The Jackson County Health Department has created a new well ordinance.

Beginning Feb. 1, the health department will require a permit before any well is drilled, repaired or abandoned in Jackson County. Permits for a new well will cost well owners $200. Permits for repairing and/or abandoning wells will be free.

The health department became concerned about water quality in the area after testing data from last year showed that 31 percent of wells tested proved positive for coliform bacteria. This was almost double the 16.5 percent from the previous year.

Health department materials point out that coliform is not a pathogen. It is an indicator organism. Pathogens are difficult to detect and impractical to test for in water supplies. Indicator organisms like coliform are relatively simple to test for. While the presence of coliform does not guarantee the presence of pathogens, it does indicate that the water supply has been compromised and there is the possibility of pathogens.

Although the samples from last year were few (129) and taken at the request of the well owner, indicating some concern, health officials were alarmed at the high percentage of contamination. Health department officials at the Jan. 18 Jackson County commissioners meeting said that other counties across the state averaged 5 to 1.5 percent positive for coliform.

Jerry Deweese was one of four Environmental Health staff members who spent four days in Guilford County in late November, studying their existing well program. The contamination rate in Guilford County was 2 percent, Deweese said.

The Board of Health is not asking anyone to do anything that is not in the state regulations,” Deweese said.

The Jackson County regulations are adopted from the North Carolina Well Rules and Regulations. Copies of the Jackson County Well Rules are available for public inspection at the health department, Justice Center and Jackson County public libraries. Information on permitting and regulations is available from the health department at 828.586.8994.

Some local well drillers have warned that the new regulations are going to increase prices. B. T. Greene of AAA Greene Bros. in Sylva was quoted in the Asheville Citizen-Times as saying, “It’s going to cost an extra $2 a foot along with the permits and inspections.”

The average cost of drilling a well in Jackson County is $8 a foot. The health department states that surveys from counties with well rules average between $7-$9 a foot.

Randall Turpin of the Jackson County Health Department said that a change in state regulations was responsible for most of the increase in cost. According to Turpin, drillers used to be able to use water from any nearby source, such as streams and ponds, when they were drilling, as long as they chlorinated it. New state regulations require drillers to use potable water during drilling. This means that drillers may have to haul water from long distances in some cases.

The $200 permit fee must be paid by the well owner. The fee pays for site inspection, monitoring during drilling and a final inspection once the well is drilled. Site inspection, monitoring and final testing will all be conducted by health department employees.

“We heard the exact same concerns when we established septic regulations,” Dendy said. “This regulation will do something positive for wells. People like this level of protection. Other cities and counties are calling for copies of our new rules.”

Health officials also pointed out that most mortgage companies require a water test before they will grant a loan and realtors told health department officals that wells were being drilled for perspective buyers.

The permitting process will apply only to new wells. Records will be kept to establish a database for the health department. Turpin said that he hopes the new regulations will bring Jackson County more in line with other counties, regarding contamination.

Jackson County Health Department has scheduled a meeting for Jan. 23 at 7 p.m. at their Sylva office. The meeting is for drillers, pump installers and other interested parties. For information call 828.586.8994.

 

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