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Irrespective of the probability of occurrence and which form of deterioration takes place, wells should be constructed or destroyed such that they do not contribute to I' the impairment of the quality of California's ground water supplies. Moreover, while the well construction industry, ANNULAR ANNULAR advisory groups, and regulatory agencies want to protect the SPACE SPACE quality of the State's ground water supplies as well as assure. that wells are adequately constructed, there is no broad, uniform approach for so doing in California. The resolution of this problem requires the development of standards for water well construction and destruction that POOR BOREHOLE BOREHOLE Won will ensure the protection of the State's ground waters as QUALITY QUALITY they .exist in the ground or as they pass through the well for WATER WATER use. Such standards should be capable of execution by the CASING CASING average competent well driller using commercially available equipment and materials, without imposing undue financial burden on the well owner. Well standards do more than protect the quality of the ground water resource; they also provide a degree of consumer protection. When standards are established andimplemented in an area, well owners have more assurance that their wells will be constructed properly. Proper construc- tion could mean less maintenance with an extended well life. Most well owners do not realize that deficiencies in design and construction (includin failure to close-off access to pollutants described above are likelyto result in higher � "' ° : " IMPERVIOUS FORMATION IMPERVIOUS =r�� FORMATION operating and maintenance costs. A subject touched upon earlier is the safety hazard tt �±•;i;� posed by the unused or "abandoned" well. While safety is not a matter involving the maintenance of ground water quality, " = it should be a concern to all those involved with water POOR wells. Any abandoned excavation is a threat to the safety of QUALITY eople, especially children and animals. Further, State law Section 24400 of the California Health and Safety Code) :;,.• WATER requires that abandoned excavations be fenced, covered, or :gip.•� ,�.;��.. GOOD �s �;o-t� filled. Yet, children (and sometimes adults) and livestock QUALITY ~`;. ��• do fall into abandoned wells and other excavations. WATER By properly destroying abandoned wells, we can easily eliminate this safety hazard. • a.� "5'i ;.�'-t��-• IMPERVIOUS ��4x;�s''• FQRAIATIDN Developing the Standards GOOD The Department of Water Resources began formulating QUALITY standards for the construction of water wells and the WATER destruction of abandoned wells shortly after the enactment of .Fpydt�h1 Water Code Section 231 in 1949. The Department made a comprehensive survey of existing laws and regulations govern- A. BY GRAVITY B. 9Y HYDROSTATIC ing well construction and abandonment in the then 4'7 other PRESSURE states and in the counties and. cities of California. This survey culminated in the publication of "Water Quality Investigations Report No. 9 - Abstracts of Laws and Recom- mendations Concerning Water Well Construction and Sealing in the United States", April 1955• Although the report is over 25 years old, it remains a useful source of background Figure 2. INTERCHANGE OF WATER information. The Department has continued to keep informed of practices in other states, particularly those in which BETWEEN FORMATIONS VIA WELLS 6