Oregon Administrative Code

690-210-0155 Additional Standards for Artesian Water Supply Wells (1) Water supply wells penetrating into an artesian aquifer shall have an upper oversize drillhole at least four inches greater in diameter than the nominal diameter of the permanent well casing to be installed. Wa…

690-210-0160 Additional Standards for Filter Pack Wells with Surface Casing If a permanent surface casing is installed in the construction of a filter pack well, a watertight, welded, steel plate at least 3/16 of an inch in thickness shall be installed between the inner productio…

690-210-0170 Additional Standards for Filter Pack Wells without Surface Casing If a permanent surface casing is not installed in the construction of a filter pack well, and filler tubes are to be used, an oversize well bore having a nominal diameter of at least eight inches great…

690-210-0180 Additional Standards for Driven or Jetted Wells All drive point wells or jetted wells shall have nonperforated, watertight casing meeting the minimum specifications shown in Table 210-1 and extending a minimum distance of 18 feet below land surface. Drive casing grea…

690-210-0190 Steel Casing (1) All steel casing installed shall be in new or like new condition, being free of pits or breaks, and shall meet or exceed the minimum American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM A-53A or B) specifications for steel pipe, for the sizes as set out in T…

690-210-0200 Steel Casing Joints All steel casing joints shall be welded or thread coupled and shall be water tight. If welded casing joints are used, the weld shall be a full penetrating weld at least equal in thickness to the wall thickness of the casing. Welded casing joints s…

690-210-0210 Plastic Casing (1) Plastic casing shall not be driven and may only be installed in an oversized drillhole. (2) Plastic casing may only be installed after drilling has been completed. No drilling is allowed inside plastic casing. (3) Such casing shall be of polymerize…

690-210-0220 Plastic Casing Joints All plastic casing joints shall be watertight. Either "bell" type, threaded, or coupling hubs are approved. Hub couplings shall be of material meeting the specifications for plastic casings as set forth in OAR 690-210-0210. Joints shall be made …

690-210-0230 Inner Casing Inner casing installed into a well must meet the minimum requirements of well casing (OAR 690-210-0190). The space between the two well casings shall be sealed so as to prevent the movement of water between the two casings. Inner casing installed in a we…

690-210-0240 Casing Shall be Centered In all instances, casings shall be centered in sealed intervals. Casing centralizers may be used to ensure centering. When sealing a well by Method E, casing centralizers shall be used. (See Figure 210-11). [ED. NOTE: To view attachments refe…

690-210-0250 Top Terminal Height (1) The casing head or pitless unit of any well shall extend a minimum of 12 inches above the finished ground surface or pumphouse floor, and a minimum of 12 inches above the local surface runoff level. The ground surface immediately surrounding t…

690-210-0260 Openings in the Casing There shall be no opening in the casing wall between the top of the casing and the bottom of the required casing seal except for pitless adapters, measurement access ports, and grout nipples installed in conformance with these standards. In no …

690-210-0270 Pitless Well Adapters and Units Surface seal requirements for well casing set forth herein shall also apply when a pitless adapter or unit is installed in a well. The seal shall cover that interval occupied by the pitless case from the point of casing connection to l…

690-210-0280 Access Ports, Dedicated Measuring Tubes and Airlines (1) All water supply wells , including wells that have been temporarily removed from service, temporarily abandoned due to a recess in construction, or temporarily abandoned before commencing service, shall be prop…

690-210-0290 Liner Pipe Liner pipe installed through caving formations and installed without driving, may be of lighter weight than specified by Table 210-2 under OAR 690-210-0190. Such lightweight pipe shall have a wall thickness equal to or greater than 0.188 inch. All liner pi…

690-210-0300 Drill Cuttings or Chips In no case shall drill cuttings or drill chips be used or allowed to fill, partially fill, or fall into the required sealing interval of a well during the construction or the completion of a well. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 183, 536, 537 &…

690-210-0310 Cement Grout When using cement grout as the sealing material in a well, it must meet the following requirements: (1) Cement grout used to seal a well shall be composed of a uniformly mixed slurry of Portland cement or High Early Strength Type III Portland cement and …

690-210-0315 Concrete Concrete for use in the construction of a dug well, or for filling the annular space or well bore of a well, shall consist of clean, hard, and durable aggregate, and not less than five sacks of Portland cement per cubic yard of concrete. Concrete will be all…

690-210-0320 Methods of Placement of Cement Grout or Concrete Cement grout or concrete used as a sealing material in a well shall be placed or forced upward from the bottom to completely fill the annular space to be grouted and shall be placed in one continuous operation without …

690-210-0330 Unhydrated Bentonite Unhydrated bentonite used in construction of casing seals for water supply wells shall be specifically designed for sealing wells and be within industry tolerances for dry western sodium bentonite. Bentonite shall be free of polymers that promote…

690-210-0340 Method of Placement of Unhydrated Bentonite (1) An upper oversize drillhole, four inches greater than the nominal inside diameter of the permanent well casing, shall be constructed to a minimum depth of 18 feet below land surface. The use of unhydrated bentonite as a…

690-210-0350 Resumption of Construction Following Placement of Cement Grout The time needed for the final set of a cement grout mixture varies greatly in accordance with cement-water ratio and temperature. When cement grout is used to seal a well, construction should not resume u…

690-210-0360 Movement of Casing after Cement Grouting In no case shall the permanent well casing be moved or driven following the placement and initial set of the cement grout. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 183, 536, 537 & 540 History: WRD 13-1986, f. 10-7-86, ef. 11-1-86, Renum…

690-210-0370 Well Test Upon completion, every well shall be tested for yield and drawdown either by bailing, pumping, or air testing for a period of not less than one hour. Any testing method that does not provide for drawdown measurements during testing is not an accurate or rel…

690-210-0380 Disinfection of a Well Prior to or after being placed in the well, pumping equipment, sand, gravel and well casing shall be thoroughly hosed or sluiced with water, and shall be disinfected with a solution containing at least 50 parts per million chlorine. All water i…

690-210-0390 Completion of Wells A well constructor or permitted landowner constructing their own well shall not remove the drilling machine from a well site, unless it is immediately replaced by another drilling machine in operating condition prior to completion or abandonment o…

690-210-0400 Construction of Dug Wells Dug wells that are 21 feet or less in depth shall be sealed with grout from land surface to within three feet of the bottom of the well. Dug wells greater than 21 feet in depth shall be sealed with grout from land surface to a depth of at le…

690-210-0410 Buried Slab Construction In a buried slab type well, the slab shall be at least 18 feet below land surface and shall be at least three inches in thickness. The slab shall be reinforced to withstand all stresses. The slab shall be sealed with cement grout at least one…

690-210-0420 Surface Curbing (1) The surface curbing required in OAR 690-210-0400 shall be of concrete, concrete tile, or steel. If concrete is used, the concrete wall thickness shall not be less than six inches. In the case of buried slab type wells, well casing meeting the mini…

690-215-0005 Prevention of Groundwater Contamination, Health Hazard, and Waste (1) The landowner of the property on which the water supply well is constructed is ultimately responsible for the maintenance and use of the water supply well. All water supply wells should be disinfec…

690-215-0006 Well Alterations (1) Well alterations as defined in OAR 690-200-0050(7) shall be performed by a licensed Water Supply Well Constructor, or a landowner with a Landowner’s Well Construction Permit and bond. (2) Water Supply Well Constructors or a permitted and bonded l…

690-215-0010 Maintenance of an Existing Well Following Construction of Replacement Well Any time a new water supply well is constructed to replace an existing well which is a source of contamination, or is wasting the ground water resource by allowing loss of artesian pressure or…

690-215-0015 Accessibility to Well for Reconditioning, Repair or Abandonment To enable drilling equipment future access to the water supply well for reconditioning, repair, or abandonment, the property owner should maintain a minimum five-foot separation distance between the well…

690-215-0016 Maintaining Well Setback Requirements Within the boundaries of their own property, property owners are responsible for maintaining the applicable minimum setback distances for any well on their property. Refer to OAR 690-210-0030 for current minimum setback distances…

690-215-0017 Down Well Continuous Water Treatment and Back-Siphon Prevention Devices (1) The following definitions apply solely to OAR 690-215-0017: (a) “Backflow” means the flow of a mixture of water, fertilizer and/or chemicals in the opposite direction of that intended. (b) “B…

690-215-0020 Valves and Casing on Artesian Wells Valves and casing on all artesian wells shall be maintained in a condition so that the flow of water can be completely stopped when the water is not being put to beneficial use. All casing, liner pipe, and casing seals shall be mai…

690-215-0025 Sealing Pitless Adapter and Pitless Units The sealing area around pitless adapter or pitless unit installations shall be replaced with unhydrated bentonite as required by OAR 690-210-0330 and shall be at least one and one-half inches thick around the casing and pitle…

690-215-0030 Casing and Casing Extensions (1) All well casing used to extend a well head above land surface or used in the alteration, repair or deepening of water supply wells shall meet the minimum standards in OAR 690-210. (2) The annular space surrounding the well casing used…

690-215-0035 Liner Pipe All liner pipe used in the alteration, repair or deepening of water supply wells shall meet the minimum standards in OAR 690-210-0290. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 183, 536, 537 & 540 History: WRD 3-2008, f. 12-22-08, cert. ef. 1-2-09

690-215-0040 Casing and Sealing Wells after Disturbance (1) If during the installation of casing, liner pipe, seals, packers, or during repair or deepening of a water supply well, the pre-existing casing is withdrawn, or moved as to compromise the annular seal, the well shall be …

690-215-0045 Deepening of Wells (1) Only the following wells may be deepened without an approved special standard: (a) Wells with well reports that describe the original construction. The original well report must be: (A) Referenced on the deepening well report; or (B) Attached t…

690-215-0050 Well Cover All water supply wells shall be securely covered to prevent any foreign substance from entering the well, including any material which might contaminate the ground water. The well cover shall meet the requirements of OAR 690-220-0005. Statutory/Other Autho…

690-215-0055 Well Identification Label Maintenance The well identification label shall not be removed from the wellhead and shall be maintained by the landowner in an accessible location and in a readable condition. See OAR 690-200-0048 for well identification label placement met…

690-215-0060 Access Ports, Dedicated Measuring Tubes and Airlines (1) All water supply wells, including wells that have been temporarily removed from service, temporarily abandoned due to a recess in construction, or temporarily abandoned before commencing service, shall be prope…

690-215-0070 Pressure Gauge The pressure gauge and petcock valve required by OAR 690-210-0155 shall be maintained so that the artesian pressure can be accurately determined at any time. (See Figure 210-7.) [ED. NOTE: To view attachments referenced in rule text, click here for PDF…

690-215-0080 Flowmeters and Dedicated Measuring Tubes The Director may require the landowner to install totalizing flowmeters or dedicated measuring tubes on any water supply well, either as a condition of a water right permit or at a later date as circumstances may warrant. The …

690-215-0090 Conversion to an Artesian Well If a water supply well becomes artesian upon deepening, the well shall be cased, sealed and completed in accordance with OAR 690-210-0155. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 183, 536, 537 & 540 History: WRD 7-2001, f. & cert. ef. 11-15-01 W…

690-215-0100 Drilling in a Dug Well In no case shall a dug well be deepened by drilling methods. Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 183, 536, 537 & 540 History: WRD 13-1986, f. 10-7-86, ef. 11-1-86, Renumbered from 690-061-0241 WRD 9-1978, f. 12-12-78, ef. 1-1-79

690-215-0201 Dedicated Measuring Tube A dedicated measuring tube as described in 690-215-0060 shall be installed in any water supply well at the time of pump installation, pump repair or pump replacement in the following areas (See Figures 200-4, 200-5, 200-7 and 200-8): (1) Pete…

690-217-0005 Purpose and Basis for Authority (1) ORS 537.772 states “The owner or operator of any well, except wells used for purposes listed in ORS 537.545, shall conduct a pump test at least once every 10 years and report the results of that test to the Water Resources Commissi…