[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Health
of the Town of Southborough 6-28-1982. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The Board of Health of the Town of Southborough,
acting under the authority of MGL c. 3, § 31[1] and amendments and additions thereto, and by any other
power thereto enabling, and acting thereunder, have, in the interest
of, and for the preservation of the public health, duly made and adopted
the following rules and regulations.
[1]
Editor's Note: See MGL c. 111, § 31.
As used in these rules and regulations, the
following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
Any water system serving or intended to serve water for human
consumption or for domestic uses or purposes on one lot. The system
shall include all of the sources, treatment works and distribution
lines to the point where distribution takes place within the building.
Any water system serving or intended to serve water for human
consumption or for domestic uses or purposes including a multiple
dwelling, or to restaurants, dairies, schools, institutions, motels,
mobile home parks, bottling plants, campgrounds, recreational camps
for children, state forests, parks and beaches.
Includes pipes, valves, fittings tanks, pumps, motors, switches,
controls and appurtenances installed or used for the purpose of storage,
distribution, filtration, treatment or purification of water for any
use whether or not inside a building.
Includes any pit, pipe excavation, spring, casing, drill
hole or other source of water to be used for any purpose of supplying
potable water in the Town of Southborough and shall include dug wells,
driven or tubular wells, drilled wells (artesian or otherwise) and
springs, gravel packed, gravel walled wells, gravel developed and
wash borings and as further described in United States Environmental
Protection Agency Manual of Individual Water Supply Systems.
A.Â
No private or semipublic water supply shall be installed,
altered or repaired until a permit has been obtained from the Board
of Health or its agent. The fee for this permit shall be set by the
Board from time to time. A permit so granted shall expire two years
from the date of issue unless construction is begun.
B.Â
A plot plan shall be submitted with the application
for a well permit to the Board of Health indicating the proposed location
of the well, all buildings, boundary lines and septic systems (within
200 feet).
A.Â
No occupancy of the facilities which the well is to
serve may be permitted until the well is installed, completed and
has been demonstrated to supply water of the quality and quantity
specified herein.
B.Â
The well contractor shall observe sanitary measures
and precautions in the performance of his work in order to prevent
pollution or contamination of the well.
C.Â
Well drillers must be registered with the Massachusetts
Water Resources Commission.
D.Â
Wells shall be located at least 15 feet from any public
or private way or street and 10 feet from lot lines, and 50 feet from
any part of the septic system and 100 feet from any leaching area
or any other such greater distance as may be required by the Board
of Health. The well must also be a minimum of five feet from any building
or projection thereof.
E.Â
The owners of a semipublic water supply shall possess
and display an unrevoked permit from the Board of Health which signifies
the status of sanitary protection, maintenance, operation and improvements
recommended.
F.Â
Pump houses or pump rooms shall be kept in sanitary
condition at all times. Also the size of the room should be no larger
than necessary to house the pumping and the electrical equipment involved
in the water system. Lawnmowers, snowblowers or other gas driven engines
shall not be stored in the pump room. Insecticides, herbicides and/or
fertilizers and the like shall not be stored in the pump room.
G.Â
Pump house, pump or pipe pits and wells shall be designated
and constructed so as to prevent flooding and otherwise to prevent
the entrance of pollution or contaminants.
H.Â
Pump houses, pump rooms and pitless adapters shall
be installed in accordance with the Individual Water System Manual.
I.Â
No person shall install or enter into a contract for
installing or making additions, modification, or alterations to any
semipublic water supply before submitting complete plans, specifications
and descriptions to the Board of Health and receive from them written
approval. Private and semipublic water supply systems shall be approved
by the Board of Health before occupancy is permitted.
A.Â
There shall be a minimum yield of 200 gallons per
bedroom per day at 20 pounds per square inch at the highest fixture
serviced. A bedroom shall include undeveloped area that could be made
into a bedroom. System capacity for semipublic water supplies must
be adequate to meet the projected needs.
B.Â
Pressure tanks for individual home installations shall
be diaphragm type and have a minimum capacity of 36 gallons.
C.Â
Quantity tests shall be performed by competent pump
or well drilling contractors and a well shall produce a supply for
each dwelling unit served by an on-site well as follows:
|
Well Drawing Depth
(feet)
|
Gallons Per Minute Per 4 Hours
(minimum)
| |
|---|---|---|
|
0 to 150
|
5 to 6
| |
|
150 to 200
|
4
| |
|
200 to 300
|
3
| |
|
300 and over
|
2
|
D.Â
Auxiliary power must be available to maintain a water
supply for multiple dwellings. The wall of a dug well shall extend
at least four inches above the floor or the original ground surface.
E.Â
A pitless adapter shall be provided such that the
permanent watertight casing of the well shall terminate a minimum
of 12 inches above finished grade and/or the elevation of one-hundred-year
flood.
F.Â
Well must be curbed and covered to prevent entrance
or contamination and to divert surface drainage away from the well.
G.Â
Pipes and equipment.
(1)Â
All service pipes and connections shall be of nontoxic
material and meet the specifications approved by the New England Water
Works Association.
(2)Â
The installation of pipes shall be such that they
are protected from crushing, freezing and/or attack by rodents.
(3)Â
Dissimilar metals should be discouraged in the water
system. The use of nonconductive plastic inserts between pipes and
fittings or the installation of sacrificial anodes is helpful in minimizing
electric corrosion problems.
(4)Â
Electrical service grounds shall not be attached to
the water piping. All electrical service and controls of well must
be permitted, inspected and approved according to Town and state regulations.
A.Â
Sanitary protection shall be incorporated into the
construction of the well and final finishing at grade shall include
cement platform large enough to extend at least two feet in all directions
from the well casing itself.
B.Â
All newly completed wells shall be disinfected in
accordance with instructions from United States Environmental Protection
Agency Manual of Individual Water Supply Systems.
C.Â
Before approval, well log and pump test data shall
be submitted to the Board of Health in the form attached to these
regulations. It shall include a log of the well, showing depth and
type of over-burden, depth of casing installed below ground surface,
diameter of casing and diameter of the hole in the rock, static water
level, and the pumping rate which can be sustained for four hours.
The well (after pump testing) shall recover to within 85% of the original
static water level within a twenty-four-hour period. The results of
all testing shall be submitted to the Board of Health for approval
and the well contractor shall be responsible for all data submitted.
D.Â
A chemical, physical and bacteriological analysis
of the water, conducted by a Massachusetts certified laboratory, shall
be required. Water which does not meet the accepted standards of agencies
of the state or federal government for potable water supplies shall
be grounds for the rejection of the well. One sample shall be taken
from a tap in the dwelling before occupancy. Acceptance of water quality
shall also be based on its conformance to the normal characteristics
of ground water in the area.
E.Â
A bacteriological test to indicate a zero per 100
milliliters coliform density shall be required. A total bacteria count
shall also be determined at 35° C.
F.Â
Chemical and physical analyses shall be required.
(1)Â
Toxicity tests may also be required. Analyses shall
be performed for at least pH, color, odor, iron, turbidity, manganese,
ammonia nitrogen, nitrite nitrogen, alkalinity, nitrate nitrogen,
total hardness, sodium, chlorides and copper. Concentrations shall
not exceed the following:
(2)Â
Sodium content shall be reported to the homeowner
if greater than 20 milligrams per liter. Other parameters will be
evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the Board of Health to establish
the water's suitability as a domestic water supply.
G.Â
Where applicable, water quality of semipublic water
supplies shall comply with effective regulations of the United States
Environmental Protection Agency and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
H.Â
Water conditioning. Permanent disinfection of a polluted supply is prohibited. If the natural water quality does not meet the physical and chemical criteria as listed in Subsection F, water conditioning shall be required. Water softener or other treatment backwash shall not be discharged into the septic system. Treatment units shall be installed with the capability of bypassing such units if necessary or desired.
A.Â
Surface water supplies for private or semipublic water
supplies shall be prohibited.
B.Â
Cisterns shall be prohibited.
C.Â
Cross connections shall be prohibited.
D.Â
Other cross connections for whatever purpose shall
not be allowed without a written permit from Massachusetts Department
of Public Health.
E.Â
Wells used for drinking water and domestic water supply
shall not be used to provide water for ground water heat pump systems
or for water cooling or air conditioning systems. Any wells used for
such heating or cooling systems shall be approved by the Board of
Health only after the applicant has submitted sufficient evidence
to the satisfaction of the Board of Health that such use will not
disrupt any other water supply and that the yield of such well is
sufficient to provide a sufficient quantity of water to satisfy the
manufacturer's recommendations for proper equipment operation.
A.Â
The Board of Health may vary the application of any
provision of these regulations with respect to any particular case,
when in its opinion, the enforcement thereof would do manifest injustice,
provided that the decision of the Board of Health shall not conflict
with the spirit of these minimum standards. Any variance granted by
the Board of Health shall be in writing.
B.Â
Any variance or other modification authorized to be
made by these regulations may be subject to such qualification, revocation,
suspension or expiration as the Board of Health expresses its grant.
A variance or modification authorized to be made by these regulations
may otherwise be revoked, modified or suspended, in whole or in part,
only after the holder thereof has been notified in writing and has
been given an opportunity to be heard.
A.Â
The provisions of Article 1 of the State Environmental
Code shall govern the enforcement of these regulations.
B.Â
Orders; service and content.
(2)Â
The inspection and these regulations cannot be construed
as a guarantee by the Town of Southborough, or its agents, that the
water system will function satisfactorily.
(3)Â
The Board of Health may require a restriction to be
recorded in the registry of deeds in cases which, in the opinion of
the Board of Health, the water analyses show marginal compliance with
the criteria of these regulations.
These rules and regulations were adopted by
vote of the Board of Health, Town of Southborough, Massachusetts,
and are to be in full force and effect on and after June 28, 1982,
and shall, before said date, be published in this Town and a copy
thereof shall be deposited in the office of the Town Clerk.
