This Chapter is enacted pursuant to authority granted by sections 13700 to 13806 of the California Water Code. This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Tulare County Well Ordinance. The California Department of Water Resources Bulletin 74-81, Water Well Standards: State of California, Bulletin 74-90, California Well Standards: Water Wells, Monitoring Wells, Cathodic Protection Wells (Supplement to Bulletin 74-81), Geothermal Heat Exchange Wells (Draft April 1999), and any subsequent revisions are hereby referred to, adopted and made part of this Chapter as if fully set forth herein.
(Added by Ord. No. 3507, effective 8-31-17)
The purpose of this Chapter is to regulate the construction, location, reconstruction, and destruction of water wells, agricultural wells, cathodic protection wells, industrial wells, geothermal heat exchange wells, monitoring wells, and test wells to assure that water produced by wells in Tulare County will be of high quality and to protect and preserve the quality of underground waters.
(Added by Ord. No. 3507, effective 8-31-17)
(a) 
The provisions of this Chapter are applicable to all individuals, firms, partnerships, associations, corporations, estates, and trusts.
(b) 
The provisions of this Chapter are also applicable to the United States, the State of California, cities, and all political subdivisions of the State of California, and to all officers, employees and departments of the United States, the State of California, cities and other political subdivisions when they drill a well, or perform any of the other acts covered by this Chapter, within the unincorporated territory of Tulare County.
(Added by Ord. No. 3507, effective 8-31-17)
The Health Officer may permit construction, deepening, reconstruction, and destruction of wells without strict compliance with the standards established by this Chapter when he/she determines that strict compliance would impose an unreasonable burden on the permittee and that the variance will not endanger the health or safety of the water user or the public generally.
(Added by Ord. No. 3507, effective 8-31-17)
Except as specifically provided in sections 4-13-1005, 4-13-1046, and 4-13-1047 of this Chapter, this Chapter shall apply only to construction, reconstruction, deepening or destruction of a well when such work is commenced after the effective date of this Chapter.
(Added by Ord. No. 3507, effective 8-31-17)
For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms are defined as:
(a) 
"ABANDONED WELL":
A well whose use has been discontinued for a period of at least one (1) year or which is in such a state of disrepair that no water can be produced.
(b) 
"AGRICULTURAL WELL":
A well used exclusively to supply water for irrigation, livestock operation or other agricultural purposes.
(c) 
"ANIMAL OR FOWL ENCLOSURE":
A barnyard, stable, feedlot or an area of land where animals are corralled, penned, tethered, or otherwise caused to remain in confinement in a restricted area and where supplemental feeding is required.
(d) 
"AIR CONDITIONING WELL":
A well used exclusively to return to the ground, well water which has been used as a coolant in air conditioning processes.
(e) 
"ANNULAR SEAL":
The impervious material placed between the conductor casing and the borehole or the well casing and the borehole in the annular space. Material such as neat cement, sand cement, concrete, or bentonite placed in the annular space.
(f) 
"ANNULAR SPACE":
The area between the wall of the drilled hole or bore and the well casing, or the space between two well casings. If a conductor casing is used, this includes the area between the bore and the conductor casing and between the conductor casing and the well casing.
(g) 
"APPLICATION":
A fillable form provided by the Health Officer requesting the issuance of a permit for the purposes of developing or performing work on a well.
(h) 
"APPROVED":
Being regarded favorably or determined by the Health Officer to be officially sanctioned.
(i) 
"AQUIFER":
An underground layer of water-bearing permeable rock, rock fractures, or unconsolidated materials such as gravel, sand, or silt.
(j) 
"AUTHORIZED AGENT":
An employee of a C-57 licensed water well drilling contractor working under the license of the well contractor, the property owner, or any individual duly authorized in writing by the property owner as the agent thereof.
(k) 
"BOARD" and "BOARD OF SUPERVISORS":
Tulare County Board of Supervisors.
(l) 
"CASING":
A tubular structure, usually a plastic or steel pipe, installed in a borehole to maintain the integrity of the bore.
(m) 
"CATHODIC PROTECTION WELL":
Any artificial excavation in excess of fifty (50) feet deep constructed by any means for the purpose of installing equipment or facilities for the electrical protection of metallic equipment that is in contact with the ground.
(n) 
"COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLY WELL":
A water well used to supply water for domestic purposes in systems subject to Chapter 7, Part 1, Division 5 of the California Health and Safety Code. Included are wells supplying public water systems classified by the Department of Public Health or its successor as Non-Community, Transient Non-Community and State small water systems (California Waterworks Standards, Title 22, California Administrative Code). Such wells are variously referred to as "Municipal Wells," "City Wells" or "Public Water Supply Wells."
(o) 
"CONSTRUCTION":
The fashioning of the borehole of a well and includes, but is not limited to, drilling, installation of casing, placing gravel, perforation of casing in place, installation of annular seal, and sealing off strata.
(p) 
"CONTAMINATION":
An impairment of the quality of the waters to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning or the spread of disease.
(q) 
"DAIRY WELL":
A well exclusively used at a Dairy farm for the purpose of processing milk.
(r) 
"DESTRUCTION OF WELL":
The complete filling and sealing of the well/borehole and/or annular space in such a manner as to protect persons and animals from the danger of physical harm and prevent surface waters, waste, debris and contaminants from entering the well.
(s) 
"DEVELOPMENT OF A WELL":
The use of one or more of a variety of techniques, including, but not limited to, over-pumping, surging, introduction of chemicals, and explosions, which are intended to increase the flow of water from underground sources into the well casing through perforations or through the bottom of the casing.
(t) 
"DISPOSAL WELL":
A well into which liquid or solid substances are deposited.
(u) 
"ENFORCEMENT":
The process undertaken by which individuals, subject to this chapter, are made to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(v) 
"EXCAVATION":
Any hole or cavity artificially drilled or constructed by any method that can present a danger to public health and safety for any purpose including, but not limited to, groundwater extraction. Examples of excavations include, but are not limited to, mine shafts, pits, wells, hand dug wells, septic tanks, and cesspools.
(w) 
"GEOTHERMAL HEAT EXCHANGE WELL":
Any uncased artificial excavation, constructed by any method, that uses the heat exchange capacity of the earth for heating and cooling, in which the ambient ground temperature of the excavation is thirty (30) degrees Celsius (eighty-six (86) degrees Fahrenheit) or less, and the heat exchange system uses a closed-loop, fluid system to prevent the discharge or escape of its fluid into surrounding aquifers or other geologic formations. Geothermal heat exchange wells include ground source heat pump wells.
(x) 
"GROUNDWATER":
Water that occurs beneath the ground surface in fully saturated zones within soils and other geologic formations.
(y) 
"GROUT":
A fluid mixture of cement and water (neat cement); sand, cement and water (sand cement grout); or bentonite and water (bentonite grout or slurry) of a consistency that can be forced through a tremie pipe.
(z) 
"HARD ROCK WELL":
A well in which the water-bearing strata occurs in crystalline rock.
(aa) 
"HEALTH OFFICER":
The Health Officer of the County of Tulare or his/her duly authorized representative.
(bb) 
"HORIZONTAL WELL":
A water well drilled horizontally or at an angle with the horizon.
(cc) 
"INACTIVE WELL":
A well not routinely operated but capable of being made operational with minimal effort.
(dd) 
"INDIVIDUAL DOMESTIC WELL":
A water well which is used to supply the domestic needs of an individual residence or systems of four (4) or less service connections.
(ee) 
"INDUSTRIAL WELL":
A well used to supply water to an individual enterprise engaged in the commercial production and sale of goods, services or both.
(ff) 
"INJECTION WELL":
A well used to introduce water into the ground as a means of replenishing groundwater basins or to dispose of reclaimed water.
(gg) 
"MONITORING WELL":
Any artificial excavation made by any method for the purpose of monitoring fluctuations in groundwater levels, quality of underground waters or the concentration of contaminants in underground waters.
(hh) 
"PERMITTEE":
The person who makes a permit application or a person on whose behalf such an application is made.
(ii) 
"PERSON":
An individual, trust, firm, corporation, partnership, association, government entity, city, or municipality.
(jj) 
"PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM":
A system for the provision of water for human consumption that has fifteen (15) or more service connections or regularly serves at least twenty-five (25) individuals daily at least sixty (60) days of the year.
(kk) 
"RECONSTRUCTION":
The alteration, repair, or restoration of a well.
(ll) 
"RIVER WELL":
A well located in or near a watercourse which draws water from that watercourse.
(mm) 
"SANITARY SEAL":
A water-tight seal between the pump base and the concrete foundation and between the well casing and the pump column pipe.
(nn) 
"SOIL BORING":
An uncased temporary excavation to determine the hydrologic conditions at a site.
(oo) 
"SURFACE SEAL":
A monolithically poured concrete foundation or pad constructed around the well casing on compacted native soil.
(pp) 
"SURFACE WATER":
Any water that is open to the atmosphere or subject to surface water runoff. Surface water includes, but is not limited to, the water in lakes, rivers, creeks, irrigation ditches, drainage ditches, and natural or constructed impoundments.
(qq) 
"TEST WELL":
A well with a casing constructed for the purpose of gathering information regarding subterranean conditions preparatory to commencement of a well construction project.
(rr) 
"TREMIE METHOD":
Use of a tubular device ("tremie pipe") to place grout in the annular space in such a manner that the discharge end of the tube is kept submerged in the freshly deposited grout so as not to break the seal while filling the annular space.
(ss) 
"WATER QUALITY":
The chemical, physical, bacteriological, radiological, and other properties of water.
(tt) 
"WELL":
Any excavation constructed for the purpose of extracting water from, or injecting water or any other substance into the underground, or for the purpose of cathodic protection, except that this definition shall not include:
(1) 
Oil and gas wells, or geothermal wells constructed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation of the State of California, except those wells converted to use as water wells.
(2) 
Wells used for the purpose of dewatering excavations during construction or stabilizing hillsides or earth embankments.
(uu) 
"WELL CONTRACTOR":
A person licensed under authority of the State Contractors License Law, as provided in Division 3, Chapter 9, Sections 7026.1 (d), 7058, and 7059 of the Business and Professions Code to engage in well drilling who possess an active C-57 contractor's license.
(vv) 
"WELL PERMIT":
The formal, written approval of an application issued by the Health Officer under authority of this chapter to perform work on a well.
(Added by Ord. No. 3507, effective 8-31-17)