South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter 61-71 - Well Standards
Section 61-71.B - DEFINITIONS
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024
For the purpose of this regulation, the following terms are defined:
1. Annular Space--the space between the drill string or casing and the wall of the borehole.
2. Bored Well--a large diameter individual residential well or irrigation well, commonly equal to or greater than 24 inches in diameter, that is typically installed at a shallow depth and with casing constructed of rock, concrete, or ceramic material.
3. Borehole--a bored, drilled or driven shaft, or a dug hole, whose depth is greater than the largest surface dimension.
4. Borehole Completion--the date the total depth of the borehole has been reached.
5. Boring--a borehole for the purpose of sampling sub-surface materials such as environmental soil sampling borings, geotechnical borings, or exploration borings, but does not include boreholes completed as wells.
6. Casing--a pipe or tubing of appropriate material, of varying diameter and weight, lowered into a borehole during or after drilling in order to support the sides of the hole and thus prevent the sides of the hole from caving, to prevent loss of drilling mud into permeable strata, or to prevent fluids from entering or leaving the borehole.
7. Certified Well Driller--a driller duly and currently registered in South Carolina by the Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation.
8. Confining Layer--a geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that is capable of significantly limiting fluid movement between hydrogeologic units.
9. Consolidated Formation or Material--crystalline, metamorphic, limestone, or otherwise competent rock.
10. Conventionally Installed Monitoring Well--a monitoring well where an annular space is created during the well construction process.
11. Development--the removal of formation cuttings, fine-grained sediments, drilling fluids, or additives from the borehole.
12. Direct Push Monitoring Well--a type of monitoring well constructed by pushing casing or other sampling device into the subsurface to obtain water samples for groundwater quality analysis, or to measure groundwater levels, where little or no annular space is created.
13. Environmental Soil Sampling Boring--a borehole used to obtain a soil sample for contamination investigations.
14. Exploration Boring--any borehole for the purpose of sub-surface mineral investigation and exploration.
15. Forced Injection of Grout--the emplacing of grout through a tremie pipe by pumping as opposed to pouring by gravity.
16. Filter Pack--an artificial filter material that is placed in the annular space around the well screen.
17. Geotechnical Boring--a typically shallow borehole for determining physical properties of the soil and subsurface, including foundation or general geotechnical borings and other such shallow borings incidental to construction activities.
18. Geothermal System Well--a type of well that is used to provide heat exchange for heating and cooling systems where the piping is below ground; includes, but is not limited to, closed loop and open loop systems.
19. Individual Residential Well--a well intended to produce potable water for human consumption at a single residence or a family.
20. Irrigation Well--a well intended to produce water for uses other than human consumption, to include, but not be limited to, lawn and landscape watering and agricultural uses.
21. Monitoring well--any well constructed specifically to obtain a sample of groundwater for analysis, or any well used to measure groundwater levels. These wells include, but are not limited to, wells constructed using conventional drilling techniques and direct push methods.
22. Permanent Monitoring Well--any monitoring well that is intended for multiple sampling events over time.
23. Sanitary Cover--a removable seal to prevent the entrance of contaminants or foreign matter into the well.
24. Sanitary Seal--a removable seal at the top of the casing, between the casing and pipe, wire, tool, or device, capable of supporting such tools or devices, having no opening that would enable the entrance of contaminants or foreign matter into the well.
25. Screen--a filtering device that serves as the intake portion of a well that allows water to enter the well while preventing sediment from entering the well.
26. Surface Water--all water, which is open to the atmosphere and is subject to surface runoff that includes lakes, streams, ponds, ditches, and reservoirs.
27. Temporary Monitoring Well--a monitoring well where a one-time groundwater sample or groundwater level measurement is obtained.
28. Thermoplastic--materials composed of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or styrene-rubber (SR) plastics.
29. Tremie--the use of a small diameter pipe inserted into the borehole through which the filter pack or grout is placed at the desired depth to either complete construction of the well or to abandon the boring.
30. Unconsolidated Formation or Material--layers or sequences of sands, silts, or clays.
31. Vent--a device to keep foreign matter out of the well and that allows the well to be vented to the atmosphere.
32. Well--any borehole completed for the purpose of extracting or injecting fluid. This shall include, but not be limited to, wells used for irrigation, individual residential drinking water, environmental restoration, geothermal well systems, or environmental sampling. Wells fall into one of the following types:
33. Well Completion Date--the date the casing has been grouted.
