W. Va. Code R. § 64-46-5 - Materials

5.1. Water well casing shall be sized to allow for installation of equipment for producing water that is adequate for the intended use and to allow for the installation and the maintenance of the well, pumps and related pumping equipment. In casing selection, certified well drillers should give consideration to forces imposed during installation and other forces that can be expected after installation and the corrosiveness of the water with which it comes in contact.

5.1.a. Steel casing shall be new, meeting AWWA Standard A-100, ASTM, or API specifications for water well construction, with a minimum wall thickness of 0.188 inches if the nominal pipe size is up to ten (10) inches and have a minimum wall thickness of 375 inches if the nominal pipe size is greater than ten (10) through twenty (20) inches:

5.1.a.1. Steel casing shall be joined by welds, threads, threaded couplings, or any combination thereof; and

5.1.a.2. When steel casing is driven, a standard drive shoe shall be welded or threaded on the lower end of the casing. The drive shoe shall have a beveled and tempered cutting edge of metal forged, cast or fabricated for this purpose.

5.1.b. Well liners and temporary steel casing used for construction shall be capable of withstanding the structural load imposed during their installation and removal. Well liners and temporary steel casing shall be approved by the ANSI/NSF, AWWA, ASTM, or their equivalent for potable water use.

5.1.c. Plastic well casings, liners, rapid joint assembly couplings, and solvents shall be approved by the ANSI/NSF Standard 14 and 61 and meet ASTM Standard F480.

5.1.c.1. Temporary casing shall meet ANSI/NSF Standard 61.

5.1.c.2. Plastic well casing shall not be driven during installation.

5.1.c.3. Plastic well casing shall be installed in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications and shall have an outside diameter and minimum wall thickness as specified in Table 64-46 B of this rule.

5.1.c.4. All plastic casing and liners shall have a wall thickness that shall be of adequate thickness to prevent collapse due to hydrostatic pressure or temperature effects.

5.1.c.5. Each section of casing and liner shall display the NSF seal.

5.2. Nonferrous casing material proposed as a well casing, shall be resistant to the corrosiveness of water and to the stresses to which it shall be subjected to during installation and grouting. Casing material shall comply with ANSI/NSF Standard 61, Water System Components - Health Effects.

5.3. Well screens shall be constructed of materials resistant to damage by the chemical action of groundwater or cleaning operations, have size of openings based on sieve analysis of formation or gravel pack materials; have sufficient length and diameter to provide adequate specific capacity; and low aperture entrance velocity.

5.3.a. Well screens other than those commercially manufactured shall be constructed by creating slots or openings in approved casing material.

5.3.b. Plastic well screens shall comply with the ANSI/NSF Standard 61 - Water System Components - Health Effects.

5.3.c. Well screens shall not interconnect aquifers or zones which have suspected or documented differences in water quality that could result in contamination of any aquifer or zone; or interconnect aquifers or zones with different static water levels that would result in depletion of water from any aquifer or zone, or significant loss of head in any aquifer or zone.

5.4. Filter packs shall be silica based sand or gravel. The sand or gravel used for filter packs shall be hard and durable and shall have an average specific gravity of not less than 2.50. The sand and gravel shall be visibly free of clay, dust, and micaceous and organic matter. Not more than 5% of the sand or gravel shall be soluble in a 10% hydrochloric acid solution. Uniformity coefficients for filter pack material shall range from 1 to 3. All filter pack material should be purchased from a supplier who has properly cleaned and bagged the material.

5.5. Grout shall be neat cement, bentonite with cement mixtures, or bentonite. Other materials require the written approval of the Commissioner. The neat cement, bentonite with cement mixtures, and bentonite shall be mixed according to the manufacturer's specifications. No drilling muds shall be used for grouting. Cement grouts shall be allowed to cure according to the manufacturer's specifications before well drilling, construction, or testing may be resumed.

5.6. Water used during the initial construction of a water well shall be obtained from a public water system, water well or protected spring box. If additional water is required to complete the construction of the well, the driller shall use water from the best available potable source near the drill site. In the event that water from a public water system, water well or protected spring box is not available, the driller may obtain water directly from a surface supply other than a farm pond, open ditch or waste lagoon.

5.6.a. All water from a public water system, well or spring box shall also be treated with enough liquid bleach or hypochlorite granules to retain a free chlorine residual of at least two parts per million (2 ppm).

5.6.b. All water from a surface source shall be dosed with a fifty parts per million (50 ppm) of chlorine, i.e., two (2) gallons of sodium hypochlorite (laundry bleach, approximately five percent (5%) available chlorine) per one thousand (1,000) gallons of drilling water.

5.6.c. Surface water sources shall be free of mud, algae and other visible contaminants.

5.7. Packers, shall be made of material that shall not impart taste, odor, toxic substance, or bacterial contamination to the well water. They are usually made of rubber or neoprene collar (boot). Lead packers shall not be used.

5.8. Any additive used in the drilling, development, or grouting of a water supply designed for that purpose shall meet ANSI/NSF Standard 61.

Notes

W. Va. Code R. § 64-46-5