Alabama Administrative Code › Title 335 - ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT › WATER DIVISION - WATER SUPPLY PROGRAM › Chapter 335-7-15 - SOURCE WATER ASSESSMENT PROGRAM › Section 335-7-15-.02 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
The following words and phrases, unless a different meaning
				  is plainly required by the context, shall have the following meaning:
(a) Analytical methods--the delineation of a
				Source Water Assessment Area based on the use of uniform flow equations to
				define the zone of contribution to a pumping well.
(b) Aquifer-- a geologic formation, group of
				formations, or part of a formation that is capable of yielding a significant
				amount of groundwater to wells and springs.
(c) Conduit flow--the flow of groundwater in
				karst (carbonate) aquifers through integrated systems of openings ranging from
				solutionally widened joints and bedding plane partings to pipe-like passages.
				Conduit flow is groundwater flow through a system of irregular conduits and
				open cave stream channels.
(d)
				Confined Aquifer--An aquifer overlain by low or impermeable stratigraphy, which
				puts the aquifer under artesian head conditions.
(e) Contaminant--matter which renders water
				unfit to use due to its physical, chemical, biological, or radiological
				properties.
(f) Contaminant
				source--origin of a known or potential contaminant.
(g) Contaminant source inventory--the
				synthetic identification, location, and recording of contaminant sources
				existing within a watershed.
(h)
				Contamination--matter present which renders water unfit for use by causing a
				change in its physical, chemical, biological or radiological
				properties.
(i) Fixed Radius-- A
				circle of specified radius around a well.
(j) Flow boundaries--zones of higher or lower
				transmissivity, recharge zones, impermeable boundaries, groundwater divides and
				saddles, and discharge zones that influence flow direction and velocity in an
				aquifer.
(k) Fracture flow--the
				groundwater flow along openings produced by the breaking or shattering of
				rock.
(l) Geologic mapping--the
				delineation of Source Water Assessment Areas by mapping time-of-travel and flow
				boundary criteria using geological observations, geophysical data, and
				dye-tracing methods.
(m)
				Geologist-- a geologist licensed by the State of Alabama.
(n) Geographic Information System (GIS)-- a
				computer based method of depicting various types of geographic information on a
				map.
(o) GPS method--determination
				of latitude and longitude at a point using Global Positioning System (GPS)
				collected, differentially corrected data to an EPA accepted accuracy of 25
				meters at a specified datum (i.e. NAD 83).
(p) Groundwater source--well or spring
				permitted as a public water supply source by the Department.
(q) Intake--the structure where raw water is
				removed from source water for the purpose of transferring it to a water
				treatment plant.
(r) Known
				contaminant source--contaminant source which has lead to the detection of a
				regulated or unregulated chemical contaminant, bacteriological contaminant or
				physical contaminant in the ground or surface source's raw water
				quality.
(s) Licensed well
				driller-- a driller licensed by the Department, who has direct responsibility
				and supervision over water supply wells drilled by them and their
				company.
(t) Numerical modeling
				method--the delineation of a Source Water Assessment Area using computer models
				that approximate groundwater flow and/or transport using numerical
				equations.
(u) Physiographic
				province-- a region of which all parts are similar in geologic structures and
				climate and which has consequently had a unified geomorphic history; a region
				whose pattern of relief features or landforms differ significantly from that of
				adjacent regions.
(v) Porous
				flow--the flow of groundwater through the connected interstices of
				unconsolidated sediments.
(w)
				Potential contaminant source--contaminant source which houses regulated or
				unregulated chemical contaminants, bacteriological contaminants or physical
				contaminants which may lead to the detection of these substances in the ground
				or surface source's raw water.
(x)
				Public Awareness--the requirement of a water system to notify the public of the
				susceptibility to contaminant source located in its watershed.
(y) Raw water--water within a watershed used
				to supply an intake structure.
(z)
				Significant tributary-- a tributary, or subtributary, within a watershed that,
				due to its location, has the potential to transport contaminant sources and
				potential contaminant sources into the main raw water source for a surface
				water treatment plant. Their "significance" can be determined only after a
				preliminary study of their relative location to known or potential contaminant
				sources.
(aa) Sinkhole-- a funnel
				shaped depression caused by subterranean drainage.
(bb) Source Water Assessment Area (SWAA)--the
				surface and subsurface area surrounding a spring, water well or wellfield,
				supplying a public water system, through which contaminants are reasonably
				likely to move toward and reach such water well or wellfield or the systematic
				identification of contaminant sources within a watershed area and the relative
				susceptibility to these contamination sources.
(cc) Source Water Protection Area (SWPA)--the
				critical, or special, area in the immediate vicinity of a surface water plant
				intake that is closely scrutinized for contaminant sources.
(dd) State boundary--the boundary between two
				or more States which share a common watershed. It is the upper limit for a
				watershed that exists in more than one State.
(ee) Stratigraphic pinch-out--the termination
				or end of a stratum, vein, or other body of rock that narrows or thins
				progressively in a given horizontal direction until it disappears and the rocks
				it once separated are in contact.
(ff) Susceptibility analysis--the
				determination of the relative impact a contaminant source in a watershed has on
				the quality of a raw water source used for a public water supply
				system.
(gg) Susceptibility
				determination--the evaluation of a known or potential source of contamination
				to degrade the quality of a drinking water source. Contaminant sources shall be
				listed as low, moderate, or highly likely to impact a drinking water
				source.
(hh) Time-of-Travel
				(TOT)--the analytical time-of-travel is based on the maximum time for a
				contaminant to reach a well according to regional groundwater patterns and
				velocities. Time periods of 180 days and 10 years are used for determining the
				time-related capture zones or source water assessment areas.
(ii) Tributary-- a side stream that
				discharges flow to the main stream of a watershed.
(jj) Unconfined aquifer--an aquifer in which
				there are no confining beds between the zone of saturation and the surface. An
				aquifer in which there is a saturated and unsaturated zone.
(kk) Watershed--the entire land area drained
				by a stream or system of streams such that all streams originating in the area
				are discharged through a single outlet at an intake. It is usually identified
				by the hydrologic boundary or surface topography.
(ll) Watershed delineation--the
				identification of a watershed's topographic boundary.
(mm) Watershed map-- a map which depicts the
				location of the intake of a water system, the boundary of the watershed serving
				the intake, the location of the Source Water Protection Area, and locations of
				contaminant sources within the watershed.
Authors:
Edgar K. Hughes, Dennis D.
					 Harrison
Statutory Authority:
Code of Ala.
					 1975
, §§
											22-23-33,
					 22-23-49,
					 22-22A-5,
					 22-22A-6.