Water Well Setbacks For British Columbia Horizontal setbacks for new water supply wells in British Columbia: To safeguard the quality and quantity of the groundwater resources in British Columbia, new water supply wells used to supply water domestic and non-domestic must be sited at least the following distances from existing features. 6 m (20 ft) from the any private dwelling (Health Hazards Regulation); 15 m (50 ft) from an existing water supply well that is used or intended to be used (GWPR), unless: ​ – the owner of the proposed well also owns the existing water supply well and only one well is proposed to be drilled, or – it is not practicable to do so. In this case, a professional with competency in hydrogeology can prepare alternative specifications for the siting of the new well, so that the existing uses of the existing water supply well will not be adversely affected. These alternative specifications must be submitted to and accepted by a BC Engineer 30 m (100 ft) from a known or probable source of contamination (e.g., cesspool, privy vault, manure heap stable, pigsty) (Health Hazards Regulation) 120 m (400 ft) from an existing cemetery or a dumping ground (e.g., landfill), unless contamination of the well would be impossible because of the physical conformation (Health Hazards Regulation) 50 m (165 ft) from the shoreline of a saltwater body. Wells less than 500 m (1,650 ft) from the coastline are at risk of drawing in saltwater (see Best Practices for Prevention of Saltwater Intrusion). Setbacks for new features relative to existing water supply wells in British Columbia: To safeguard public health and groundwater quality, the discharge area of a new sewerage system or storm water infiltration system must be sited at least the following distances from an existing water supply well: 30 m (100 ft) for a sewerage system with a maximum daily design flow of less than 22.7 m3/day (Sewerage System Regulation, Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual 60 m (200 ft) for a sewerage system with a maximum daily design flow of less than 22.7 m3/day, from a high pumping rate community well (i.e. a well or well group that supplies water to more than 500 persons or is pumped for more than 3 months at a rate exceeding 190 L/min (50 USgpm)) (Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual) 90 m (300 ft) for a sewerage system with a maximum daily design flow of less than 22.7 m3/day, from a high pumping rate community well completed in an unconfined aquifer (Sewerage System Standard Practice Manual) 60 m (200 ft) for a sewerage system that has a maximum daily flow of between 22.7 and 37 m3/day, regardless of whether the water supply well is completed in a confined or unconfined aquifer (Municipal Wastewater Regulation) 90 m (300 ft) for a sewerage system that has a maximum daily flow greater than or equal to 37 m3/day (Municipal Wastewater Regulation) 300 m (1,000 ft) for a sewerage system that has a maximum daily flow greater than or equal to 37 m3/day, from a water supply well completed in an unconfined aquifer (Municipal Wastewater Regulation)The zone of influence of the domestic water supply well must not include the point of discharge of a non-disinfected effluent (Municipal Wastewater Regulation). 60 m (200 ft) for an underground storm water infiltration system (Underground Storm water infiltration – Best Practices for Protection of Groundwater Resources in BC) If one or more of the above setback distances applies to a well, the most conservative (greatest) setback distance should be used. Setbacks marked with an asterisk (*) may be reduced following consultation with a professional with competency in hydrogeology and/or a local regulatory authority. In these cases, refer to the corresponding regulations and/or guidelines, as special conditions may apply. ​ It is recommended that the professional consult with the appropriate regulatory authority before a hydrogeological study is initiated. For setbacks from sewerage systems under the SSR, refer to APEGBC’s Professional Practice Guidelines for Onsite Sewerage Systems.