On the effective date of this article, all private water wells that are inoperative, abandoned or operating without a valid permit shall be capped in accordance with state statutes, rules, regulations and directives or apply for a permit. All private water wells existing, operational and having a valid permit issued by the city on the effective date of this section shall be subject to the following requirements:
(1) 
Permits.
Prior to reworking any well, the owner of the property and/or the person to rework the well must submit an application for a permit. An owner of an unplatted residential parcel of five (5) acres or more may request a permit to drill a water well for noncommercial use. A permit fee in the amount set forth in appendix A to this code shall be paid at the time the application is filed, including any fees for review by the city engineer. The application for any permit required by this code shall include: the name and address of the owner and operator of said well; the name and address of the contractor reworking or drilling the well and the estimated cost of the work; the legal description of the property on which the well is to be reworked or drilled together with a plat showing the exact location of the well on said property; and a statement concerning the extent of reworking, if any, the location of the well in conjunction with the items listed in subsection (2) below, the well construction and the work to be done thereon.
(A) 
No permit for the reworking of or drilling of a new water well in the city will be granted unless the city engineer determines that the reworking or proposed new well complies with the location, safety and construction standards required by city ordinances or code, and any other applicable local, state and federal rules, regulations and laws, including but not limited to applicable rules and regulations of the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). City staff are authorized to set reasonable conditions on work hours in the permit for reworking or drilling of wells to mitigate noise and other negative effects of drilling to neighbors and the public.
(2) 
Location.
Water well sites that are operating must be in compliance with state, federal and local laws, rules, directives and regulations and located so that there will be no danger of pollution from flooding or from unsanitary surroundings, such as privies, sewage, sewage treatment plants, livestock and animal pens, solid waste disposal sites or underground petroleum and chemical storage tanks and liquid transmission pipelines, or abandoned and improperly sealed wells.
(A) 
Water wells shall be a minimum horizontal distance of 50 feet from any watertight sewage and liquid waste collection facility.
(B) 
Water wells shall be a minimum horizontal distance of 150 feet from any concentrated sources of contamination, such as existing or proposed livestock or poultry yards, privies, septic system absorption fields, evapotranspiration bed, improperly constructed water wells or underground petroleum and chemical storage tank and drainfields.
(C) 
Water wells shall comply with applicable rules and regulations of the Lower Colorado River Authority, and in the event of a conflict with the regulations in this article, the most stringent regulation shall apply.
(D) 
No well site shall be within 500 feet of a sewage treatment plant or within 300 feet of a sewage wet well, sewage pumping station or a drainage ditch which contains industrial waste discharges or the wastes from sewage treatment systems
(E) 
No water wells shall be within 500 feet of animal feed lots, solid waste disposal sites, lands on which sewage plant or septic tank sludge is applied, or lands irrigated by sewage plant effluent.
(F) 
Livestock shall not be allowed within 50 feet of a well site.
(G) 
Sanitary or storm wastewaters constructed of ductile iron or PVC pipe meeting state water well standards for such materials, having a minimum working pressure of 150 psi or greater, and equipped with pressure type joints may be located at distances of less than 50 feet from a well site but in no case shall the distance be less than ten feet.
(H) 
Water wells shall be operated at a site not subject to flooding; provided, however, that if a well is in a floodprone area, it shall be protected with a watertight sanitary well seal and steel casing extending a minimum of 24 inches above the known flood level.
(I) 
Water wells shall be located at least 150 feet from each property line of the lot on which the well is located.
(3) 
Interconnection.
(A) 
No cross connection shall be made between private wells and any potable water supply system.
(B) 
All properties for which the property has access to a potable water supply must be connected to the city water system and shall use the water drawn from private water wells for irrigating or garden use only.
(C) 
If a private well is utilized for potable water, the water must meet the department of state health services standards for drinking water.
(4) 
Backflow and siphonage.
All water wells shall have an approved check valve or backflow prevention valve installed in order to prevent backflow into the well.
(5) 
Casing required.
It shall be unlawful for any person to have a water well in the city unless the well is cased from a point at least one foot (1') above the surface of the ground to a point at least thirty feet (30') below the surface of the ground and the entire length of the casing to 30' below the ground surface in cement so that all of the void space between the outside of the casing and the sides of the drilled hole is filled with cement. This requirement may be waived by the building official or city administrator in favor of an alternative surface completion method that will effectively seal off the well from the flow or drainage of surface water back into the well; in which event the permit may be issued.
(6) 
Abandoned or inoperative wells.
A well is abandoned if it has not been used for six consecutive months. An inoperative well is a well that is not in compliance with state, federal or local laws, rules, directives or regulations or city ordinances. However, a well can be considered in use, operative, if the well is a non-deteriorated well that contains the casing, pump, and pump column in good condition, or a non-deteriorated well that has been capped.
(A) 
All abandoned wells shall be capped or plugged in compliance with the state statutes, rules, directives and regulations.
(B) 
All inoperative wells shall be repaired or re-worked to bring the well within compliance standards within thirty (30) days of the notice from the city to correct the deficiencies or the well shall be capped.
(C) 
Contamination or injury caused by an abandoned or inoperative well shall be the responsibility of the landowner.
(7) 
Safeguards and damage.
All water wells shall be maintained in compliance with state statutes, rules, directives and regulations to provide safeguards and prevent damage that may contaminate water sources or create a nuisance.
(A) 
At all times while a well is operational, the landowner shall ensure that all safeguards required by state law to ensure contamination of the water sources does not occur through inappropriate operation, maintenance or structuring of the well or irrigation systems.
(B) 
All reasonable precautions provided by state law will be taken to ensure that trespassers will not have access to the well site.
(C) 
The well site shall be fine graded so that the site is free from depressions, reverse grades, or has areas too rough for proper ground maintenance so as to ensure that surface water will drain away from the well. In all cases, arrangements shall be made to convey well drainage, packing gland leakage, and floor drainage away from the wellhead.
(D) 
Suitable drain pipes shall be located at the outer edge of the well site to collect water and prevent its ponding or collecting around the wellhead. This wastewater shall be disposed of in a manner that will not cause any nuisance from mosquito breeding or sanitation. Drains shall not be directly connected to storm or sanitary wastewater.
(E) 
In all cases, a concrete sealing block extending at least three feet from the well casing in all directions, with a minimum thickness of six inches and sloped to drain away at not less than 0.25 inches per foot shall be provided around the wellhead.
(F) 
Wellheads and pump bases shall maintain a sealed gasket or sealing compound and be properly vented to prevent the possibility of contaminating the well water. A well casing vent shall be provided with an opening that is covered with 16-mesh or finer corrosion-resistant screen, faced downward, elevated and located so as to minimize the drawing of contaminants into the well.
(G) 
If an air release device is provided or a blow-off line on a discharging pipe, it shall be installed and maintained in such a manner as to preclude the possibility of submergence or possible entrance of contaminants. In this respect, all openings to the atmosphere shall be covered with 16-mesh or finer, corrosion-resistant screening material or an acceptable equivalent.
(H) 
Springs and similar sources of flowing artesian water shall be protected from potential contaminant sources in accordance with state law.
(8) 
Nuisance wells.
Any well or other opening which penetrates the underground water supply and which pollutes or contaminates the underground water supply is declared a nuisance, and on notice to the owner of such well, or to the operator thereof, or to his agent in charge of the well or of the property on which it is situated, issued by the city sanitarian, such nuisance shall be abated by the owner within seven days from the date of such notice by filling and plugging the well or opening in the manner proscribed by state statutes, rules and directives for filling and plugging abandoned wells and the owner shall pay all costs of filling and plugging; and if he shall fail to abate such nuisance within such time or, after exercising reasonable diligence, the city sanitarian is unable to locate the owner of his agent, the city sanitarian shall have the right to go on the land or property upon which the well is situated and abate such nuisance in the manner provided by the state and the owner thereof shall be liable to the city for the costs of such work and shall pay such costs upon demand of the city, and the city may enforce the penal provisions of this article.
(9) 
Violation; penalty.
(A) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to supply another any water to drink or for domestic purposes, which does not comply with the state standards for drinking water.
(B) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to start or operate a mine within the city limits for any reason.
(C) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to fail to cap a private well as required.
(D) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to drill a well within the city limits except as authorized by this article.
(E) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to continue to operate a water well within the distance of prohibition indicated in subsection (2) of this section or as provided under state law. Continued operation of a water well within the distance prohibited in subsection (2) or as otherwise indicated by state law shall be a misdemeanor. The owner of the property, upon which the water well is operated, shall be given seven-days notice to cease and desist operation of the well in proximity to the prohibited activity prior to filing charges, declaring the well a nuisance well and taking corrective action and seeking other remedies available at law.
(F) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to re-work a well or to operate a well within the city limits in violation of this article.
(Ordinance 2009-O-376, sec. 2, adopted 7/9/09; Ordinance 2024-O-649 adopted 1/9/2025)