township health officer or other technical
representative of the township as may be designated by the Hopewell
Township Board of Health.
NJDEP
Shall mean the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
OBSERVATION WELL
Shall mean a nonpumping well used to observe the elevation
of the water table or the potentiometric surface. An observation well
is generally constructed similar to a pumping well. Also known as
monitoring well.
POROSITY
Shall mean the voids or openings in a rock. Porosity may
be expressed quantitatively as the ratio of the volume of openings
in a rock to the total volume of the rock.
POROSITY, PRIMARY
Shall mean the porosity that represents the original pore
openings when a rock or sediment formed.
POROSITY, SECONDARY
Shall mean the porosity that has been caused by fractures
or weathering in a rock or sediment after it has been formed.
PUMPING TEST
Shall mean a test made by pumping a well for a period of
time and observing the change in hydraulic head in the aquifer.
PUMPING TEST, CONSTANT RATE
Shall mean a pumping test during which the discharge rate
from the pumping well is maintained at a constant rate for the duration
of the test.
RECHARGE AREA
Shall mean an area in which there are downward components
of head in an aquifer. Infiltration moves downward to deeper parts
of an aquifer in a recharge area.
RECHARGE BOUNDARY
Shall mean an aquifer system boundary that adds water to
the aquifer such as a stream or lake.
RECOVERY
Shall mean the rate at which the water level in a well rises
after the pump has been shut off. Recovery is the inverse of drawdown.
SATURATED ZONE
Shall mean the zone in which the voids in the rock or soil
are filled with water at a pressure greater than atmospheric. The
water table is the top of the saturated zone in an unconfined aquifer.
SPECIFIC CAPACITY
Shall mean an expression of the productivity of a well, obtained
by dividing the pumping rate by the drawdown level. Should be described
on the basis of the number of hours pumping prior to measurement of
drawdown. Value will generally decrease with increased time of pumping.
STATIC WATER LEVEL
Shall mean the depth to water in the well prior to the commencement
of pumping.
STORAGE COEFFICIENT
Shall mean the volume of water an aquifer releases from or
takes into storage per unit surface area of the aquifer per unit change
in head. It equals the product of specific storage and aquifer thickness.
Also known as storativity.
TRANSMISSIVITY
Shall mean the rate at which water of a prevailing density
and viscosity is transmitted through a unit width of an aquifer or
confining bed under a unit hydraulic gradient. Transmissivity equals
hydraulic conductivity times aquifer thickness.
UNSATURATED ZONE
Shall mean the zone between ground surface and the water
table. Pore spaces in the unsaturated zone contain water at pressures
less than atmospheric.
WATER TABLE
Shall mean the surface in an unconfined aquifer or confining
bed at which the pore water pressure is atmospheric.
WELL INTERFERENCE
Shall mean the result of two or more pumping wells, the drawdown
cones of which intercept. At a given location, the total well interference
is the sum of the drawdowns due to each individual well.