Marion Board of Health
SECTION X. PRIVATE WATER SUPPLY
10.00 All well drillers doing business in [ ] shall annually file with the Board of Health a copy of their current well driller registration certificate issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under MGL Chapter 21, Section 16, and 313 CMR 3.00.
10.01 No well shall be installed, altered, repaired, destroyed or abandoned except by a well driller who is registered with the Water Resources Commission, Division of Water Resources under MGL Chapter 21, Section 16, and 313 CMR 3.00.
10.02 All wells shall be located on the same lot as the building they serve.
10.10 WELL CONSTRUCTION PERMIT
10.10.1 No well shall be constructed, altered, or repaired until a Well Construction Permit has been obtained from the Board of Health.
10.10.2 A Well Construction Permit shall expire six (6) months from the date of issue unless construction has begun.
10.10.3 The location and design of the water well must be approved by the Board of Health prior to issuance of a Well Construction Permit. Prior to approval a plan of the lot with which the well is to be installed, prepared by a qualified engineer or qualified sanitarian, with the following information must be submitted:
a) Locus of project in Marion.
b) Assessors Lot and Plan number for the lot and street address.
c) Location of proposed well and water system.
c) Location of any septic systems, ways, buildings, and existing wells within one hundred (100) feet of the proposed well.
10.10.4 Within thirty (30) days after completion of the construction of any well, the well driller shall submit to the Board of Health a copy of the Water Well Completion Report.
10.10.5 Prior to the issuance of a Certificate of Approval for a well, the results of all required water quality and yield tests must be submitted to the Board of Health. The owner of the property which the well will serve, or the well driller acting as the agent for the owner, shall certify, on the Certificate of Approval Application Form, the following:
a) The location, and date the sample(s) was(were) taken, and the laboratory at which it was analyzed;
b) That the water sample(s) whose analysis results were submitted to the Board of Health was(were) taken from the well for which approval is being sought; and
c) The results of the yield test performed by the well driller.
10.10.6 No well is to be placed in use until the Board of Health has approved the quality and potability (if a potable well) of the water provided by the well, and issued a Certificate of Approval for the well to the owner of the property which the well serves.
a) The Certificate of Approval for potable and non-potable wells is part of this sanitary code, and is incorporated by reference.
10.10.7 A Certificate of Approval will not be issued until:
a) The well water has been shown to meet the water quality criteria outlined in MSC Section XII; and b) The capacity of the water system, in gallons per minute, has been demonstrated to equal the number of fixtures installed.
c) For wells installed at newly constructed buildings, an as built plan must be submitted
10.20 NON-POTABLE WELL REGULATIONS [note, some health boards choose to ban non-potable wells]
10.21 Well construction shall meet the quidelines outlined in the New England Water Well Drillers Association Ground Water Quality Control Well Construction Code.
10.22 The top of a well shall be above ground that is higher than any surface sources of contamination, and above any known conditions of flooding by drainage or runoff from surrounding land, unless located in a flood-proofed well house.
10.23 Wells must be constructed so as to maintain existing natural protection against all known or potential pollution of the ground water and to exclude all known sources of pollution from entering the well.
10.24 All non-yielding holes which are installed in the process of constructing the well shall be filled so as not to act as a conduit for water.
10.25 A metal tag shall be affixed to the top of the well casing at the time of installation, so that the well may later be located if necessary by a metal detector.
10.26 In areas where salt water or other pollutant intrusion is known or likely to occur, the Board of Health, upon review of proposals submitted by the designing engineer, may specify the well screen level, pumping rate, water storage capacity, or other construction parameter which must be used to insure that water of adequate quality is obtained.
10.30 POTABLE WELL REGULATIONS
10.31 In addition to the requirements of MSC 13.40, the following information must be supplied in an application for a Well Construction Permit for the construction of a potable well.
a) The design and capacity of the water system, as described under Water Yield and Water System Design.
b) The site plan, drawn up under the provisions of MSC 13.40.2, should include the following additional information:
i) All septic systems within two hundred (200) feet.
ii) If well is to serve a new dwelling, its proposed location must be shown on the plans submitted to the Board of Health under the provisions of MSC 4.10.
iii) Any other potential sources of contamination within two hundred (200) feet, including, but not limited to:
sanitary landfills, dry cleaning establishments; facilities for boat and motor vehicle service or repair, cabinet making, electronic circuit assembly, metal plating, metal finishing or polishing, motor or machinery service and assembly; sites where pesticides or herbicides are regularly applied, including cranberry bogs and golf courses; chemical and bacteriological laboratories; transportation terminals; funeral homes; any principal use involving the sale, storage, use or transportation of hazardous or toxic materials.
iv) The proposed location of the well must be accurately marked on the lot.
10.40 POTABLE WELL LOCATION
10.41 In general, potable wells shall be located as far as possible from potential sources of pollution. The following minimum distances are required:
1. Property Line – Seventy five (75) feet except when directly abutting a public or private way.
2. Public or Private Way – Twenty five (25) feet from edge of road layout (not edge of pavement)
3. Driveway – Twenty five (25) feet from edge of traveled surface.
4. Leaching catch basin – Twenty five (25) feet, but recommend or drywell that this distance should be maximized.
5. Utility rights-of-way – Fifty feet (50) feet, but recommend that this distance be maximized. 6. Septic Tank – Seventy five (75) feet 7. Septic System Leaching – One hundred and fifty (150) feet.
8. Septic Distribution Box – Seventy five (75) feet
9. Building Sewer – Fifty (50) feet
10. Subsurface Drains – Twenty five (25) feet, but recommend that this distance be maximized.
10.42 Where, in the opinion of the Board of Health, adverse conditions exist, the above distances may be increased. In some cases, the Board of Health may require that the owner provide additional means of protection.
10.43 Whenever possible, wells should be located up the groundwater gradient from sources of pollution. In the case of a well placed down gradient from a source of pollution the Board of Health may require measurement of groundwater flow velocity and direction. In cases where flow velocityexceeds one foot per day the Board of Health will require an analysis of soil grain size and/or percolation rate, and will establish the required separation from the source(s) of pollution upon review of date provided by such analysis.
10.50 POTABLE WATER QUALITY
10.51 Prior to approval of the well as a potable water supply, the owner or his/her agent shall take a water sample(s) from the well and submit it to a state certified laboratory for analysis, with the cost to be borne by the owner. The results of all analyses of water taken from the well shall be submitted to the Board of health. At a minimum, water must be tested for the following chemical and bacteriological standards: total coliform, nitrate-nitrogen, pH, conductivity, sodium, and iron.
10.52 The Board of Health will determine potability of well water using as guidelines the National Interim Primary and Secondary Drinking Water Standards and the U.S. EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). The water quality standards for common parameters are as follows:
i) Primary Standards: 1. Total Coliform. Zero (0) colonies per one hundred (100) mililiters. MF
2) Nitrate. Ten (10) parts per million.
ii) Secondary Standards
1. pH. Recommend pH greater five (5.0).
2. Sodium. Twenty (20) parts per million.
3. Iron. Three tenths (0.3) parts per million.
10.53 In locations where potential sources of contamination are believed to exist, or where geologic of hydrologic conditions require more restrictive or additional standards than those outlined above, additional water testing and special standards may be required by the Board of Health to ascertain that the water meets the Maximum Contaminant Levels set for public water supplies by the U.S. EPA under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and 1986 SDWA amendments. Such testing may include EPA methods 601, 602, 502,503, 624, 625 analyze for purgeable halocarbons, and purgeable aromatics, analysis for petroleum hydrocarbons or pesticides or any other analysis that the Board of Health deems necessary to ascertain water quality.
10.54 When the Board of Health deems it necessary, the Health Agent or other agent of the Board of Health may be present to witness the taking of a water sample and/or may take the water sample and deliver it to a state certified laboratory him/herself at the owners expense.
10.60 WELL YIELD & WATER SYSTEM DESIGN
10.61 Before approval, every well shall be pump tested to determine yield. The pump test shall include a drawdown test at a minimum pumping rate of five (5) gallons per minute for one (1) hour.
10.62 The design of the water system, including well, pump, storage tank, and other accessories must be adequate to provide a water capacity in gallons per minute which equals the number of water fixtures installed; in addition, capacity (in gallons per minute) must ot be less than the peak demand for the largest fixture installed. For the purpose of this regulation, a fixture is defined as a water outlet, and includes faucets, sinks, toilets, bathtubs, washing machines, dishwashers, and the like.
10.63 In areas where salt water or other pollutant intrusion exists or is believed likely, and where the Board of Health (in conjunction with a designing engineer, as outlined under MSC 13.40) has determined a safe well pumping rate which must be used to prevent further intrusion of pollutants, the Board of Health may specify design criteria for the building and water system served by the well, so that the water storage tank, number and type of fixtures, and habitable space within the building are compatible with the safe pumping rate of the well.
10.70 EMERGENCIES: In the case of emergency repair, alteration or replacement of an existing well, the Board of Health may allow the submission of plans required in MSC Section XIII within thirty (30) days of the commencement of such emergency repair, alteration or replacement.
10.80 WELL DESTRUCTION (OR ABANDONMENT)
10.81 Prior to the destruction or abandonment of any, a well destruction permit must be obtained by the owner or his agent from the Board of Health. The Board of Health will require a site plan showing the well location, including the assessors lot and plan number, and street address for the property on which the well is located, prior to the issuance of a well destruction permit.
10.82 Any destroyed or abandoned well shall be filled and sealed with clean puddle clay, neat cement grout, or concrete grout in such a manner as to prevent it from acting as a channel for pollution into the groundwater.
10.83 Within thirty (30) days after completion of destruction or abandonment of any private well, the well owner or well driller acting as agent for the well owner shall submit to the Board of Health a report containing the following:
a) The name of the owner of the well;
b) The geographic location of the well;
c) Any preliminary cleaning or redrilling;
d) Types, depths, and materials of seals used.
10.90 POTABLE WELLS SERVING RENTED OR LEASED PROPERTY
10.91 The owner of any potable well serving rented or leased property shall have the well’s water tested at a minimum of once every two years. Where water quality problems are known or suspected to exist, the Board of Health may require more frequent testing, or testing for additional parameters.
10.92 Results of all water quality tests shall be made available to all tenants of the property and to the Board of Health, by the owner of the property.
10.93 In cases where the well water quality does not meet the water quality standards outlined in MSC Section XIII the Board of Health may require the property owner to provide an alternative source of drinking water to the tenants.