Arizona Administrative Code › Title 12 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 15 - Department of Water Resources › Article 8 - WELL CONSTRUCTION AND LICENSING OFWELL DRILLERS › Section R12-15-801 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 28, July 12, 2024
In addition to the definitions set forth in A.R.S.
				  §§ 45-101, 45-402, and 45-591 and in
				  R12-15-202,
				  the following words and phrases in this Article shall have the following
				  meanings, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Annular space" means the space between the outer well
				  casing and the borehole wall. An annular space also means the space between an
				  inner well casing and outer well casing.
2. "Aquifer" means an underground formation capable of
				  yielding or transmitting usable quantities of water.
3. "Artesian aquifer" means an aquifer which is overlain by a
				  confining formation and which contains groundwater under sufficient pressure
				  for the water to rise above the top of the aquifer.
4. "Artesian well" means a well that penetrates an artesian
				  aquifer.
5. "Bentonite" means a colloidal clay composed mainly of
				  sodium montmorillonite, a hydrated aluminum silicate.
6. "Cap" means a tamper-resistant, watertight steel plate of
				  at least one-quarter inch thickness on the top of all inside and outside
				  casings of a well.
7. "Casing" means the tubing or pipe installed in the
				  borehole during or after drilling to support the sides of the well and prevent
				  caving.
8. "Confining formation" means the relatively impermeable
				  geologic unit immediately overlying an artesian aquifer.
9. "Consolidated formation" means a naturally occurring
				  geologic unit through or into which a well is drilled, having a composition,
				  density, and thickness which will provide a natural hydrologic barrier.
10. "Department" means the Arizona Department of Water
				  Resources.
11. "Director" means the Director of the Arizona Department
				  of Water Resources.
12. "Drilling card" means a card which is issued by the
				  Director to the well drilling contractor or single well licensee designated in
				  the notice of intent or permit, authorizing the well drilling contractor or
				  licensee to drill the specific well or wells in the specific location as
				  noticed or permitted.
13. "Exploration well" means a well drilled in search of
				  geophysical, mineralogical or geotechnical data.
14. "Flowing artesian well" means an artesian well in which
				  the pressure is sufficient to cause the water to rise above the land
				  surface.
15. "Grout" or "cement grout" means cement mixed with no more
				  than 50% sand by volume, and containing no more than six gallons of water per
				  94 pound sack of cement.
16. "Mineralized water" means any groundwater containing over
				  3000 milligrams per liter (mg/l) of total dissolved solids or containing any of
				  the following chemical constituents above the indicated concentrations:
Constituent Concentration (mg/l)
Arsenic 0.05
Barium 1.0
Cadmium 0.01
Chromium (total) 0.05
Fluoride 4.0
Lead 0.05
Mercury 0.002
Nitrate (as N) 10.0
Selenium 0.01
Silver 0.05
17. "Monitor well" means a well designed and drilled for the
				  purpose of monitoring water quality within a specific depth interval.
18. "Open well" means a well which is not equipped with
				  either a cap or a pump.
19. "Perforations" means a series of openings in a casing,
				  made either before or after installation of the casing, to permit the entrance
				  of water into the well.
20. "Piezometer well" means a well that is designed and
				  drilled for the purpose of monitoring water levels within a specific depth
				  interval.
21. "Pitless adaptor" means a commercially manufactured
				  watertight unit or device designed for attachment to a steel well casing which
				  permits discharge from the well below the land surface and allows access into
				  the well casing while preventing contaminants from entering the well.
22. "Polluted water" means water whose chemical, physical,
				  biological, or radiological integrity has been degraded through the artificial
				  or natural infusion of chemicals, radionuclides, heat, biological organisms, or
				  mineralogical or other extraneous matter.
23. "Pressure grouting" means a process by which a grout is
				  confined within the borehole or casing of a well by the use of retaining plugs,
				  packers, or a displacing fluid by which sufficient pressure is applied to drive
				  the grout into and within the annular space or interval to be grouted.
24. "Qualifying party" means a partner, officer, or employee
				  of a well drilling contractor, who has significant supervisory responsibilities
				  and who has been designated to take the licensing examination for that well
				  drilling contractor.
25. "Single well license" means a license issued to a person
				  which allows the drilling or modification of a single exempt well on land owned
				  by that person.
26. "Vadose zone well" means a well constructed in the
				  interval between the land surface and the top of the static water level.
27. "Vault" means a tamper-resistant watertight structure
				  used to complete a well below the land surface.
28. "Well abandonment" means the modification of the
				  structure of a well by filling or sealing the borehole so that water may not be
				  withdrawn or obtained from the well.
29. "Well drilling" means the construction or repair of a
				  well, or the modification, except for abandonment, of a well, regardless of
				  whether compensation is involved, including any deepening or additional
				  perforating, any addition of casing or change to existing casing construction,
				  and any other change in well construction not normally associated with well
				  maintenance, pump replacement, or pump repair.
30. "Well drilling contractor" means an individual, public or
				  private corporation, partnership, firm, association, or any other public or
				  private organization or enterprise that holds a well driller's license pursuant
				  to A.R.S. § 45-595(B).