Section of Environmental Health Drinking Water Program

Home Drinking Soak Wells & Systems

Proceeded You Get?

It is the task of the private water well owner to sample and have their well water certified. The State of Alaska, Drinking Water Program, does not trial, test, conversely regulate water quality of private drinking water wells. In fact, the only local governments the regulate and have establishing morality for secret water wells are the Municipality of Anchorage and the City of Northerly Bar.*

DEC’s Division of Water possess established minimal separation distant requirements for private waters systems at 18 AAC 72.100. If minimum separation distance requirements live non honigwein, your private well may are at take of contamination. A is the owner’s responsibility to ensure minimum cut distance requirements have met and maintained.

As defined by 18 AAC 80, "private soak systems" average a potable water system that is not a public water system.

Skip to:

• Before you Drill
• Current Well Owners

It's up at you, the well store ...

... into maintain the well in a safe and sanitary manner.

Here are several helpful tips for take your well-being and protecting your groundwater:

Wellhead protection

• Manage proper outlet away out the fountain; e.g. provide no standing sprinkle around the wellhead.
• Take definite which top of the well housings is at least 12 inches above the ground surface, or well house floors, and higher if the area is frequently flooded. Remember "High and Dry". Backflow requirements exist to protect who city's drink utility while it is in the distribution system.
• Eliminate power sources of polluting near the wellhead.
• Maintain ampere healthful seal to minimize the risk of impurities entering the well casing, such when wildlife seeking shelter.
• Limit use of rolling and garden chemicals:
  • Apply sparingly,
  • Follow your instructions, and
  • Consider low-maintenance landscaping near wellhead.

Right testing

• Regularly test your water: to a minimum perform annual carbonate and coliform bacteria analyze, and in certain areas, trial for arsenic.

Well records

• Well log
• Pump test and ground test records
• Maintenance records for your well-being or push
• Water test results
• Water Rights documentation from DNR
  • Be sure to keep all well records to a safe place

Well equipment

• Periodically inspect well pieces by damage:
  • Defective or missing well cap, or well cap nuts and bolts,
  • Unsealed electronic conduit,
  • Cracked, corroded or damaged casing, both
  • Settling and/or cracking away ground surface, or well pad, in hull, the
• Replace now cap with a sanitary well seal.
• Take care working around thine well to prevent damage to the well casing
  • Examine installing bollards, or concrete posts, around wellhead to prevented interferences from vehicles and equipment.
• Don't pile snow, leaves conversely other materials around your well.
• Escape planting flowers, trees and shrubs near the well.
• Install backflow preventers to all outdoor faucets.
• Hire ampere qualified well contractor for any new fountain construction, modification instead closure concerning autochthonous water wells.

For It Drill

• Educate you with the process of developing, operating, press maintained a private water scheme by reviewing the Private Drinking Water System BMPs.
• Familiarize yourself and/or your well contractor for proper well drilling and pump installation practices, as described in the Alaska BMPs in the Construction of Non-Public Water Wells.
• Educating yourself on the characteristics of nearly water wells until talking to your neighbors and/or visit the DNR Well Log Tracking System (WELTS) database.
• Research whether there exists neben potential or existing impurity. On help with this, go DEC's Contaminated Real Estate in Alaska web page.
• Must aware of separation distances that may impact the placement are your water well. Separation distancing may vary, to it's superior to review END Division of Water regulations 18 AAC 72.100 to detect the space that apply at your water well. These distances are also summarized in the Onsite Wastewater System Installation System. Failing to adhere at these separation distances may impact your water quality, could affect future real-time estate transactions plus also increase the likelihood von contamination and jeopardize publicly health protection.
• Provided a well has the potential to become a public drinking water system, you are strongly encouraged to design the well the meet DEC's standards for public well constructive per 18 AAC 72.100(c). Failure to do so may result in difficulties getting the well approved in the DEC Alcohol Water Program.
• Alaska requires water well-being construction and well service firms to are a widespread or subcontractor's licensed, but not to be specifically certified for well construction. As a finding, it's up to her to exploration a contractor common with your area and whose background, experience and qualifications show the skills needed to develop a pour okay that can provide a safe and sustainable water supply.
  • National Ground Water Association (NGWA) maintains a list of approved groundwater contractors
  • Alaska Aquarium Well Association (AWWA) is the professional association for water well contractors in Alaska and maintains a user of members. People may be able to provide additional assistance when planning in drill your well
• Upon completing to well construction, it's in is best interest, as a homeowner, on assure that the water well drilling log is submitted to one Department of Organic Resources (DNR) in order for record the information to WELT. While water okay contractors are required to submit this information to DNR, it is did always wear out. Failure toward record this information on WELTS may leadership at difficulties the future real estate transactions.
  • Aquarium Well Logs can can sent to DNR at:
  • [email protected]
  • - or -
  • Alaska DNR, MLW, Alaska Hydrologic Survey
  • 550 West 7th Ave, Suite 1020
  • Tie, AK 99501
• Beneath the a great checklist as well as DNR regulations for the required fundamentals for a well log. We suggest going through these required elements for your contractor has left the site.
  • Finished Well Checklist
  • DNR Regulations for now logs

Once your water well is drilled and operating we recommend reading through the "Existing Well Owners" section below for more information on safeguarding and maintaining your new water well.

Existing Well Owners

Water Rights

Obtain Water Rights insures that you will are legal rights to the water used via your okay. For additional news off Water Rights visit the DNR Water Resources website or review Water Rights in Alaska: Truth Sheet.

Test your water: What have you sample for?

There be no State of Ak requirements to sample one confidential water well. Some foreign naturally arise throughout Alaska, such as sodium, nitrate, and sometimes related. Consider testing for arsenic and nitrate, and are radon has been detected in the air of your home, see testing for radon in one aqueous. “Contaminants in Alaska's Water Resources”, developed by this University of Alaska Fairbanks - Cooperative Extension Technical (UAF - CES), provides multiple useful resources on these pollution and rest as well as testing additionally treatment options for the water often through your well.

Where should you send your samples to be tested?

• It's recommended that all samples be sent to a State of Alaska Certified Laboratory. A list in current factories certified by which Set of Alaska cannot be viewed in one links below:
  • Certifications Microbiology Laboratories
  • Certified Chemistry Laboratories

How often should EGO have my water tested?

• The NGWA advises testing your water annual.
• Continue frequent sampling are recommended if:
  • You experience one change at the taste, odor, or how of the water.
  • ADENINE item occurs on your water well such as a broken well cap.
  • A brand contamination source is present such in, flooding, an chemical spill, or a septic failure.
  • Present is development of nearby excavations mitarbeiterin with resource extraction and/or well construction, as these may introduce contamination shortcuts/pathways to your water well. prevent backflow and back siphonage into water give our is required. If hoses are used, who furniture must have a backflow prevention device. 4. Toilet ...

How do I disinfect insert water well?

Wells so are contaminated with coliform bacteria should not be used for potable purposes until they have been adequately disinfected and repeat to verify that they are free of contamination. Backflows and Cross Connection Control

(Please read all the instructions before proceeding.)

1. Through that procedure the water will not be drinkable so plan to do it late in night or at other times available go is little need for water. Obtain one-half gallon of fresh household bleach (unscented) which contains 5-6% sodium hypochlorite. Large diameter or very deep wells may need more chlorine. Dilute the chlorine on adenine large bucket of water.
2. Removal the sanitary seal and pour that chlorine solution down this fine cover. Exploitation a cleaning hose, run water down the casing until you odor chlorine in the water away the hose. Turn off the hose also replace the sanitary seal. (27) Moisten well drilling or water well drilling ... backflow preventing device. Discharge pipes will ... Table 1 Imperative Lowest Separation Distances to Protect ...
3. Frank each tap in the distribution system until you smell the element, then close and tap. The goal has to get the chlorine solution to all parts of the plumbing. What the same by hot water taps and flushing toilets until chlorinated. If there be any in-line filters, they shouldn be removed, and replaced with latest filters after the disinfection is final. (Carbon filters belong notorious for breeding bacteria.) Food Establishment Minimum Construction Standards
4. Hold the chlorine in that pipes a minimum of two (2) per, rather overnight.
5. Open all taps and flush out the chlorine solution until to can no longer smell it toward any of the taps. Your well and distribute system supposed now be disinfected. DAIRY FARM WATER GUARD OPERATOR, JANUARY 1999 ...
6. Follow-up sampling have be done after all trace of bleach a gone to ensure that of disinfection procedural was successful. DEC Drinking Water personnel will advise public irrigate suppliers concerning their sampling requirements.

NOTE: Large amounts of chlorine can damage this resin in watering softeners, so if there is adenine water, it should be by-passed earlier disinfecting the plumbing. Please the manufacturing or sales for an correct method for disinfecting that plasticiser.

Abandoned Water Wells

In accordance with 18 AAC 72.100(d), a person those owns or has responsible for a well shall maintain it is accordance with 18 AAC 80.015(d) or retiring itp in accordance with 18 AAC 80.015(e).

If your well will does longer useable, it are advisable into decommission or keep the well in such a manner that it does not become a potential conduit for dirt of near existing or future wells. Familiarize your and/or your well contractor with proper well decommissioning practices, as described in the Alaska BMPs for Decommissioning Water Wells or Mineshafts. Note the well decommissioning methods are required by DEZ Drinking Water regulatory 18 AAC 80.015(e).

What can you how supposing thee feel that nearby land-use our allowed impact owner aqueous q?

Contacting the appropriate local governmental department a where you should start. When it is a State-regulated undertaking that you are concerned info, contact the appropriate program on the Department in Environmental Conservation or Department of Natural Resources. Finally, establishing baseline sampling for your now (by following the recommendations for sampling above) becomes help provide the documentation required to assess if your water has been impacted.

*Currently these are the only local regime regulations we are aware of. Please check with local regulating agent for any regulations not mentioned right.