Category

Public Well

Private Well

Abandonment

Fill within 30 days of excavation

Must be filled, sealed, & plugged within 30 days of excavation or disuse

To be filled, sealed, & plugged by present owner of well or borehole

Wells considered to be permanently abandoned when it has not been used for > 3 years.

Wells considered to be temporarily abandoned when it has not been used for >1 year and < 3 years

Access Ports and Tubes

No standard specified

No standard specified

Drilling Fluid

Drilling fluids to be from an uncontaminated source or disinfected

No standard

Dug, bored, or jetted wells are prohibited for all new public water systems

No standard

Maintain tools & equipment in a sanitary manner

No standard

Slab

Slab to extend 2 ft. in all directions and slope away from casing

Well must have a concrete slab with 6 in. thickness surrounding well casing

Annular Space

To be grouted to prevent entrance of pollutants

Base

No standard specified

No standard specified

Caps

No standard specified

No standard specified

Category

Public Well

Private Well

Casing

Must be new

To be new

Outer casing to extend at least 5 ft. into first solid, unweathered or impervious subsurface

No

Shall be steel, plastic, or concrete and meet nationally accepted standards for well casing

Shall have minimum length of 25 ft. from ground surface into water-bearing crystalline rocks

no

No

Shall not use sewer pipe

To extend at least 12 in. above concrete slab of floor

To have length of 50 ft. in a well excavated into sedimentary water-bearing formations

Joints

To be watertight and extend entire length of drilled wells

To be watertight entire casing length in drilled wells

To be watertight to the point of maximum drawdown in bored or driven wells

Steel

To conform to ASTM A120 or A53 or to API 5L or 5LS

Plastic

Must be approved by Division

Shall not extend to depth >300 ft. below ground surface

To meet ASTM Standard F480

Construction

All wells to be curbed at surface by owner with watertight curbing of concrete

Curbing must be at least 4 in. thick and extend at least 2 ft. in all directions from casing

Cross Connections

Conform to Standards of AWWA Manual 14 & EPA Cross-Connection Manual

No Standard Specified

Category

Public Well

Private Well

Disinfection

After disinfection, well must be pumped until no trace of chlorine remains in water

Disinfect following construction, or repair before placing in service

Disinfect pump & pumping equipment before they are serviced

Minimum contact time of 2 hours before pumping of well

Must occur in accordance with AWWA Standard C654

Must occur prior to pumping test with a chlorine solution under pressure

Produce minimum chlorine residual of 50 ppm in 6 hours

Well & equipment to be disinfected with chlorine so that 50 ppm of chlorine is obtained

Electrical Connections

NSS

NSS

Fracturing

NSS

NSS

Gravel

Be clean, disinfected, and free of organic matter

To be washed, free of organic matter, & composed well-rounded particles

Consist of siliceous, well-rounded, smooth, uniform grain particles.

Gravel/Sand Packed Wells

NSS

NSS

Grout

Cement grout protective casing entire length with a cement slurry

Place under pressure from bottom of annular space up to earth's surface

Slurry to not consist of >6 gal water to 1 cubic ft. of cement plus additives

Subsurface construction to cease for at least 24 hours after grouting

To be neat or sand-cement grout or other impervious material

Wall thickness to not be <1.5 in. at any point

Housing

To enclose water treatment equipment

No Standard Specified

Identification

No Standard Specified

No Standard Specified

Category

Public Well

Private Well

Licensing

Construction to be done by a licensed water well contractor in the State of Georgia

Must be a licensed water well contractor to construct wells

May apply for a trainee license in order to complete 2 years of experience under supervision

May have to complete no more than 4 continuing education hours annually

Must have 2 years of experience & pass an examination administered by the council

Owner must retain a Professional Engineer registered in Georgia to prepare plans & specifications

Location

Do not locate in floodplain unless measures have been taken to prevent submergence of casing & equip

Locate as far removed as possible from all open abandoned wells

Locate as far removed from potential contaminants and in opposite direction of ground-water flow

Locate as far removed from potential contaminants and in opposite direction of ground-water flow

Wells must not be subject to flooding

Sewer Line

Sewer Line 10 ft

Sewer Line 10 ft

Cess Pool

Cess Pool 150 ft

Seepage Pit

Seepage Pit 150 ft

Septic Tank

Septic Tank 50 ft

Septic Tank 50 ft

Septic Tank Field

Septic Tank Absorption Field 100 ft

Septic Tank Absorption Field 100 ft

Barnyard

Barnyard 100 ft

Solid Waste Disposal Site

1000 ft. and not in direction where ground water flow will be intercepted by the well.

Category

Public Well

Private Well

Maintenance and Repair

Nss

NSS

Permitting

Must obtain permit from Director

NSS

Plumbness and Alignment

NSS

Installation & operation of pump not to be impaired

Pumps

Concrete block to extend at least 12 in. above concrete slab

NSS

Discharge Pipe to have raw water-sampling tap

NSS

For turbine pump installations, concrete block to support pump motor must be constructed around casing

NSS

Outer casing to extend at least 1 in. above pump motor block

Protect from unauthorized entry with enclosed shelter or fence

Well head & pump base to be sealed & vented by screened riser pipe

Screens

Must be new

Must withstand chemical and physical forces

Permit optimum development of aquifer with minimum head loss

Plastic screens to be approved by Division

Prevent clogging or jamming

Seals

Individual wells- 10 ft

Minimum depths below ground surface

No Standard Specified

Nonpublic wells- 25 ft. in igneous or metamorphic rock

Nonpublic wells- 50 ft. in sedimentary rock

Testing

NSS

NSS

Vents

NSS

NSS