Arizona Administrative Code
Title 12 - NATURAL RESOURCES
Chapter 15 - DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES
Article 8 - WELL CONSTRUCTION AND LICENSING OFWELL DRILLERS
Section R12-15-801 - Definitions
In addition to the definitions set forth in A.R.S. §§ 45-101, 45-402, and 45-591 and in R12-15-202, the following words and phrases in this Article shall have the following meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Annular space" means the space between the outer well casing and the borehole wall. An annular space also means the space between an inner well casing and outer well casing.
2. "Aquifer" means an underground formation capable of yielding or transmitting usable quantities of water.
3. "Artesian aquifer" means an aquifer which is overlain by a confining formation and which contains groundwater under sufficient pressure for the water to rise above the top of the aquifer.
4. "Artesian well" means a well that penetrates an artesian aquifer.
5. "Bentonite" means a colloidal clay composed mainly of sodium montmorillonite, a hydrated aluminum silicate.
6. "Cap" means a tamper-resistant, watertight steel plate of at least one-quarter inch thickness on the top of all inside and outside casings of a well.
7. "Casing" means the tubing or pipe installed in the borehole during or after drilling to support the sides of the well and prevent caving.
8. "Confining formation" means the relatively impermeable geologic unit immediately overlying an artesian aquifer.
9. "Consolidated formation" means a naturally occurring geologic unit through or into which a well is drilled, having a composition, density, and thickness which will provide a natural hydrologic barrier.
10. "Department" means the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
11. "Director" means the Director of the Arizona Department of Water Resources.
12. "Drilling card" means a card which is issued by the Director to the well drilling contractor or single well licensee designated in the notice of intent or permit, authorizing the well drilling contractor or licensee to drill the specific well or wells in the specific location as noticed or permitted.
13. "Exploration well" means a well drilled in search of geophysical, mineralogical or geotechnical data.
14. "Flowing artesian well" means an artesian well in which the pressure is sufficient to cause the water to rise above the land surface.
15. "Grout" or "cement grout" means cement mixed with no more than 50% sand by volume, and containing no more than six gallons of water per 94 pound sack of cement.
16. "Mineralized water" means any groundwater containing over 3000 milligrams per liter (mg/l) of total dissolved solids or containing any of the following chemical constituents above the indicated concentrations:
Constituent Concentration (mg/l)
Arsenic 0.05
Barium 1.0
Cadmium 0.01
Chromium (total) 0.05
Fluoride 4.0
Lead 0.05
Mercury 0.002
Nitrate (as N) 10.0
Selenium 0.01
Silver 0.05
17. "Monitor well" means a well designed and drilled for the purpose of monitoring water quality within a specific depth interval.
18. "Open well" means a well which is not equipped with either a cap or a pump.
19. "Perforations" means a series of openings in a casing, made either before or after installation of the casing, to permit the entrance of water into the well.
20. "Piezometer well" means a well that is designed and drilled for the purpose of monitoring water levels within a specific depth interval.
21. "Pitless adaptor" means a commercially manufactured watertight unit or device designed for attachment to a steel well casing which permits discharge from the well below the land surface and allows access into the well casing while preventing contaminants from entering the well.
22. "Polluted water" means water whose chemical, physical, biological, or radiological integrity has been degraded through the artificial or natural infusion of chemicals, radionuclides, heat, biological organisms, or mineralogical or other extraneous matter.
23. "Pressure grouting" means a process by which a grout is confined within the borehole or casing of a well by the use of retaining plugs, packers, or a displacing fluid by which sufficient pressure is applied to drive the grout into and within the annular space or interval to be grouted.
24. "Qualifying party" means a partner, officer, or employee of a well drilling contractor, who has significant supervisory responsibilities and who has been designated to take the licensing examination for that well drilling contractor.
25. "Single well license" means a license issued to a person which allows the drilling or modification of a single exempt well on land owned by that person.
26. "Vadose zone well" means a well constructed in the interval between the land surface and the top of the static water level.
27. "Vault" means a tamper-resistant watertight structure used to complete a well below the land surface.
28. "Well abandonment" means the modification of the structure of a well by filling or sealing the borehole so that water may not be withdrawn or obtained from the well.
29. "Well drilling" means the construction or repair of a well, or the modification, except for abandonment, of a well, regardless of whether compensation is involved, including any deepening or additional perforating, any addition of casing or change to existing casing construction, and any other change in well construction not normally associated with well maintenance, pump replacement, or pump repair.
30. "Well drilling contractor" means an individual, public or private corporation, partnership, firm, association, or any other public or private organization or enterprise that holds a well driller's license pursuant to A.R.S. § 45-595(B).
