State Well Codes

Applicants must pass an exam.

May be installed by gravity installation, tremie method, or pressure grouting through tremie method. May be installed by pressure grouting through casing method, open-hole method, or positive displacement. Rapid setting cement is prohibited.

Materials used in maintenance to meet requirements for new installation.

300 ft.

10 ft.

Must be watertight.

Hand pump, hand pump head, or stand to have closed spout directed downward & a pump rod. Power driven pump may be attached w/ flexible couplings. Power driven pump to be attached by watertight connection including flange or hose clamp connections. Wells must have surface mounted or submersible pump.

Wells not to vary from vertical alignment.

Required with below-grade connections. Native materials shall be packed tightly
around the casing and pitless adapter or pitless unit after installation.

To be a min of 0.5 in. in diameter, screened, & point downward.

Surge to remove all fines, drill cuttings, mud, drilling fluids, & additives.

To be welded or screw coupled.

Casing > 5 in. to meet IC-1 impact classification. Min pipe stiffness shall be 224 lbs per square inch. Min SDR to be 21 for unconsolidated formations > 125 ft. Min SDR to be 26 for inner casing in bedrock. Shall not be used in connection w/ pitless adapter. To be installed only in oversized drill hole w/o driving. To bear NSF approval. To have steel casing extending a min of 25 ft. below surface & 18 in. above ground surface. Thermoplastic well casing shall conform with ASTM F480-81, or its latest revision.

To accompany casing that is driven at its lower end. To have a beveled cutting edge of metal forged, cast, or fabricated for this purpose.

Cap to be screwed, flanged, or welded. Caps to be of steel of cast iron of at least 3/16 in. thick. Temporary cap to be a watertight seal, watertight welded steel cap, or a threaded cap. Temporarily abandoned wells shall be grouted and sealed to comply with ARM 36.21.654 before the drill rig is removed from the site. Temporarily abandoned wells shall have an access port as per ARM 36.21.665.

Casings & liners to be removed where possible. If cannot removed, casing to be cut off or driven downward so that top of casing is at least 3 ft. below surface. Wells to be filled w/ sealing material to within 3 ft. of surface, and remaining filled with natural materials. If casing removed, well shall be plugged and sealed in accordance with ARM. Flowing wells shall be plugged with cement grout under pressure, suitable well packer, or wooden or cast plug. Filter pack or gravel enveloped wells, or other wells w/coarse materials around inner casing should obtain approval from the board prior to abandonment.

50 ft.

10 ft.

Exam required of applicants for license. Must be a licensed water well contractor or water well driller.

Well casing may be terminated in clay strata if casing is sealed in same manner as required of consolidated strata.

annular space to this depth to be filled w/ grout. If formation of low permeability is not encountered, upper drill hole & unperforated casing to extend min of 18 ft. If temporary casing is to maintain drill hole, annular space to be kept full w/ cement grout or bentonite clay. Injection pipe to be capped w/ watertight seal or plug. May extend into other formation of lower permeability overlying the water-bearing zone. Suitable bridge to be installed in annular space between gravel pack & sealing material. Upper diameter of drill hole at least 3 in. > O.D. of production casing to extend from surface into clay. Upper drill hole & unperforated production casing to extend to min depth of 18 ft. below land surface. Watertight seal to be installed at top of gravel pack between permanent surface & production casing. When casing is installed, well bore to have diameter of at least 3 in. > surface casing.

To be clean, chemically stable, & composed of reasonably uniform grains. All gravel and water used shall be disinfected in at least 50 ppm chlorine.

Top of the casing shall be sealed with a watertight cap or well seal.

Casing & screen materials to be removed prior to initiation of abandonment. Cement grout to fill wells in unconsolidated formations. Well shall be disinfected and sounded prior to sealing. In gravel-packed well where casing & screens have not been removed, neat cement to be injected into well filling from bottom to top. Wells in consolidated rock may be filled w/ sand, gravel, or drill cuttings. Top of sand, gravel, or cutting fill to be at least 10 ft. below top of consolidated rock. or 5 ft below bottom of casing to ensure complete filling of casing and extend up to land surface. For any well in which the depth of casing or the depth of the bedrock is not known or cannot be confirmed, the entire length of the well shall be filled with grout up to land surface. Well to be sealed w/ watertight cap or seal. Bored or hand dug wells in unconsolidated materials, shall be disinfected according to Rule .0111(b)(1)(A) through .0111(b)(1)(C). All plumbing or piping, and upper 3 ft of casing to be removed. All soil or other subsurface material down to top of remaining well casing to be removed, including all materials to a width of at least 12 inches outside of the casing. Well filled to top of remaining casing with grout, dry clay or material excavated during construction. Temporarily abandoned wells to be protected w/ casing and water-tight cap that cannot be removed .

Test for drawdown & yield. Bacteriological sample should be taken following disinfection and chlorine solution flushed from system.

Aperture entrance to allow for velocity of 0.1 ft/s or less. To be constructed of one type of corrosion-resistant material, choice of materials should be based on chemical analysis or prior knowledge of the water. Where appropriate, suitable neoprene packers or cement grout shall be fitted to the top of the well screen assembly.

Completed well to be sufficiently plumb & straight. Well casing to be sealed into an oversize drill hole should be equipped with centering guides to ensure the proper centering of a casing. In all events, casings shall be centered in the sealed interval. Guides should be of steel, at least 1/4 inch in thickness, evenly spaced in groups of 3 or 4 in 20 foot intervals or less.

Permit for construction to be obtained from Board.

100 ft.

A certified well contractor must be present at all times when well contractor activities are being conducted. A well contractor activity is defined as the construction, installation, repair, alteration, or abandonment of any well. (15A NCAC 27) (G.S. 87-98)

Grout to be placed w/in 7 days after casing is set. No fly ash, other coal combustion byproducts, or other wastes may be used in any grout. With the exception of bentonite chips or pellets, the liquid and solid components of all grout mixtures shall be blended prior to emplacement below land surface. Grout to minimum depth of 20 ft from below land surface except wells in areas designated in Rule .0116 grout shall extend to depth of 2 ft above screen or, for open end wells, to bottom of casing, but never less than 10 ft. Areas designated in Rule .0117 grout shall extend to minimum of 35 ft below land surface. Grout shall be placed by pressure, pumping, or gravity flow. If grouting casing to depth greater than 20 ft below land surface, pumping or pressure method shall be used for portion below 20 ft, with the exception of bentonite chips and pellets, used in accordance with Part (f)(4)(C) of this Rule.

Shall include removal of formation materials, mud, drilling fluids and additives such that the water contains no more than 5 milliliters per liter of settleable solids; and 10 NTUs of turbidity as suspended solids.

To be new, seamless or electric-resistance welded galvanized, or black steel pipe. Galvanizing to follow ASTM A120. Steel casing minimum wall thickness requires schedule 40 if nominal diameter is 3.5 inches or smaller, for larger nominal diameter wall thickness see Table 1. Threads & couplings for steel casing to meet ASTM A53/A53M-07, or A589/589M-06. Stainless steel casing, threads, and couplings shall conform to ASTM A530/A530M-04a, and casing shall have minimum wall thickness equivalent to standard schedule 10S. To be equipped w/ drive shoe if driven. Drive shoe not required where grout surrounds & extends entire casing length. Drive shoe to be made of forged, high carbon, tempered seamless steel & have a beveled, hardened cutting edge.

100 ft. separation distance, no less than 50 ft for exceptions.

50 ft.

Shall not be located in any area where surface water or runoff will accumulate around the well due to depressions, drainage ways, and other landscapes that will concentrate water around the well.

If regulated under 15A NCAC 02N, 50 ft. underground tanks with secondary containment, 100 ft. without secondary containment. Above or underground tanks which contain petroleum fuels used for heating equipment, boilers or furnaces, with the exception of tanks used solely for storage of propane, natural gas, or liquefied petroleum gas - 50 ft. All other petroleum or chemical storage tank systems - 100 ft.

100 ft. separation distance, no less than 50 ft for exceptions.

Must be at least 2 inches annular space extending not less than 20 ft below ground surface. Diameter of well bore must be 4 inches larger than casing, plus diameter of fill pipe if used.

Must be watertight and compatible w/casing material. Where pitless adapter is installed, grout seal must extend from pitless unit to at least 20 ft below ground surface. Area around the pitless unit and surface string may be filled w/bentonite or clean earth to grade level.

Non-Slurry bentonite grouts must be in place before significant hydration occurs. Well cuttings are not allowed to be used as grout, filler, or aggregate material for well sealing. Shall meet applicable ASTM, API, NSF, 3-7AWWA, or other recognized industry standards.

Must be mixture of Portland Cement, sand and water in proportion of not more than 1 part by weight of sand to 1 part of cement w/not more than 6 gals clean water per bag (1 cubic ft or 94 lbs)

Must be of chipped or pelletized bentonite varieties that are hydrated to manufacturer's specs.

Inorganic mixture of min. 20% by weight solids bentonite w/polymers, water or other additives.

Materials having a lead content greater than 8% by weight, may not be installed in a well. Component parts of manufactured products containing lead shall not have a lead content of more than 5% of the total product weight. “Lead wool" or other products containing more than 8% lead may not be used as seals in the bottom of open-ended well casing pipes or as screens terminating in coarse formations.

Steel casing with welded joints shall have beveled ends and all joints shall be welded according to the welding requirements outlined in s. NR 812.18.

Shall be made of reinforced watertight concrete at least 5 inches thick and of a diameter large enough to overlap the curbing wall by at least 2 inches. A drip groove shall be provided within one inch of the outer edge of the underside of the cover. The cover shall be free from joints. A pump installation access sleeve comprising a section of steel well casing pipe conforming to s. NR 812.17 (2) shall be installed in the cover at the time of pouring the concrete to fabricate the cover and shall terminate at least 12 inches above the top of the cover. The top of the cover shall be sloped to drain away from the access sleeve. A manhole, if installed, shall be provided with a 4-inch high metal curb which shall be equipped with an overlapping metal cover, the sides of which extend downward at least 1-1/2 inches. A tight joint shall be provided between the top of the curbing and the cover using a nontoxic plastic sealing compound. The manhole cover shall be locked or bolted in place to prevent entrance of water and to be safe from vandalism and accidents.

Highly susceptible to contamination, approval required for construction. Ground to be graded at least 6 inches above ground surface to direct water away from well. All pump piping, including the pump discharge or suction pipe, shall extend watertight through an access sleeve in the dug well cover.

Consultation with the department is required when constructing or reconstructing wells or drill holes located on properties that are listed on the department's geographic information system registry of closed remediation sites, special well and drill hole construction methods shall be utilized. Consult w/department if proposed well is w/in 500 ft of a quarry or 250 ft of sinkhole or outcrop.

The unprotected nature of springs subjects them to wide fluctuations in water quality. The department discourages their use as a source of potable water. Each spring considered for use as a source of potable water shall be evaluated by the department prior to use as a potable source. Development of a spring as a source of potable water will be approved only after a department evaluation and approval. The placement or driving of a casing pipe into an undeveloped spring in a location easily accessible to the public regardless of the intended use of the spring water is prohibited.