N.J. Admin. Code § 7:10-11.7 - Standards for the construction and development of ground water sources
(a) Any public community
water system that uses only ground water sources of supply shall have the firm
capacity to meet the applicable peak daily demand as required pursuant to
7:10-11.6(a), except as
provided (a)1 below.
1. The Department shall
approve an interconnection with another public community water system in lieu of a
backup well if a contract or other written binding agreement to obtain sufficient
water is executed between the owners of the water systems to be interconnected and
if it can be shown to the satisfaction of the Department that such an
interconnection will enable the public community water system seeking the
interconnection to comply with this subsection.
(b) Ground water sources of supply shall be
protected as follows:
1. A public community water
system shall acquire and control all land within at least a 50 foot radius of any
ground water source used for its water supply. Major and minor pollutant sources and
non-water system related activities shall be prohibited within the specified area.
The public community water system may control the land by lease or easement only
with prior written approval of the Department .
i.
The Department recommends that a public community water system control and/or obtain
a conservation easement to land surrounding a ground water source beyond that
required pursuant to (b)1 above for watershed protection and future water supply
development. If ground water sources are located in unconfined or bedrock aquifers,
the Department recommends the minimum land acquisition, dependent upon well
capacity, shown in the table below:
Source Capacity | Land Requirement |
(MGD) | (Acres) |
0-1 | 1 |
> 1-2 | 2 |
> 2-3 | 3 |
> 3-5 | 5 |
> 5 | 5 + 1/2 acre |
for each MGD or portion hereof in | |
excess of 5 MGD |
ii. The
Department recommends that land acquired for the purpose of watershed protection be
in up-gradient areas and equivalent to Tier I as defined in the Well Head Protection
Plan (WHPP) adopted by the Department pursuant to the Federal Act.
2. Storm and/or sanitary sewer lines,
industrial waste lines, septic tanks, distribution boxes and dry wells are
prohibited within 50 feet of a well. Any such line within 100 feet of a well shall
be of completely watertight construction (that is, steel, reinforced concrete, cast
iron, PVC or other suitable material). Sewage disposal fields and seepage pits are
prohibited within 200 feet of a well. Cesspools are prohibited within 200 feet of a
well.
i. The Department may reduce the distance
restrictions under (b)2 above if a well is constructed in a confined
aquifer.
3. Manholes and/or
connections to a sanitary sewer system are prohibited within 100 feet of a well,
unless the well is constructed in a confined aquifer .
(c) The public community water system shall submit
as part of the permit application under this subchapter an inventory of all major
and minor pollutant sources and an evaluation of their possible impact on the
quality of the ground water source as follows:
1.
If a well is proposed to be constructed to withdraw water from a confined aquifer ,
an inventory and evaluation of major and minor pollutant sources within 500 feet of
the well and a detailed description of how the well will be protected from the
pollutant sources.
2. If a well is
proposed to be constructed to withdraw water from an unconfined or consolidated
aquifer , a delineation of the well head protection area (WHPA) in accordance with
the New Jersey Well Head Protection Plan (WHPP) adopted by the Department pursuant
to the Federal Act and an evaluation of major and minor pollutant sources as
follows:
i. All major pollutant sources within the
well's zone of contribution (ZOC) of a distance not greater than 12 years time of
travel (TOT) or 10,000 feet; and
ii. All
minor pollutant sources within the greater distance of either 200 days TOT or 500
feet of the well.
3. Major
pollutant sources identified pursuant to (c)2 above that are within either 200 days
TOT or 500 feet of the well, whichever is greater, are prohibited unless an
appropriate treatment barrier is provided.
4. The supplier of water shall provide an
appropriate treatment barrier, or establish a sampling program in order to detect
the presence of contamination from any major pollutant source identified pursuant to
(c)2 above, if any such source exists in an area bounded by the greater distance of
either 200 days TOT or 500 feet from the well and bounded by the lesser distance of
either five years TOT or 10,000 feet from the well.
(d) Subject to the provisions of this section,
well construction shall meet all applicable requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:9D-2 and also
conform to any American Water Works Association Standard, ANSI /AWWA-A100-90 as
amended and supplemented, incorporated herein by reference, where such standard
exceeds the minimum construction standards of N.J.A.C. 7:9D-2. ANSI /AWWA-A100-90 may
be obtained as provided at
7:10-11.6(d).
(e) The general requirements for the construction
of wells are set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:9D-2. Additional requirements for public
community water wells are as follows:
1. No
portion of a public community water supply system well shall be constructed unless a
permit is obtained pursuant to this subchapter.
2. Water used for the drilling or driving of a
well shall be obtained only from a source of known potable quality, or shall have
been disinfected to meet the chlorine contact period and chlorine residual
requirements pursuant to
7:10-11.16(e).
(f) Regulations for pumping equipment
are as follows:
1. The pumping equipment for each
well shall be designed and installed to prevent contamination and, where necessary,
prevent freezing of the water supply.
2.
The pump setting shall be such that the pumping level will not fall below the lowest
pump bowl when the well is operated at maximum pump capacity.
3. The pump suction inlet shall be set above the
screen and in no case shall it be set in the screened area.
4. The pump setting level shall be such as to
ensure that the water level does not fall below the top of the screen.
(g) Regulations for auxiliary well
piping and equipment are as follows:
1. The
discharge pipe from each well shall be provided with a check valve located between
the pump and any blowoff, bypass or other connection to the discharge
pipe.
2. A well blowoff shall be located
after the check valve. The blowoff shall terminate above ground, and shall be
protected against contamination .
3. A
shutoff valve shall be located on the discharge pipe, after the blowoff, to allow
water to be discharged to waste without entering the distribution system.
4. An air relief valve shall be located between
the check valve and the well pump.
5.
Each well shall be equipped with a water level indicator, discharge pressure gauge,
raw water sampling tap, totalizing flow meter, well casing vent, and protected
access to the well to permit the direct measurement of the water level.
6. Each well shall be equipped with
instrumentation pursuant to
7:10-11.6(b).
7. If the well casing vent is utilized as the
access for direct measurement of water level, the inside vent diameter shall not be
less than 3/4 of an inch and the well vent shall not be bent at an angle greater
than 45 degrees to the well casing.
(h) Regulations for pump testing, sampling and
recordkeeping are as follows:
1. Each well shall be
tested to determine the water yield. Except as provided in (h)3 below, such testing
shall be run at 120 percent of design pump capacity and until either the drawdown or
the rate of drawdown is stabilized (0.2 ft/hour or less) for a minimum period of six
hours. Minimum pumping durations are as follows:
i. Continuous pumping for at least 72 hours in
consolidated formations.
ii. Continuous
pumping for at least 24 hours in unconsolidated formations or longer when required
by the Department under a water supply allocation permit issued pursuant to N.J.A.C.
7:19.
2. Records of flow rate
and drawdown shall be made at least at one hour intervals (or more frequent for
tests pursuant to
7:19-2.2 ) during the test, and the
water levels during the recovery period shall be recorded in accordance with the New
Jersey Geological Survey Report GSR 29, Guidelines for Preparing Hydrogeological
Reports for Water-Allocation Permit Applications. These guidelines can be obtained
from the Department , Maps and Publications Office, PO Box 438, Trenton, New Jersey
08625-0438.
3. A pump test may be run at
100 percent of design pump capacity for a minimum period of 72 hours if stabilized
drawdown is achieved and the well is designed so that the pump intake level is not
dewatered if the well were to pump continuously for 30 days.
4. For wells in unconfined or rock aquifers, the
discharge during a pump test shall be released at a distance where there is no
interference or recharge during the test.
5. Water samples shall be taken during the pump
test period and examined for bacteriological and chemical quality in accordance with
State primary and secondary drinking water regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:10-5 and
7.
(i) Regulations for
protection of well heads are set forth at N.J.A.C. 7:9D-2. Additional requirements
for the protection of well heads for public community water supplies are as follows:
1. The well head shall be constructed so as to
ensure the protection of the well from contamination .
2. The casing pipe and protective curbing of all
wells shall extend at least 12 inches above the pump house floor or the grade near
the well.
3. The pump house floor shall
be sloped away from the well head and the floor shall be above the 100 year flood
elevation.
4. The space between the pump
column and the inner casing of the well shall have a vent protected with a
downfacing elbow or a mushroom type head located above the flood level. All vents
shall be screened against the entry of insects.
(j) Any well with unsuitable water quality that
cannot be treated to meet the standards of this chapter, any nonproductive well or
any abandoned well shall be sealed in accordance with
58:4A-4.1 et seq. and N.J.A.C.
7:9D-3.
(k) Upon completion of well
construction and the installation of permanent pumping equipment and before the well
is placed in service, the well suction piping, pumping equipment and discharge
piping shall be disinfected in accordance
7:10-11.6(d).
(l) Additional requirements for ground water
sources other than wells are as follows:
1. Where
an application for a permit under this subchapter is made for the derivation of
water from ground sources, such as a radial collector, infiltration gallery or
spring, the provisions of (a) through (k) above shall apply.
2. Such application shall sufficiently detail the
proposed construction method so that the Department can fully evaluate the sanitary
features of the proposed ground water source. A preapplication conference is
recommended.
(m) Any well or
other ground water source of supply constructed in accordance with a permit issued
under this subchapter shall not be placed in operation until the Department approves
the well or source, as follows:
1. Following
disinfection of the well or ground water source pursuant to (n) above, the well or
source shall be pumped to waste until the water is free of chlorine
residual.
2. The Department shall
inspect the well or source and test the well or source water to determine compliance
with the State primary and secondary drinking water regulations at N.J.A.C. 7:10-5
and 7. The well shall stand idle for at least 24 hours prior to such testing and the
raw water shall not contain any chlorine residual.
Notes
See: 31 N.J.R. 2717(b), 32 N.J.R. 3106(a).
In (c)3 and (c)4, inserted internal references; in (d), amended N.J.A.C. references; and in (k)2, rewrote the last sentence.
Amended by R.2001 d.313, effective
See: 32 N.J.R. 2832(a), 33 N.J.R. 3194(a).
Rewrote the section.
Amended by R.2011 d.039, effective
See: 42 N.J.R. 17(a), 42 N.J.R. 642(a), 43 N.J.R. 289(a).
In the introductory paragraph of (h)1, substituted "(h)3" for "(k)3"; and in ( l)1, substituted "(k)" for "(n)".
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