[Adopted 2-23-2000 by Ord. No. 150]
The purpose of this article is to ensure and
protect the quality and suitability of individual water supply systems
by a permit procedure, to require a permit for the construction of
individual and semipublic water supply systems and wells, production
wells, test wells and monitoring wells; and to establish minimum construction
standards for these systems including their location, installation,
reconstruction, replacement, modification, reactivation, or abandonment.
The scope of this article applies to all individual
and semipublic water supply systems. Those defined by the Pennsylvania
Department of Environmental Protection as public water systems (at
least 15 service connections or regularly serve no fewer than 25 individuals
daily at least 60 days out of the year) are exempt from this article.
The governing body is hereby authorized and
empowered to undertake within the Township the regulation of the construction
of all water wells for domestic purposes.
The governing body is hereby authorized and
empowered to adopt such rules and regulations concerning well drilling
which it may deem necessary from time to time to effect the purposes
herein.
All such rules and regulations adopted by the
governing body shall be in conformity with the provisions herein;
all other ordinances of the Township, and all applicable laws, and
applicable rules and regulations of administrative agencies of the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The governing body shall have the right and
power to fix, charge, and collect rates, assessments and other charges
in the municipality at reasonable and uniform rates as authorized
by applicable law.
The following words and terms when used in this
article shall have the following meaning unless the context specifically
and clearly indicates otherwise:
ABANDONED SUPPLY
A supply, the regular use of which has been discontinued
for a period of one year or more, or which is in such a state of disrepair
that continued use for the purpose of obtaining ground water is impracticable,
or which has been replaced by a new well or public water supply.
ALTERATION
Any action which necessitates entering a well with drilling
tools; treating a well to increase yield, altering the physical structure
of depth of the well; blasting; removal or replacement of well casing.
ANNULAR SPACE
The space between two cylindrical objects, one of which surrounds
the other, such as the space between a drill hole and a casing pipe
and a liner pipe.
ANSI
American National Standards Institute.
API
American Petroleum Institute.
AQUIFER
A geological formation that contains and transmits water.
ASTM
American Society for Testing Materials.
AWWA
American Water Works Association.
BACK SIPHONAGE
The flowing back of used, contaminated or polluted water
from a plumbing fixture or vessel or other sources into a potable
water supply pipe due to negative pressure in such pipe.
CASING
An impervious durable pipe placed in a well to prevent the
walls from caving and to seal off surface drainage or undesirable
water, gas or other fluids and prevent their entering the well.
COLIFORM
All of the aerobic and facultative anaerobic, gram negative,
non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacteria which are capable of fermenting
lactose with gas formation within 48 hours at 35° C.
COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM
A water system which serves at least 15 service connections
used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round
residents.
CONSTRUCTION OF WELLS
All acts necessary to obtain groundwater, or artificially
recharge groundwater; provided, however, such term does not include
an excavation made for the purpose of obtaining or prospecting for
oil, natural gas, minerals, or products of mining or quarrying, or
for inserting media to repressure oil or natural gas formations or
for storing petroleum, natural gas, or other products and services.
Construction of wells includes the location and excavation or drilling
of the well, but excludes the installation of pumps and pumping equipment.
CONTRACTOR
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation,
group or entity employed, hired, contracted or otherwise engaged by
the owner to perform defined services for compensation.
CROSS CONNECTION
An arrangement allowing either direct or indirect connection
through which backflow, including back siphonage, can occur between
the drinking water in a public water system and a system containing
a potential source of contamination.
DEP
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
FLOWING WELL
A well that yields water by artesian pressure at the ground
surface.
GOVERNING BODY
The Supervisors of Washington Township, Franklin County,
Pennsylvania.
GROUNDWATER
Water within the earth below the water table within the zone
of satisfaction. Groundwater includes both water under-water table
conditions and confined within deep aquifers.
GROUT
A permanent watertight joint or connection made by filling
with concrete, neat cement, or other approved impervious material
between the casing and the undisturbed formation surrounding the well
or between two strings of casing.
INDIVIDUAL WATER SUPPLY
A system including wells, pumps, and piping equipment, which
supplies water to a private home.
INSTALLATION OF PUMPS AND PUMPING EQUIPMENT
The procedure employed in the placement and preparation for
operation of pumps and pumping equipment, including all construction
involved in making entrance to the well and establishing seals but
not including repairs to existing installations.
MUNICIPALITY
The Township of Washington, Franklin County, Pennsylvania.
NSF
National Sanitation Foundation.
OWNER
Any person vested with sole or partial, legal or equitable
ownership of property located in the Township.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, association, corporation
or other group or entity.
PITLESS ADAPTOR
A device or assembly of parts which will permit water to
pass through the wall of the well casing or extension thereof, and
which provides access to the well and to the parts of the water system
within the well in a manner to prevent entrance of pollution into
the well and the water produced.
PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM
A system which provides water to the public for human consumption
which has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves an average
of at least 25 individuals daily at least 60 days out of the year.
The term is either a community or noncommunity system and includes
collection, treatment, storage and distribution facilities under the
control of the operator of the system and used in connection with
the system. The term also includes a system which provides water for
bottling or bulk hauling for human consumption.
SEMIPUBLIC WATER SUPPLY
A water supply which services one or several facilities such
as industrial or commercial establishments, parks, camps, hotels,
motels, schools, institutions, eating and drinking establishments
or a water supply which services two or more dwelling units and is
not a public water system as defined by the Pennsylvania Safe Drinking
Water Act (35 P.S. § 721.1 et seq.).
TOWNSHIP
Washington Township, Franklin County, Pennsylvania governmental
jurisdiction or governing body represented by the Board of Township
Supervisors.
WELL
Any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, driven,
dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed when the intended use of such
excavation is for the location, acquisition or artificial recharge
of groundwater. This includes but is not limited to test wells, test
borings, and monitoring wells, in addition to wells to be utilized
as individual or semipublic water supplies.
WELL DRILLER
An individual or company that is permitted or licensed by
the State of Pennsylvania to drill wells in Pennsylvania.
WELL SEAL
An approved device or method used to protect a well casing
or water system from the entrance of any external pollutant at the
point of entrance into the casing of a pipe, electric conduit or water
level measuring device.
WELL TAG
A metal marking device supplied by the Township for installation
on the well cap for every new or reconstructed water well or geothermal
well.
The owner of the property on which a well for
domestic water use is to be utilized shall:
A. Apply to Washington Township Supervisors for a well
permit, providing, on the prescribed form: name and address of applicant,
name and address of landowner where well is to be drilled, name and
address and license number of well driller, site location and address,
and proposed date for drilling to begin. A site plan (sketch) showing
location of existing or proposed buildings, driveways, septic systems,
and other wells must be attached to the application.
B. Have all wells constructed by a qualified Pennsylvania
licensed well driller to meet, at a minimum, the rules and regulations
of this article and any administrative agency of the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania.
C. Submit any relevant information or data concerning
the constructed well to the governing body, including a signed well
completion report and a copy of well water test results obtained from
the well driller.
The source of supply shall be from a water-bearing
formation drawn not less than 35 feet from the ground surface. Capped
wells shall be located at a point free from flooding, at a higher
elevation (wherever possible) and at the following minimum setback
distances to existing or potential sources of pollution:
Source of Pollution
|
Minimum Setback Distance
(feet)
|
---|
Lakes, ponds, streams or other surface waters
|
25
|
Storm drains, retention basins, stabilization
ponds or stormwater management facilities
|
25
|
Preparation area or storage area of hazardous
spray materials, fertilizers of chemicals, salt piles
|
100
|
Gravity sewer lines and drains carrying domestic
sewage or industrial waste
|
50
|
Septic tanks, aerobic tanks or holding tanks
|
50
|
Subsurface sewage disposal systems, elevated
sand mounds, other sewage disposal fields
|
100
|
Sewage seepage pits, cesspools
|
100
|
Farm silos, barnyards, privies and fuel tanks
|
100
|
Rainwater pits, ditches
|
25
|
Spray irrigation sites, sewage sludge and septage
disposal sites
|
100
|
Property lines, driveways, and private roads
|
10
|
Dedicated public right-of-way
|
20
|
Building foundations (except for buildings enclosing
water wells and/or water well pumps)
|
30
|
Any other source of pollution
|
As approved
|
An application fee, as set by the Township Supervisors,
must be paid at the time the complete application for a well permit
is presented to the Township office. In no case will the application
be approved prior to payment of this fee.
In addition to any other remedies provided in this article, any violation of §
348-11 above shall constitute a nuisance and shall be abated by the municipality or the governing body by either seeking mitigation of the nuisance; by institution of a suit or suits in equity to restrain or prevent violations of the aforesaid sections; or by seeking a mandatory preliminary injunction under the applicable provisions of the Pennsylvania Sewage Facilities Act; or by seeking other legal relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.
Approval of an application and issuance of a
permit for a well on the property described in the application does
not constitute any guarantee or warranty by Washington Township regarding
quantity or quality of water that may be obtained as a result of any
well drilled under the permit. The permit provides Washington Township's
approval to drill a well at the site shown on the application, and
does not provide any other guarantees, approval, warranties, etc.
[Adopted 7-7-2004 by Ord. No. 176]
Unless the context specifically and clearly
indicates otherwise, the meaning of terms and phrases used in this
article shall be as follows:
ABUTTING THE WATER SYSTEM
Any principal structure or building on improved property
within 250 feet of a water main constituting a part of the water system.
AUTHORITY
The Washington Township Municipal Authority, Franklin County,
Pennsylvania, a municipal authority of the Commonwealth, which, in
addition to other responsibilities, supplies water to the Township.
IMPROVED PROPERTY
Any property within this Township upon which there is erected
a structure intended for continuous or periodic human habitation or
other occupancy or use by human beings for any purpose, whether domestic,
residential, commercial, business or otherwise, and within which water
is provided for human consumption.
INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENT
Any property located in this Township upon which there is
erected a structure that is used or intended for use, wholly or in
part, for the manufacturing, processing, cleaning, laundering or assembling
of any product, commodity or article, or any other property utilizing
an industrial process and which does not provide water for human consumption.
LATERAL SERVICE LINES
That part of the water system (including, without limitation,
pipes, connections and conduit) extending from any building or structure
on the improved property to the water system, curbline, easement,
or, if there shall be no curbline, to a point designated by the Township
used or usable for water distribution purposes.
OTHER PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIER
Any authority, borough, Township, or other entity, public
or private, including, without limitation, the Borough of Waynesboro,
who supplies public water to the Township.
OWNER
Any person vested with ownership, legal or equitable, sole
or partial, of any improved property.
PERSON
Any individual, partnership, company, association, society,
trust, corporation or other group or entity.
STREET
Shall include any street, road, lane, court, cul-de-sac,
alley, public way or public square.
TOWNSHIP
The Township of Washington, Franklin County, Pennsylvania,
a municipal subdivision of the commonwealth, acting by and through
its Board of Supervisors or, in appropriate cases, acting by and through
its authorized representatives.
WATER SYSTEM
All pipe, conduit, connections and facilities, as of any
particular time, for the treatment and distribution of water, situated
in or adjacent to this Township and owned by the water company including
the existing water works and water distribution facilities, together
with all appurtenant facilities and properties including all property,
real, personal and mixed, rights, powers, licenses, easements, rights-of-way,
privileges, franchises and other property or interests in property
of whatsoever nature used or useful in connection with all such facilities
and together with all additions, extensions, alterations, improvements
and betterments thereof or thereto which may be made, installed or
acquired, from time to time, by or for the water company.
Any person who violates or permits a violation
of this article shall, upon conviction in a summary proceeding brought
before a Magisterial District Judge under the Pennsylvania Rules of
Criminal Procedure, be guilty of a summary offense and shall be punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,000, plus costs of prosecution. In default
of payment thereof, the defendant may be sentenced to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding 90 days. Each day or portion thereof that
such violation continues or is permitted to continue shall constitute
a separate offense, and each section of this article that is violated
shall also constitute a separate offense. The minimum fine to be imposed
is $50 per day or portion thereof for a first offense; $100 per day
or portion thereof for a second offense and $500 per day or portion
thereof for each subsequent offense. The Magisterial District Judge
may impose a fine of more than the minimum amounts set forth above.
It is declared that enactment of this article
is necessary for the protection, benefit and preservation of the health,
safety and welfare of inhabitants of this Township.