Florida Administrative Code
40 - WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICTS
40A - Northwest Florida Water Management District
Chapter 40A-3 - REGULATION OF WELLS
Part II - CONSTRUCTION, REPAIR, AND ABANDONMENT STANDARDS
Section 40A-3.502 - Construction Methods

Universal Citation: FL Admin Code R 40A-3.502

Current through Reg. 51, No. 058, March 25, 2025

(1) Wells must be so constructed, cased, grouted, plugged, capped, or sealed as to prevent uncontrolled surface flow, uncontrolled movement of water from one aquifer or zone to another, contamination of ground water or surface water resources, or other adverse impacts.

(a) For public water supply wells connected to a community water system on or after August 28, 2003, except those connected under a construction permit for which the Department received a complete application before August 28, 2003, continuing protection of the well from the sanitary hazards shall be provided during the entire useful life of the well through one of the following means:
1. Ownership by the water supplier of all land within 100 feet of the well;

2. Control by the water supplier of all land within 100 feet of the well via easements, lease agreements, or deed restrictions that appropriately limit use of the land; or

3. Wellhead protection, zoning, or other land use regulations that appropriately limit use of all land within 100 feet of the well.

(b) Public water supply wells shall be located to comply with the setback distances identified in Table I below.

Table I

Water Well Setback Distances for Drinking Water Supply Wells Serving Public Water Systems or Bottled Water Plant Wells

Hazard Type

Installation

Setback in feet (footnote)

Reuse of Reclaimed Water and Land Application

Slow Rate Land Application Restricted Public Access

500 (1.)

Rapid Rate Land Applications

500 (2.)

Overland Flow Systems

500

Transmission Facilities Conveying Reclaimed Water to Restricted Public Access Slow Rate Land Application Systems, Rapid Rate Land Applications Systems, or Overland Flow Systems.

100

Public Access, Residential Irrigation, or Edible Crop Slow-Rate Land Application Systems

75

Transmission Facilities Conveying Reclaimed Water to Public Access, Residential Irrigation, or Edible Crop Slow-Rate Land Application Systems

75

Domestic Wastewater Residuals

Domestic Wastewater Residuals Land Application Areas

500

Phosphogypsum Management

Phosphogypsum Stack Systems

500 (3.)

Storage Tank Systems

Aboveground or Underground Storage Tanks

100

Solid Waste Management Facilities

Solid Waste Disposal Facilities

500

Yard Trash Disposal, Storage, or Processing

200

Storage or Treatment of Solid Waste in Tanks

100

Onsite Sewage Treatment and Disposal Systems

Septic systems and associated transfer tanks and drainfields

200

Other Sanitary Hazards

Specific sanitary hazards defined in footnotes.

100 (4., 5.)

Feedlot and Dairy Wastewater Treatment and Management

Dairy Farm Waste - Unlined Storage and Treatement, or High Intensity Areas

300

Dairy Farm Waste - Land Application Areas

200

Footnotes:

1. This distance shall be reduced to 200 feet if facility Class I reliability is provided and shall be reduced to 100 feet if both facility Class I reliability and high-level disinfection are provided.

2. This distance shall be reduced to 200 feet if both facility Class I reliability and high-level disinfection are provided and if the applicant provides reasonable assurance that applicable water quality standards will not be violated at the point of withdrawal.

3. This distance applies only to shallow water supply wells (i.e., potable water wells that pump from an unconfined water table aquifer).

4. The following examples are of sanitary hazards that pose a potentially high risk to ground water quality and public health: active or abandoned mines; airplane or train fueling or maintenance areas at airports and railroad yards; concentrated aquatic animal production facilities; domestic wastewater collection/transmission systems; drainage or injection wells, oil or gas production wells, and improperly constructed or abandoned wells (i.e., wells not constructed or abandoned in accordance with this chapter); fertilizer, herbicide, or pesticide storage areas at agricultural sites, golf courses, nurseries, and parks; graveyards; impoundments and tanks that process, store, or treat domestic wastewater, domestic wastewater residuals, or industrial fluids or waste and that are not regulated by the Department; industrial waste land application areas other than those regulated by the Department; junkyards and salvage or scrap yards; pastures with more than five grazing animals per acre; cattle dip vats; pipelines conveying petroleum products, chemicals, or industrial fluids or wastes; and underground storage tanks that are not regulated by the Department, but are used for bulk storage of a liquid pollutant or hazardous substance other than sodium hypochlorite solution.

5. The following examples are of sanitary hazards that pose a moderate risk to ground water quality and public health: aboveground storage tanks that are not regulated by the Department, but are used for bulk storage of a liquid pollutant or hazardous substance other than sodium hypochlorite solution; fertilizer, herbicide, or pesticide application areas that are not under the ownership or control of the supplier of water at agricultural sites, golf courses, nurseries, and parks; railroad tracks; stormwater detention or retention basins; and surface water (the surface water setback does not apply to multi-family and private wells).

(c) New public water supply wells shall be located on their sites in such a manner that the wells are in an area free from, or least subject to, inundation with surface drainage and flood water; and to the extent practicable, new public water supply wells shall be located on their sites in such a manner that the wells are "upstream" from on-site or off-site sanitary hazards when considering the direction of ground water movement.

(2) The well construction regulations promulgated by the Department governing the construction of potable wells in delineated areas in subsection 40A-3.041(1), F.A.C., shall apply to all potable wells constructed, altered, repaired, or abandoned in those delineated areas of the District.

Rulemaking Authority 373.044, 373.113, 373.171, 373.309, 373.337 FS. Law Implemented 373.306, 373.308, 373.309 FS.

New 1-9-86, Amended 12-1-90, 2-19-91, 11-1-95, 8-15-18.

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