(a)
The
city council or its designated agent or representative shall have
the following powers:
(1)
To make or have made examinations of all wells within the city and
all wells outside the city limits which by law are under the jurisdiction
of the city, privately owned or otherwise;
(2)
To make or have made at any time the necessary analyses for tests
of water therefrom;
(3)
To go upon the land and property of the owner of a well for that
purpose;
(4)
To require the owner to furnish all information requested concerning
a well, including, in the case of new wells, complete logs of the
well showing depth to the aquifer through all geologic formations
encountered;
(5)
To supervise the construction, repair, abandonment and plugging of
wells with [sic] and the operation of such wells. The council shall
keep a register of all wells within the incorporated area of the city
and its ETJ, which shall show the name of the owner, the location
and the date of construction of each well, its depth and diameter,
the purpose for which the well was constructed, and, if abandoned,
the date of abandonment.
(b)
All
acts authorized to be done by the city council may be performed by
such persons as may be authorized by the council to act for it.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.05)
It shall be deemed a violation of this article for any person
to fail or refuse to comply with any order of the city council made
in conformity with and under the authority of this article.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.06)
The provisions of this article shall apply to all wells or other
openings greater than ten (10) feet in depth. Furthermore, the owner
of any proposed well shall be required to apply for and receive from
the city council a permit to construct such a well or opening, the
application for which shall supply all the information required under
this article, and for such permit the council shall charge and receive
the fee hereinafter provided for.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.07)
It shall be unlawful for any person to drill or otherwise construct,
repair, correct, abandon or plug a well, or to engage upon such work,
within the limits of the area defined in this article, or to employ
anyone else to engage in such work, without first applying for and
securing a permit from the city council or a duly authorized agent
thereof. Such permit may be granted with the approval of the city
council to any person who files with such council the application
hereinafter provided for and pays the fee hereinafter required, and
complies with all other provisions of this article applicable to him.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.08)
Every application for a permit for the drilling, construction,
repair and correction, abandonment or plugging of a well shall state
the name and address of the owner thereof; the purpose for which the
permit is desired, which shall be one or more of the acts above mentioned;
the definite location of the well or proposed well; its approximate
depth; and, if for a permit for the drilling or construction or repair
and correction of a water well, the estimated amount of water to be
or which is pumped daily, monthly or annually, and the use or uses
for which the water will be or is required; if for a permit for the
drilling or construction or for the repair and correction of a well,
the proposed method of drilling or construction, or the proposed method
of repair and correction, and the kind of equipment to be used, and,
in all cases, the name of the contractor(s), and the license number
issued by the state water commission, if done through a contractor
whom the owner desires to drill or construct, repair and correct,
or do the work pursuant to an abandonment of a well in compliance
with this article.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.09)
It shall be the duty of the city council or its designated agent
or representative to inspect the property where any well is to be
drilled, sunk, dug, or bored and to refuse the issuance of a permit
to drill, sink, dig or bore a well in a place which does not meet
with its approval as to drainage and other sanitary conditions.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.10)
All permits shall be executed in triplicate, one copy to be
delivered to the applicant and two copies to be retained in the office
of the city council.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.11)
It shall be unlawful for any applicant who obtains a permit
to construct a well of a certain depth to extend such well to a depth
exceeding the depth provided for in such permit without first obtaining
an additional permit therefor.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.12)
The fees to be paid to the city council for the permits required by this article shall be as established in appendix A to this code.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.13)
All fees and other money collected by the city council by virtue
of this article shall be expended by the council to cover the expense
of making examinations of wells within the city, to make or have made
the necessary analyses and test of water therefrom, to supervise the
construction, repair, abandonment and plugging of wells and their
operation, and such other expenses as may be necessary to enforcement
of this article.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.14)
(a)
Every
well constructed, whether drilled, dug, or excavated, which encounters
salt water or water containing mineral or other substance injurious
to health or vegetation, shall be securely plugged and sealed or cased
in such manner that the waters be confined to the stratum or strata
in which found, and all wells shall be so constructed and cased in
such manner that the waters be confined to the stratum or strata in
which found, and all wells shall be so constructed and cased so that
no water from one stratum can by reason of the construction of the
well come in contact with waters from another stratum. The casing
shall be set in the top of the stratum from which water is to be taken
and shall be cemented in place by suitable method to be approved by
the city council to the end that cement be forced up around the outside
of the casing from the bottom of the casing to the surface of the
ground so that all water found in the strata, except that from which
water is to be used, shall be sealed off one from the other by the
cement, or, if a better method than cementing shall be scientifically
developed to accomplish the purpose mentioned, such better method
may be prescribed by the council in lieu of cementing. The casing
used may consist of the following materials:
(1)
Plastic casing.
Shall be National Sanitation Foundation
(NSF) or American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM F-480) approved.
Examples include the following:
(2)
Steel casing.
Shall be at least standard weight (schedule
40) through 8-inch inside diameter. Larger diameter casing shall have
minimum weight and thickness given by B-36, 10-1959 of the American
Standards Association (ASA) and standards A53-65 or A120-65 of the
American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM). Examples include the
following:
(b)
The
casing and screen proposed to be used in each well shall conform to
the figures stated below and shall be approved by the city council
or its authorized representative.
|
CASING PIPE WEIGHTS AND DIMENSIONS
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Size in Inches
|
Wgt. Lbs. Per. Ft. Plain End
|
Wgt. Lbs. Per Ft. Thrds. & Cplgs.*
|
Thickness in Inches
|
|
1
|
1.68
|
1.68
|
0.133
|
|
1-1/4
|
2.27
|
2.28
|
0.140
|
|
1-1/2
|
2.72
|
2.73
|
0.145
|
|
2
|
3.65
|
3.68
|
0.154
|
|
2-1/2
|
5.79
|
5.82
|
0.203
|
|
3
|
7.58
|
7.62
|
0.216
|
|
3-1/2
|
9.11
|
9.20
|
0.226
|
|
4
|
10.79
|
10.89
|
0.237
|
|
5
|
14.62
|
14.81
|
0.258
|
|
6
|
18.97
|
19.18
|
0.280
|
|
8
|
28.55
|
29.35
|
0.322
|
|
10
|
34.24
|
35.75
|
0.307
|
|
10
|
40.48
|
41.85
|
0.365
|
|
12
|
43.77
|
45.45
|
0.330
|
|
12
|
49.56
|
51.15
|
0.375
|
|
14
|
54.57
|
57.00
|
0.375
|
|
16
|
62.58
|
65.30
|
0.375
|
|
18
|
70.59
|
73.00
|
0.375
|
|
20
|
78.60
|
81.00
|
0.375
|
|
*Nominal weight based on length of 20 feet including coupling.
|
(c)
The
casing shall be mechanically continuous from the point of setting
the bottom of the well to a point not less than twelve inches above
ground level and shall be so installed as to make impossible any leakage
as against any pressures which may be encountered.
(d)
If
casing is of two or more diameter sizes, the different sizes shall
be connected with threaded nipples or be sealed with rubber, cement
or lead or by some other manner satisfactory to the city council.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.15)
Any well or other opening located inside the area defined in
this article which penetrates the underground water supply and which
pollutes or contaminates any other wells or the city’s 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
council, such nuisance shall be abated by the owner within ten days
from the date of such notice by filling and plugging the well or opening
in the manner provided for in this article for abandoned wells; and
if he shall fail to abate such nuisance within such time, or if owner
or his agent [sic], the council 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 and the owner thereof shall be liable to the
city council for the cost of such work and shall pay such cost upon
demand.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.16)
Every well, whether dug or drilled, which for any reason does
not completely prevent the mixing of water or other liquid from above
and below the source of the city’s water supply, or which for
any reason would tend to pollute or contaminate any other well or
the water in the source of the city’s water supply, shall be
considered a defective well and the city council on its own initiative
or upon information or complaint from any source may make such an
examination of any well suspected of being defective, and if such
an examination of any well suspected of being defective [sic] and
if such examination indicates in the opinion of the council that the
well is a probable source of contamination of the city water supply
or any other well, or that the water from such well is unsafe for
human consumption, [the council] shall issue written instructions
to the owner or his agent in charge of such well or the property with
the provisions of this article, and prescribe a time which in its
judgment, under all the circumstances, is reasonable within which
such instructions shall be complied with. It shall be unlawful for
the owner or operator of such defective well to fail to comply with
such instructions within the time prescribed by the city council.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.17)
(a)
An
abandoned well is: (i) a defective well which, in the judgment of
the city council, cannot be corrected to comply with the requirements
of this article, or (ii) any well which has been continuously out
of use for a period of six (6) months or longer. Whenever any wells
have not been in active use for more than two years, the owner or
operator of such well shall report the fact to the council. Every
abandoned well shall be filled and plugged with such materials and
in a manner approved by the state water commission that will, in their
and the city council’s judgment, prevent the pollution and contamination
of the city’s water supply or the contamination of any other
well within the limits of the city, and such filling and plugging
shall be done under the supervision of the council and at the expense
of the owner of such well.
(b)
Whenever
the city council shall receive notice from any source of the existence
of an abandoned well which has not been plugged and filled in accordance
with the provisions of this article and/or the state water commission,
it shall notify the owner or agent in charge of such well or of the
property upon which it is situated that such well is abandoned and
shall instruct him to fill and plug such well in accordance with this
article, and the owner or operator of such well shall comply with
such order within sixty days after its date. Should he fail to so
comply within such period or if, after using reasonable diligence,
should the council fail to locate the owner or the agent in charge
of such well or of the property upon which the well is situated, the
council may go on the land or property upon which the well is situated
and fill and plug such well in the manner required by this article.
Whenever it becomes necessary for the council to fill and plug any
abandoned well, the owner thereof shall be liable to the city council
for the cost of doing such work and shall pay such cost upon demand.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.18)
The owner or lessee of property on which [there is] any well heretofore drilled or that may be hereafter drilled outside the city which is found to be a contaminating or polluting influence to the underground water-bearing strata from which the municipal water supply of the city is taken or drawn or may hereafter be taken or drawn, as well as the owner or lessee of all wells drilled inside the area defined in this article, shall be subject to all the provisions of sections 6.05.042 and 6.05.043 and all other provisions of this article relating to the protection of the water supply of the city, and any such contaminating well may be abated as provided therein. Persons desiring to drill a well outside of the city at any location within the radius of two miles outside the city, prior to drilling such well, shall fully comply with all provisions of this article relating to the protection of the water supply of the city, and upon failure to do so shall be punished as provided herein.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.19)
Any well or other opening located inside the area defined in this article which, in the sole opinion of the city council or its agents, presents an immediate threat and menace to the health, morals, safety or general welfare of the public is declared to be a nuisance. The city council or its agents shall have the right to go on property upon which such well is situated and abate the nuisance in a temporary manner. Such well shall thereafter be filled and plugged by the owner after the giving of required notice and in such manner set out in section 6.05.044 hereof. The owner thereof shall be liable to the city council for the cost of doing such temporary work under this section and shall pay such cost upon demand.
(1988 Code, ch. 4, sec. 11.20)
