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9l6 3 ^ i 7 ^ •^ <^' 1 Ministry ofthe Ministere de September Environment rEnvironment 2003 Green Facts Important facts about water well construction.. Ifyouareplanningtohave awaterwellconstructedon •Anyothernewwellthatdoesnothavewatertight yourproperty, therearesome Importantfactsyoushould casingtoatleast6metresbelowgroimd levelmust know. In2003, Ontarioupdateditsregulatoryrequirements havebeatleast30metresawayfixjmasourceof forwaterwellsiting, construction, maintenance and pollution. abandonmenttobetterprotectwellusersandgroundwater •Awellmustbeconstructedsothatsurfacedrainage resources. willnotpond intheviciiutyofthewell. •Duringconstruction,stepsmustsbetakentoprotect Ontario's Well Regulation (Reg. 903undertheOntario thewellagainsttheentryofsurfacewaterandforeign WaterResourcesAct)providesforthelicensingofwell material. contractorsandwelltechiuciansbytheMinistryofthe •Anewwell mustbechlorinated atleastoncetoa Environment, andsetsmirumum constructionstandardsfor residualconcentrationof50nuUigrcunsofchlorineper allwells. litreofwaterforaminimum of 12 hours. •Awellmustbeconstructedinsuchawaythatthereis Awellcontractorlicencerequiresthatwellcontractorsbe nobreak-out offlowingwaterfrom aroundthewell insuredagainstliability claims, employonlylicensedwell bore.Adeviceisrequired onthewellcasingtopermit technicians, and complywithall requirementsofthe stoppage offlowfromthewellboth insideandoutside Regulation903. ofthewell casing. •All casingmaterialsmustbenewandthetopofthe Awelltechnician'slicenceis required foranyoneworking casingmustbeaminimumof40 cmabovetheground onwellconstruction. Foryourprotection,youshouldask surface. Wellpits arenotpermitted onnewwells. toseeboththewellcontractorlicenceandwelltechnician Casinginadrilled wellmustbe aminimumofsix licencebeforeyou determinewhichwellcontractortohire metresInlength unlesstheonlyusefulaquiferofwater- toworkonyourwell. bearingzoneisshallower. The holeinthe groundfor the wellmustbemadeat least 7.6cmwiderthanthe Construction requirements - watersupplywells well casingtoamirumumdepthof6m. Thisspace mustbecompletelyfilledwithasuitablesealant,such Thereareanumberofdetailed requirementsand minimum asbentonite. wellconstructionstandardsin Regulation903. Theycover suchthingsascasing, grouting,sealing,andpumptestingof Followingconstruction, thewell contractormust: thewell. •provide thewellownerwithaone-litresampleofwell The wellcontractoris responsibleforallworkandcoststo waterforvisualexamination, preventanyuncontrolled flowofwaterfromawell.A •measurethewelldepthinthepresenceoftheowner, writtencontractwiththeownercanreleasethewell and contractorfromresponsibilityforcost, butcompletionof •notifythewellownerifthereissandinthewell,if theworkbythewellcontractorismandatory. mineralizedwaterornaturalgasisencountered, and Otherconstructionrequirementsinclude: providethe wellownerwithanii\formauonpackage. •Anewwellmustbeatleast 15 metresfromanysource ThispackagewillbeavailableinmidOctober2003. ofpollutionifthewell casingiswatertightand isat least6metresinlengthbelowground level. @ Ontario V, Ministry ofthe Ministere de Environment rEnvironment Thewellcontractorisrequiredto continuouslypumpwater airintothewellcasingforproperoperationofthewelland fromthewellforatleastonehouraindtomeasureand pump. Itisimportanttoensurethatwellsthatemitnatural recordonaWell Record. Thewellcontractormustrecord gasareventedtotheoutsideofbuildingstoavoidthe risk therateatwhichwaterispumpedfromthewell, measure ofexplosion, fireorothersafetyrisks. thewaterlevelsinthewellduringpumpingandthen Maintenance measurethewaterlevelsforatleastonehourafterthe pumpinghasstopped. Thisirvformationmustberecorded Oncethewellisconstructed, itisthe wellowner's intheWellRecord. Thewell contractorwillthen responsibilitytomaintain itin amannerthatwlUprevent recommendapumpsetting, depthauidpumpingrate. The theentryofsurfacewaterorotherforeignmaterialsthat newWellRecordvdllbeavailable inmidOctober2003. arelikelytocontaminatetheweUandtheaquifer. Duringthetransitiontothisdatetheexistir\gWellRecord formwillcontinuetobeused. Abandoningawell Withintwoweeksofcompletionofthewell,thewell TheWellsRegulationcontainsprovisionsforabandoninga contractormustdeliveracopyoftheWellRecordtothe well. Wellsmustbesealediftheyare dry, discontinued owner.ThisistheofficialdocumentfiledwiththeMinistry beforecompletion, ornotbeingproperlymaintained. Wells oftheEnvironmentthatgivesthewell'slocationandthe thatproduceunpotable, salty,sulphurousormineralized detailsaboutitsoriginalconstructionandtestpumping watermustbeabandoned. rate. Wellsmayalso havetobeabandonedifitisdetermined ThewellcontractorisalsorequiredtoplaceastairUess thatnaturalgasposesapotentialhazardorifwell steelwelltagobtainedfromtheMinistryofthe constructionstandardshavenotbeenfollowed. Environmentonthewell. Welltagswillbeavailableinmid October2003. Abandonedwellsarerequiredtobepluggedwithconcrete orothersuitable materials. In mostcases, alicencedwell Constructionrequirements - non-watersupplywells contractorshouldberetainedbecauseselectingthecorrect (testholes,dewateringwells) pluggingmaterials,placingthemdownthewelladjacentto thecorrectsubsurfaceformations, casingremovaland Regulation903appliestotestholesanddewateringwells. otherconsiderationsmaybebeyondmosthomeowners' Thereare,however,anumberofregulatoryexemptiot\sand abilities. additionalprovisionsthatalsoapplytosomeofthesenon- watersupplywells. Pleaserefertothecompleteregulation Additional information sources forspecificrequirements. You canobtainacopyofRegulation903fromthe e-Laws Wellcontamination Websiteatwww.e-laws.gov.on.caorbycallingPublications Ontarioat 1-800-668-9938. The foUoviing informationsheets Oneofthecommoncausesofwellcontaminationisfailure areavailablefromtheMinistryofthe Environment'sWeb tosealproperlytheannularspace (thespacebetweenthe siteorbycallingitsPublicInformation Centre: wellcasingandtheholeintheground). Oneofthemost •Theprotectionofwaterqualityindrilledwells conunonmaterialsusedforsealingthisspaceisabentonite •Theprotectionofwaterqualityinjettedordrivenpoint slurry. wells •Theprotectionofwaterqualityinboredanddugwells Theconnectionwherethewaterlinepassesthroughthe sideofthewellcasingmustbewatertightifitismade Forfurtherinformationaboutwellscontactyournearest belowthegroundsurface. Themethodofconnectingvaries Ministryofthe Environmentofficelisted inthebluepages fromacommerciallymanufacturedpitlessadaptoror ofyourtelephone directory. Youcanalsocallthe ministry's sanitarysellsealtodurablesealingmaterials oraT-jointfor PubUcInformation Centre at 1-800-565-4923or(416)325- sandpoints. 4000. Theministry'swebsiteisatwww.ene.gov.on.ca Groutingmaterialmustalsoextendaminimum0.5metres fromthewellcasingintothetrenchexcavationthatis createdtoburythewaterline. Whereapump connectionis madethroughthetopofacasinginadrilledwell, a commerciallymanufacturedsanitarywellsealisrequired. Mostproperlyconstructedwellsrequireventilationtoallow PIBs No. 3788e01