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State of California Department of Water Resources CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION CALIFORNIA WATER COMP'fISSION SCOTT E. FRANKLIN, Chairperson, Newhall Thomas K. Beard, Vice Chairperson, Stockton About 40 percent of the water used in California comes from underground. During the 1976-77 drought the proportion rose to 53 percent. In some locations water from wells or springs is ,the only water available. The Department estimates that there are 500,000 to 750,000 water wells (irrespective of condition or whether used or idle) scattered Roy E. Dodson. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .San Diego throughout the State. Most are situated in the 400 signifi- cant ground water basins in California, although many Daniel M. Dooley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hanford thousands are located in the hilly and mountainous areas. They range from hand dug wells to carefully designed large Harrison C. Dunning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Davis production wells drilled to great depths. Merrill R. Goodall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Claremont If our ground water supplies are to remain useful to us, we are obligated to protect their quality. It is Donald L. Hayashi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .San Francisco ironic that one way in which ground water quality can decline is through the well. This occurs when, because of inadequate Charlene H. Orszag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sherman Oaks construction, wells provide a physical connection between sources of pollution and usable water.:—The geologic environ- Alexandra F. Stillman. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arcata ment has some natural defenses against pollutants, but each time we penetrate that environment, we may carelessly establish avenues for their uncontrolled introduction. Abandoned wells pose a particularly serious threat, not only Orville L. Abbott to ground water quality but also to the safety of humans, Executive Officer and Chief Engineer especially children, and to animals. Such wells axe frequently and conveniently forgotten and once out of mind, there is little chance of preventing them from eventually Tom Y. Fujimoto I becoming a problem. Assistant Executive Officer The potential for such problems is growing because the number of wells is increasing. Around 15,000 new wells are constructed each year. In 1977, at the height of the 1976-77 drought, an estimated 28,000 wells (about double an average year) were drilled in the State. The number of wells abandoned each year is not known. A properly constructed or adequately destroyed well should maintain, as far as practicable, those subsurface conditions which, prior to construction of the well, prevented the entrance of unsanitary and inferior-quality water into usable ground water supplies. Standards for the construction of water wells and for the destruction of so- The California Water Commission serves as a pplicy advisory called "abandoned" wells can be a significant factor in the body to the Director of Water Resources on all California protection of ground water quality and should contribute to water resources matters. The nine-member citizen Commission the betterment of the health and welfare of the people of the provides a water resources forum for the people of the State, State. acts as liaison between the legislative and executive branches of State Government, and coordinates Federal, State, Impairment of the quality of ground water of the and local water resources efforts. State through improper construction or abandonment of wells has long been one of the concerns of the Legislature. In 1949 it enacted legislation which, among other matters, directed the Department of Public Works to investigate and survey conditions of damage to quality of underground water caused by improperly constructed, abandoned or defective wells and to report to the appropriate regional water pollution control board its recommendations for minimum iii