A well drilling permit shall be required for any regulated well drilled or existing well redrilled in Nockamixon Township after the effective date of this chapter. The drilling permit allows for the drilling of the well but not its use. The use permit is covered by Article IV of this chapter.
A.
Class I Applicants. An applicant applying for a permit for an individual
regulated well.
B.
Class II Applicants. An applicant seeking installation of a well
or wells in conjunction with a minor subdivision or a small land development.
C.
Class III Applicants. An applicant seeking installation of a well
or wells in conjunction with a major subdivision or a large land development.
D.
Exemptions. This chapter shall not apply to:
(1)
Geothermal wells utilizing a closed loop system or zero net water
withdrawal.
(2)
Wells that are on a lot that is deed restricted against further subdivision
and restricted against additional water extraction and consists of
five acres or more and where the water withdrawal is predicted to
be 80 gallons or less per day per acre in the Lockatong, Hornfels
or Diabase Zones or 100 gallons or less per day per acre in the Brunswick
Zone.
(3)
Wells related to applications for residential building additions
or residential accessory structures.
A.
An application for a well drilling permit shall be filed with the
Township Code Official. Three copies are required with the Code Official
distributing two to the Township. The applicant can retain one stamped
copy.
B.
Class I applicants shall submit a well drilling permit prior to or
simultaneously with the filing of a building permit application. The
drilling of the well must be accomplished and a well utilization permit
must be issued, prior to the building permit being issued.
A.
The following shall be submitted with the well drilling permit application
for all applicants:
(1)
Applicant's name, address and telephone number.
(2)
The well drilling permit application fee paid to the Code Official,
for the use of the Township, in accordance with the fee schedule adopted
by resolution of the Board of Supervisors upon enactment of this chapter
or as such schedule may be amended from time to time.
(3)
Location of the proposed well.
(4)
Well driller's name, address and telephone number.
B.
For a Class I and Class II applicant, a plot plan shall be submitted.
Plot plans shall include, at a minimum, property boundaries, all existing
and proposed structures, sanitary sewage disposal facilities, and
building setback lines.
C.
For a Class III applicant, a copy of the proposed subdivision or
land development plan filed, or to be filed under Nockamixon Township's
SALDO concerning any property which the well(s) is (are) to serve
shall be supplied. The plan shall provide at least the following information:
(1)
Property lines.
(2)
Location of proposed and existing buildings on the property on which
the proposed well is to be located or within 500 feet of its boundaries.
(3)
Streets abutting the property on which the proposed well is to be
located.
(4)
Well Location(s). The well(s) must be field located and verified
prior to drilling.
(5)
Wastewater disposal area(s) on the property on which the proposed
well is to be located or within 200 feet of its boundaries and reported
in latitude/longitude (NAD 83).
(6)
Separation distances.
(7)
Site geology according to geology maps.
(8)
The static water levels and likely, groundwater flow directions beneath
the site.
(9)
Fracture traces depicting the surficial expression of underlying
bedrock fractures plotted on a map of the site.
(10)
Wells and wastewater systems on adjoining properties.
(11)
A description of the development proposed.
(12)
Projected water quantity requirements for the proposed use.
(13)
A separate map shall be submitted showing the location of the
production well(s) and information of all monitoring well(s), if applicable.
(14)
Topography of the drainage area and property including wells,
springs, streams, wetlands, dams and reservoirs, the location, dimensions
and elevations of structures and piping.
(15)
Work plan including information required pursuant to § 228-21.B(3)(a)[3]
of this chapter.
All well drillers shall upon completion of the drilling of any
well file a report in the form to be supplied by the Township. The
report shall include well locations, including coordinates (NAD 83)
for the well, logs of test borings, diameter, and depths of the well
casing on the well construction diagram.
Upon receipt of an application for a well permit, the Township
shall within 45 days review the site plan showing the location of
the proposed well and supplemental information, and perform an inspection
of the premises on which the well is to be constructed to determine
if the location, which must be staked by the applicant, conforms to
the standards hereof. The inspection shall be conducted in accordance
with the provisions of this chapter and the provisions of any and
all other relevant ordinances of the Township. Upon completion of
the inspection, the Township shall either:
A.
The Township shall examine the application, complete the site inspection,
if a site inspection is required, and approve or disapprove the application
in writing within 45 days from receipt of the application. Approval
of the site for a public water supply well by the BCDH, acting on
behalf of the PA DEP, does not necessarily imply approval by the Township.
B.
Where the capacity of any new well or wells, or the total capacity
of old and new wells on or for use on one property in excess of 10,000
gpd or where close spacing or wells in an area so dictates in taking
action on applications, the Board shall have the authority to impose
such conditions and make such requirements and limitations as may
in their opinion be necessary to protect the people of the Township
and the applicant and may issue limited and revocable permits for
such wells. In addition, DRBC approval is required for wells having
a use in excess of 10,000 gpd.
C.
Township well permits shall be valid for one year from the date of
issuance.
Emergency permits may be issued for the correction of problems
to an existing well that cause disruption of the availability of potable
water. Any property owner requiring such emergency permit shall notify
the Township of such water loss. The Township shall immediately issue
an emergency permit upon confirmation of such emergency. The emergency
permit shall be effective for 30 days after which the normal permit
must be obtained.
A.
A water system which does not provide an adequate supply of water
for the proposed use, considering both quality and quantity, adversely
affects nearby wells or streams, or does not provide for adequate
groundwater recharge considering withdrawals shall not be approved
by the Township.
B.
The adequacy of the water supply shall be determined as follows:
(1)
All wells shall have a minimum yield of three gallons per minute.
(2)
All applicants of all classes proposing the installation of a regulated well must perform and satisfactorily complete the following three-part certification pump test; except for those wells installed under the emergency permit provisions of § 228-20.
(a)
Pump Test Requirements.
[1]
Purpose. The purpose of the three-part pumping test is to determine
if the underlying aquifer provides sufficient yield for the proposed
water usage needs. The developer or developer's contractor must
conduct the pumping test.
[2]
Test. The required pumping test consists of three parts. The
second part must be performed immediately upon completion of the first
part and the third part must be completed immediately upon completion
of the second part.
The first portion of the pump test is the peak demand test and
it measures the ability of the well to meet the predicted water demand
of a household during the twice-daily peak use periods, or the estimated
peak usage for nonresidential uses.
The second portion of the pump test is the constant head test
and it measures the aquifer's ability to supply water to the
well sufficient to meet the total daily water demand for the use.
The third part of the pump test is the recovery test and it
measures the aquifers ability to recover from pumping and allows for
an evaluation of the potential to mine water or dewater fractures.
[a]
Calculate the peak demand rate and peak time according
to the following formula:
[i]
Minimum well formula assumptions for residential
use. Water usage is 100 gallons per day (gpd) per person; two persons
occupy one bedroom (mbr); additional bedrooms are occupied by one
person; two peak water use periods per day, and flow through plumbing
fixtures = three gallons per minute (gpm) in bathrooms. (Note: half
bathrooms will be treated as full bathrooms for these calculations.)
|
Peak Load (gal) = (no. of bedrooms) (no. of persons/bedroom)
(qpd/person)\peak periods/day
|
|
Peak Load (gal) = 100 gallons + (no. of addn. bedrooms)(50 gallons/bedroom)
|
|
Peak Demand Rate (gpm) = (gpm/bathroom)(no. of bathrooms) =
(3 gpm)(no. of bathrooms)
|
|
Peak Time (min) = Peak Load (gal.)/Peak Demand Rate (gpm)
|
[ii]
Peak demand rate and peak time for nonresidential
uses shall be determined upon consultation with the Township after
submission of estimated water usage by applicant (including domestic,
process, maintenance, etc.). Minimum peak demand rate shall be six
gallons per minute and minimum peak time shall be 40 minutes; which
is equivalent to a four-bedroom, two-bath dwelling.
[b]
Perform Peak Demand Pumping Test. Measure static
water level in the well prior to the initiation of pumping; pump at
peak demand rate for peak time, and measure the water level in the
well, at the completion of the test. To pass the test, the well must
be able to supply water at the peak demand rate for the peak time.
[c]
Perform the constant head pumping test immediately
upon completion of the peak demand test. The water level must not
be allowed to recover from the first test. The constant head pumping
test must be completed in accordance with the following procedures:
[i]
Adjust the pumping rate to a constant head pumping
rate.
[ii]
The change in head must be less than 1/2 feet
per hour.
[iii]
Convert the constant head pumping rate to gpd
and compare to total household demand.
To pass the test, the volume of water removed from the well
during the constant head pumping test must equal the total demand.
The rate at which water enters the well from the aquifer to maintain
the constant head, must be sufficient to meet the total demands of
the proposed residence within a maximum period of eight hours or less.
The minimum time for maintaining the constant head during this test
shall be two hours.
[d]
Upon completion of the constant head pumping test,
the pump shall be shut, off and water level recovery must be measured.
All pumping equipment must have sufficient check valves to prevent
backflow into the well from the water in the piping once the pump
is shut down. If water drains back into the well from the piping,
the test will be deemed to have failed and all three steps of the
test must be repeated. Water level recovery in the well must be measured
once per minute for the first 10 minutes, then once per two minutes
for the next 20 minutes, then once per five minutes for the next 30
minutes, then once per 10 minutes until the water level has recovered
at least 90% of the total drawdown as determined by subtracting the
final depth to water level measurement made at the conclusion of the
constant head test from the static level as determined prior to the
start of the peak-demand test.
[e]
If the total drawdown in the well during the peak-demand
test and constant head test is 10 feet or less, then the recovery
test is not required and the well will be deemed satisfactory.
[f]
Flushing and testing. The well shall be flushed
at a rate at least equal to 200% of the expected pump capacity for
a minimum of two hours, or until the water discharging is clear and
free from sand. During the flushing operation the amount of drawdown
and stability of the yield shall be determined.
(3)
Class III Applicant Aquifer Test. All Class III applicants must perform the three-part pumping test listed above in Subsection B(1) of this section for individual production wells and must also perform a development-wide aquifer test as follows:
(a)
Procedure.
[1]
Purpose. The purpose of the development-wide aquifer test is
to collect the data necessary to determine aquifer characteristics
and evaluate the effects of the water use on groundwater and surface-water
resources, other users of these resources, and other natural resources
both on and off the site.
[2]
Plan. Class III applicants must submit a work plan (refer subsection [3] below) for the aquifer test to Nockamixon Township and written approval must be granted prior to the initiation of the test. The plan must designate the location of the test well(s) which must be centrally located within the area proposed for building lots or structures. The applicant shall provide at least 48 hours' notice prior to commencement of the development-wide aquifer test to Nockamixon Township. The work plan shall include estimates of initiation and completion dates of the tests.
[3]
Required Information. The pumping test must be conducted by
a well driller licensed to do business in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
or a consultant qualified in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who
shall supply the following information (work plan) at least 45 days
prior to the pumping test to allow adequate time for Township review:
[a]
Characterize the underlying geologic formation
with available information, including literature, field observations
and well logs to obtain the following:
[i]
Aquifer thickness.
[ii]
Thickness of overburden.
[iii]
Known hydraulic conditions of the aquifer such
as confined, semi-confined or water-table.
[iv]
Depth to the water table or potentiometric surface.
[v]
Known permeable and semi-permeable zones.
[vi]
Orientations of joints, fractures, and bedding
planes.
[vii]
Recharge areas.
[viii]
Anticipated values of well yield, hydraulic
conductivity, transmissivity and storage coefficient.
[ix]
Estimated ground-water flow directions.
[x]
Locations of off-site potable wells within a two-thousand-five-hundred-foot
radius of the proposed development.
[xi]
Locations of streams, ponds, and other surface
water bodies within a two-thousand-five-hundred-foot radius of the
proposed development.
[b]
Location(s) of the test well(s), and monitoring
well network.
[c]
Notify adjacent property owners (within 1,000 feet
of the property boundary) by certified mail of the anticipated pump
test at least 45 days prior to the anticipated pump test and provide
copies of said notification to the Township.
[d]
Design an appropriate pumping test using best professional
judgment. The pumping rate must be sufficient to supply water to meet
twice the total daily water demand for all the dwellings, structures
and/or uses proposed in the development. For example, if the development
includes 10 dwellings with a total of 35 bedrooms, the pumping rate
must be at least 9,000 gallons per day or six and one-quarter gallons
per minute (gpm). If one well cannot yield sufficient water to meet
the peak-day demand, then additional wells must also be tested. If
additional wells are required, all additional wells shall be pumped
at the same time and adequate time must be provided between pumping
of wells to allow full recovery of water levels between pumping periods.
The pumping portion of the test shall last for 72 hours. Data shall
be collected following an interval equal to the time period of the
pumping. Water level measurements must be collected following a linear
time scale during the background phase with a maximum time interval
between measurements of 30 minutes and logarithmic time schedule during
the pumping and recovery phases with a maximum time interval between
measurements of 10 minutes.
[e]
Provide a sketch plan of the proposed development.
[4]
Test procedures.
[a]
Township approval of the work plan must be received
prior to conducting aquifer test. The aquifer test(s) must be conducted
in three phases with water levels measured during each phase. The
first phase is prior to pumping and is referenced as the background
phase. Water-level measurements made during the background phase will
be used to evaluate antecedent trends and possible interference between
wells located on- and off-site. The second phase will be the pumping
phase when one well is pumped at the rate equal to a minimum of twice
the daily demand and water levels are measured in the pumping well
and all observation wells. The third phase of the aquifer test will
be the recovery phase, during which, water levels are measured after
the pump has been shut down, to evaluate the ability of the aquifer
to recover from the pumping stresses. The data must be sufficient
to show the long-term response to pumping. The duration of the recovery
phase must be at least equal to the duration of the pumping phase
and water level measurements must be collected using the same schedule
that was used in the pumping phase. The interpretation of an aquifer
yield test requires an expert hydrogeologist.
[b]
A minimum of four observation wells must be installed
for or used in the test. Existing wells may be used with approval
from Nockamixon Township. If an existing well is within 1,000 feet
of the property line, it is appropriate to be used as one of the observation
wells. If no existing wells are located within 500 feet of the property
line, an observation well must be drilled near the downgrade property
line.
[c]
Observation Wells.
[i]
Locks shall be installed on the top of all casings
of observation wells.
[ii]
The observation wells may coincide with locations
for future potable wells and after completion of the test, be converted
to potable wells.
[iii]
At least two observation wells must be located
along the property boundary of the development.
[iv]
Property owners shall be given the option of having
their wells monitored if their wells are within 1,000 feet of the
property to be developed. Said property owners shall be notified by
certified mail of the option to monitor their wells.
[v]
Applicants shall monitor all wells within 1,000
feet of the property to be developed when requested to do so by property
owners.
[vi]
The applicant must provide a list of all property
owners notified of the aquifer test and a list of all property owners
requesting monitoring of water levels within their wells.
[vii]
All digital logger data will be collected directly
from loggers at the conclusion of the test jointly by the applicant's
agent and an agent of Nockamixon Township.
[viii]
All costs related to installation and monitoring
all observation wells is the responsibility of the applicant.
[d]
If there are any wetlands or streams on the site,
the Township may require monitoring of water levels within or immediately
below these natural resources through the use of stream gauges and/or
shallow piezometers. The applicant must provide a map depicting streams
and wetlands on the site with the aquifer test workplan and must provide
a recommended plan for monitoring water levels beneath these resources
within the workplan for Township review prior to implementing any
phase of the aquifer test.
[e]
To determine ambient conditions, water-level measurements
must be collected from the pumping well(s) and observation wells for
a period of at least 72 hours during the background phase. Water level
measurements should be recorded every 10 minutes.
[f]
During the pumping and recovery phase, water levels
must be measured in the pumping well and all observation wells following
a logarithmic time schedule with a minimum time interval of less than
one minute at the beginning of these phases to a maximum time interval
of 10 minutes. The frequency of measurements must be provided in the
aquifer test workplan submitted to the Township for review and approval.
[g]
Water from the pumping well must be discharged
to an area away from the pumping well and observation wells, preferably
an off-site downgradient location that will not impact the results
of the test. Once the pumping rate is established within the first
few minutes of the pumping phase, it must not fluctuate more than
10%. At a minimum, the pumping rate must be recorded hourly during
the test and the total volume pumped each day and at the conclusion
of the test must also be recorded. These pumping rates and total volumes
must be submitted with the hydrogeologic report to the Township. If
the pumping rate varied more than 10% from the average rate as determined
by dividing the total volume pumped by the total number of minutes
for the pumping phase, the test will be deemed invalid and the applicant
will be required to repeat the test in its entirety.
[h]
Well casings and ground surface elevations for
the pumping well and observation wells shall be surveyed to a common
datum.
[i]
The location of all wells participating in the
aquifer test will be recorded by latitude/longitude coordinates (NAD
83) together with the USGS Datum elevation of the well head casing.
The horizontal location of the well should be accurate to within ±
10 feet and the elevation above the USGS Datum to within one foot.
A full well drillers report including reporting on the rock strata
depths, yield rates by depth and total yield will be reported. The
total well depth of the applicant's test and observation wells
will be reported.
[j]
When constructed, the test and observation wells
will at a minimum, be drilled to the same base reference elevation
above sea level "bottom of the well." However, all efforts should
be made to drill all wells to intersect the same strata beneath the
site based on the geologic strike and dip of the formations: This
is required to prevent measuring the static water levels from an aquifer
different from the test aquifer.
[k]
The well driller's reports for the wells within
1,000 feet of the proposed development including the total well depth,
yield, characteristics, and history shall be provided. Where such
information is not available, documentation to that effect shall be
provided.
[l]
The work plan shall identify all abutting property
owners (within 1,000 feet of the property boundary) so that they can
be offered well data loggers to participate in monitoring of their
well levels where desired.
[m]
Sonic static water level measurements in active
wells must be conducted in such a manner to assure that the measurement
has not been influenced by a depression of the water level from a
recent pump withdrawal. A spot tape may be used where it can be established
that a sonic measurement cannot be obtained.
[n]
The applicant will submit precipitation data from
a rain gage data logger in increments of 0.01 inches with the date
and time recorded for each hour.[1] The test will not be considered valid if there is snow
on the ground or there is a major rain event (greater or equal to
one-half inch within three days of the test. (This requirement is
to prevent the significant changes of the groundwater level due to
recharge.)
[1]
Note: Most tipping rain gauge loggers record to less than
the nearest minute. We would suggest that the one minute resolution
be used.
[o]
All data will be reported at minimum in its native
form as obtained from the data logger in a digital medium.
[p]
Non-compliance with any of the above requirements
or other applicable regulations of this chapter will invalidate the
results of an aquifer study.
[5]
Reporting Requirements. After completion of this development-wide
aquifer test, the applicant shall provide:
[a]
A map showing all water withdrawal points and surface-water
bodies and wetlands within one-quarter mile of the proposed development.
[b]
A scaled site map showing the locations of the
pumping well and observation wells, and proposed locations of other
wells expected to be installed in the development.
[c]
Well, logs and well construction specifications.
[d]
Field data, including depth to water and discharge
rate, the times the measurements were taken, and the methods of obtaining
the measurements.
[e]
Plots of drawdown versus time for the pumping well(s)
and observation wells.
[f]
A plot of drawdown versus distance for specific
times during the test.
[h]
The zone of capture (ZOC) and zone of influence
(ZOI) (otherwise known as cone of depression) of the pumping well(s).
[i]
Analytical results of the test and conclusions.
[k]
A report concerning the ability of the well(s)
to provide the water required for its intended use along with any
potential off-site impacts.
[l]
Calculate the potential ZOC and ZOI of the pumping
well(s). The magnitude of water-level drawdown must be calculated
at the edge of the development. A drawdown of less than three feet
must be apparent at the property boundary during the last hour of
the pumping test. For drawdowns that are identified as being between
one and three feet during the last hour of the pumping test, the developer
shall prepare an analysis and submit it to the Township that identifies
the anticipated future impact of water drawdown. This analysis must
identify the anticipated impact the water drawdown will have with
respect to the estimated one-hundred-eighty-day drought drawdown under
built out conditions.
[m]
Copies of all data generated during the aquifer
test, including the raw digital data, and the analyses of these data.
[n]
Any additional information requested by the Township.
