Township of Jackson, PA Wells

The intention of this chapter is to insure and protect the quality and suitability of potable water supply, and to secure and maintain the minimum required isolation distances between water supplies and sewage disposal systems or other sources of contamination.

§ 131-3 Application.

This chapter shall apply to all potable wells which have not been completed or which are not in operation at the time of passage of this chapter. This chapter shall further apply to the reconstruction, major repair, and other changes to existing potable wells, when, in the opinion of the Zoning Officer, such reconstruction, major repair, and other changes may affect the quality and suitability of the water supply of the property upon which the well is constructed or surrounding properties.

§ 131-4 Definitions.

All words and phrases not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings provided in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.

§ 131-5 Permits and inspection.

All applications and permits shall be issued on forms provided by the Township, which shall be executed by the Zoning Officer.

No potable well permit shall be issued for a particular property until a sewage permit has been issued for said property, if applicable.

The Township, through its Zoning Officer, shall act upon each such application for permit within 30 days after said application has been filed, and in the event of failure on the part of the said officer to render and communicate a decision to the applicant within said time period, the applicant shall have the right to request a hearing before the Board of Supervisors.

Upon receipt of any application for a potable well permit, the Township, through its duly authorized Zoning Officer, shall within 30 days perform an inspection of the premises on which the well is to be constructed. The inspection shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. Upon completion of the inspection, the Zoning Officer shall either:

(1)

Issue a permit to the applicant indicating the approved location for the well and the special instructions for construction, if any; or

(2)

Refuse to issue the said permit, and, in such event, shall provide the applicant with written reasons for such refusal.

Upon the completion of construction, and after certification by the well driller that construction has complied with the standards in this chapter, or at such other time as the Zoning Officer may deem appropriate, the Township, through its Zoning Officer, shall perform a final inspection of the well to determine whether there has been compliance with the permit issued. Upon completion of the said inspection, the Zoning Officer shall:

(1)

Issue certificate of well permit compliance upon the original permit; or

(2)

Deny such approval due to noncompliance with the permit issued, in which latter event written reasons for such denial shall be noted.

§ 131-6 Fees.

All applications for a potable well permit shall be accompanied by a fee payable to Jackson Township in accordance with a schedule of fees established by resolution of the Board of Supervisors of Jackson Township.

§ 131-7 Effective date of permits.

All permits shall be in effect as of the date of issuance and shall remain in effect for a period of two years thereafter. In the event that construction under the permit has not been completed at the expiration of two years from the date of issuance, the permit shall expire and the validity of the permit shall cease and terminate.

§ 131-8 Well location and setbacks.

All potable wells constructed after the date of this chapter shall be located at least 100 feet from any portion of an area tested and approved for an on-lot sewage disposal system; or, an existing septic system, drain field or absorption area. Wells shall be at least 50 feet from any existing septic tank, distribution box or pump tank. The well shall be located so as to enable adjacent lots to place a septic system drain field or absorption area so that the same would be at least 100 feet from such well with the septic tank, distribution box, and/or pump tank on such lot being at least 50 feet from such well.

All wells shall, if reasonably possible, be located at least 50 feet from an agricultural field. If the fifty-foot isolation distance cannot reasonably be achieved, the well shall be kept as far as reasonably possible from the agricultural field.

The applicant shall present an accurate scale plan showing the location of all existing or proposed wells, applicable setback distances for wells, and existing or proposed sewage disposal drain fields and septic tanks on the lands of the applicant, and on any immediately adjoining lands, that may be affected by said regulations. The plan shall be the same scale plan as submitted for the sewage permit for the subject property. In all cases, a sewage permit must be issued for said property prior to securing a well permit.

Well permits may be denied if drilling a well at a proposed location is not possible due to the setback requirements.

All other setbacks shall be as follows with minimum isolation distances from the proposed well to the features listed in Table 1:

	Table 1
	Features	Minimum Distance
	Lakes, ponds, streams or other surface waters	25 feet (4.6m)
	Storm drains, stormwater detention ponds and conveyance channels	25 feet (7.6m)
	Preparation area or storage area of hazardous spray materials, fertilizers of chemicals, salt piles	300 feet (91.5m)
	Sewer lines and drains carrying domestic sewage or industrial waste (except when the sewer line is encased in concrete or is ductile iron pipe with neoprene gasket joints	50 feet (15.2m)
	Sewage seepage pits, cesspools	100 feet (30.4m)
	Farm silos, barnyards	100 feet (30.4m)
	Rainwater pits	25 feet (7.6m)
	Spray irrigation site; sewage sludge and septic disposal sites	300 feet (41.2m)
	Property lines or rights-of-way	10 feet (3.04m)
	Dedicated road right-of-way	15 feet (4.56m)
	Building foundations (except for buildings enclosing just water wells and/or water well pumps)	30 feet (9.12m)
	Any other potential source of pollution	As approved

§ 131-9 Drilling, water sampling and testing requirements.

A potable water supply must be drilled by a well driller licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. All well drillers shall, upon completion of the well, provide the Township with a copy of the information required to be submitted to the PA DEP and certification that the well construction has complied with the requirements/standards of this chapter.

All wells shall be purged prior to sampling.

Analysis shall be made of the bacterial and chemical quality as specified below. The sample shall be taken from the pumping or staging equipment. The analysis shall be performed by laboratories approved by the PA DEP. Water from an individual water supply well shall be certified as potable by the approved laboratory. A copy of the analysis and certification shall be provided to the Township. At a minimum, testing shall be conducted for the presence of the following contaminants:

(1)

Total coliforms - total plate counts total coliform/100 milliliters.

pH.

Nitrates.

Sulfates.

Iron.

Manganese.

Lead.

Chlorides.

Where the Township believes there may be contamination from other pollutants, additional testing may be required, including, but not limited to:

(a)

TCE, PCE, and 1-1-1 trichlorethane.

(b)

Benzene, toluene, xylene.

(c)

Detergents (MBAS).

If the samples do not meet PA DEP and USEPA standards for safe drinking water, the water supply must be treated so that the water meets the standards.

§ 131-10 Construction standards.

All construction of new potable wells and repairs to potable wells shall be subject to the following construction standards:

Casing.

(1)

The well shall have a watertight and durable wrought iron, steel, plastic, or other type of approved casing with a nominal thickness of 3/16 (0.1875) inches and 6 5/8 inches outside diameter. The sections shall be joined together by threaded couplings, welded joints or other watertight approved joint or coupling.

(2)

The casing shall be carried to a minimum depth of 20 feet from the finished grade and in all cases shall be extended 10 feet into bedrock or other competent strata. Driven wells shall be provided with a drive shoe or other effective casing seal.

(3)

An annular space shall be provided between the well casing and the earth formation of a radius at least 1 1/2 inches greater than the casing radius, excluding couplings. The annular space shall be completely filled with impervious cement grout or equivalent sealing material from bottom of the casing to within five feet of the ground surface. External grouting shall be accomplished utilizing a tremic pipe grout pump to force out any standing water on the outside of the well casing.

(4)

The casing shall be sealed effectively against entrances of water from water bearing formations, which are subject to pollution, through which the casing may pass. If casings of small diameter are used in the lower portions of the well, effective watertight seals shall be provided between the casings where they telescope. In such instances, a section of casing shall telescope for a minimum distance of four feet.

(5)

The top of the well casing shall extend a minimum of 24 inches above the finished grade of the lot so that contaminated water or other substances cannot enter the well through the annular opening at the top of the well casing, wall or pipe sleeve.

Well covers. Every potable water well shall be equipped with an overlapping cover at the top of the well casing or pipe sleeve. Covers shall extend downward at least two inches over the outside of the well casing or wall. All well caps shall indicate well driller's name, depth of well and depth of casing.

Pitless adapter. Where pump sections or discharge pipes enter or leave a well through the side of the casing, the circle of contact shall be watertight. The use of plastic/nylon adapters for this purpose is not acceptable. A brass pitless adapter with brass connectors or equivalent shall be required.

Electrical wiring. Electrical wiring for well purposes shall be encased in conduit from the bottom of the water supply line trench to the well cap.

Drainage. All potable water wells shall be constructed so that surface drainage will be diverted away from the well.

Pumping equipment. All pumps installed in wells drilled to a depth greater than 300 feet, but not to exceed 450 feet, shall be installed with two-hundred-pound-per-square-inch plastic pipe. Well depths exceeding 450 feet shall have pumps installed with Schedule 80 PVC threaded pipe or galvanized steel pipe to support the increased pumping pressure. The pressure rating on plastic pipe shall be at least 160 pounds per square inch, regardless of water supply depth.

Pump enclosures. Any pump room or any enclosure around a well pump shall be drained and protected from freezing by heating or other approved means. Where pumps are installed in basements, they shall be mounted on a block or shelf not less than 18 inches above the basement floor.

Service. The size of water service pipe shall be a minimum diameter of 3/4 inch.

Source. The source of the supply shall be from a water bearing formation drawn not less than 100 feet from the ground surface, unless it can be demonstrated that there is a flow of at least six gallons per minute at a lesser depth. There shall be at least 20 feet of properly grouted well casing, and the supply source must not be subject to pollution.

§ 131-11 Sealing of abandoned wells.

The owner of any well shall, upon abandonment of any existing well or test hole, effectively seal and fill such abandoned wells or test holes. All abandoned wells and test holes must be filled with portland/sand grout, and the placement of the grout must be observed by the Zoning Officer. A well not in operation for three or more years or improperly maintained to prevent contamination shall be considered abandoned.

§ 131-12 Violations and penalties.

Any person violating any of the terms or provisions in this chapter shall upon conviction thereof before a District Justice be subject to a penalty in the amount of $500 for each offense. Each day that a violation of any provision of this chapter continues shall constitute a separate and distinct offense and distinct penalties hereunder. Any such fines collected will be used for general Township purposes.

§ 131-13 Liability.

No responsibility or liability for the construction of any well and amount and potability of the resultant water supply shall be deemed to be placed upon Jackson Township or its officers, agents, or employees by virtue of the terms of this chapter or otherwise.