last updated:  09/30/08

PURPOSE
The purpose of these instructions is to provide the information needed to expedite the approval of an application for a drilling permit. Since groundwater is utilized for a major portion of Alameda County Water District's (ACWD) drinking water supply, Fremont, Newark, and Union City Well Ordinances are administered by ACWD to protect the groundwater basin. These City Ordinances regulate all work on wells and boreholes associated with the following three categories of drilling activities: (I) water wells, cathodic protection wells, or dewatering wells, (II) geotechnical investigations, and (III) chemical investigations. The following instructions describe what is needed as part of the application for the three categories of work and how to schedule the field work with ACWD.

Application Package
A complete permit application package for the construction, repair, reconstruction or destruction of water wells, cathodic protection wells or dewatering wells must consist of the following items which are described in subsequent sections:

• Application for Drilling Permit
• Site Plan
• Fees

Application for Drilling Permit
The permit application form (ACWD #458 8-03) must be completed and the entire form submitted to ACWD. After the permit application package is approved, the permit will be brought to the job site and given to the permittee by an ACWD Inspector on the first day of scheduled work. The following details should be checked for completion prior to submission of the application package:

• Each well requires a separate permit application form.
• All non-shaded areas of the form must be completed; leave shaded areas blank.
• A drilling contractor with a valid State of California C57 License must perform the work and their name and license number must be included on the form.
• Permit must be signed and dated by the applicant.

Site Plan
The location of proposed wells and/or boreholes relative to other site structures, septic system or sewer piping, property lines and street curb lines must be indicated on a site plan. The site plan must also be drawn to scale with the North direction clearly indicated and include a street address or assessor's parcel number.

Fees
Permit fees are for each permit application. In the event that jobs require ACWD services on a particular schedule or sequence (5 business days or greater) that results in additional costs, ACWD may charge fees based on actual incurred costs. Permit fees are reviewed annually; as of February 1, 2007, the current fees are: 

Application Package
A complete permit application package for the construction, repair, reconstruction or destruction of monitoring wells (including slope inclinometers) and the drilling of temporary exploratory holes (including those created by cone penetrometer) for geotechnical investigations must consist of the following items which are described in subsequent sections:

• Application for Drilling Permit
• Site Location Map
• Site Plan
• Site Hazard Information Form
• Fees

Application for Drilling Permit
The permit application form (ACWD #458 8-03) must be completed and the entire form submitted to ACWD. After the permit application package is approved, the permit will be brought to the job site and given to the permittee by an ACWD Inspector on the first day of scheduled work. The following details should be checked for completion prior to submission of the application package:

• Each well requires a separate permit application form.
• Boreholes may be grouped together on the same permit application form.
• All non-shaded areas of the form must be completed; leave shaded areas blank.
• A drilling contractor with a valid State of California C57 License must perform the work and their name and license number must be included on the form. A permit application must be completed for each drilling contractor.
• Permit must be signed and dated by the applicant.

Site Location Map
A general location map that shows the location of the site so the site can be easily located.  This map should show nearby cross streets and clearly indicate the North direction.  If the site plan includes these items, then a site location map is not necessary.

Site Plan
The location of proposed wells and/or boreholes relative to other site structures, property lines and street curb lines must be indicated on a site plan. All existing and proposed wells should be labeled. The site plan must also be drawn to scale with the North direction clearly indicated and include a street address or assessor's parcel number.

Site Hazard Information Form
This form is needed only if the work is being conducted on a chemical investigation site or if soil/groundwater contamination is likely to be encountered.

Fees
Permit fees are for each permit application. In the event that jobs require ACWD services on a particular schedule or sequence (5 business days or greater) that results in additional costs, ACWD may charge fees based on actual incurred costs. Permit fees are reviewed annually; as of February 1, 2007, the current fees are: 

Application Package
A complete permit application package for the construction, repair, reconstruction or destruction of monitoring wells (including vapor sampling, air sparging, vapor extraction and groundwater extraction), and the drilling of temporary exploratory holes for chemical investigations must consist of the following items which are described in subsequent sections:

• Application for Drilling Permit
• Work Plan
• Site Location Map
• Site Plan
• Site Hazard Information Form
• Fees

Application for Drilling Permit
The permit application form (ACWD #458 8-03) must be completed and the entire form submitted to ACWD. After the permit application package is approved, the permit will be brought to the job site and given to the permittee by an ACWD Inspector on the first day of scheduled work. The following details should be checked for completion prior to submission of the application package:

• Each well requires a separate permit application form.
• Boreholes may be grouped together on the same permit application form.
• All non-shaded areas of the form must be completed; leave shaded areas blank.
• A drilling contractor with a valid State of California C57 License must perform the work and their name and license number must be included on the form. A permit application must be completed for each drilling contractor.
• The application and work plan must be signed and dated by a California Registered Geologist (RG), Certified Engineering Geologist (CEG) or Registered Civil Engineer (RCE). The signature must match the name and number of the consultant on the permit application form and work plan.

Work Plan
A work plan is required for all chemical investigations and the type of information to be included in the work plan is described in ACWD's Groundwater Monitoring Guidelines - September 1992. The work plan must be signed and stamped by the same RG, CEG or RCE that signed the permit application form. 

Site Location Map
A general location map that shows the location of the site so the site can be easily located. This map should show nearby cross streets and clearly indicate the North direction. If the site plan includes these items, then a site location map is not necessary. 

Site Plan
The location of proposed wells and/or boreholes relative to other site structures, property lines and street curb lines must be indicated on a site plan. All existing and proposed wells should be labeled. The locations of existing wells, tanks, pump islands, and any known leak locations must also be identified on the site plan. The site plan must also be drawn to scale with North clearly indicated and include a street address or assessor's parcel number.

Site Hazard Information Form
All of the non-shaded portions of the form must be completed. Please indicate if a site safety meeting will be conducted for field activities on this form. A site safety plan may not be substituted for this form.

Fees
Permit fees are for each permit application. In the event that jobs require ACWD services on a particular schedule or sequence (5 business days or greater) that results in additional costs, ACWD may charge fees based on actual incurred costs. Permit fees are reviewed annually; as of February 1, 2007, the current fees are: 

Under the authority of the Replenishment Assessment Act of the Alameda County Water District, ACWD charges operators of water production facilities an assessment based on the quantity of water produced. Replenishment Assessment rates are reviewed annually; effective July 1, 2008, the assessment is $8.00/acre-foot for agricultural and municipal-recreation uses and $207.00/acre-foot for all other uses. Water wells, dewatering wells, and chemical investigation extraction wells are considered water production facilities. The operators of water production facilities that have a discharge opening of two inches or less in diameter and provide groundwater for domestic or irrigation uses on an area not exceeding one acre in extent are currently exempt from the assessment. All operators of water production facilities are required to register with ACWD annually. ACWD may also install an ACWD-owned meter on the groundwater production facility. A design of the proposed groundwater production facility should be submitted to ensure that subsequent modifications to piping may be minimized should ACWD install its meter. If you have questions regarding replenishment assessment, please contact Rangarajan Sampath at (510) 668-4411. 

ACWD requires scheduling and inspection of permitted work. All field work must be scheduled in advance. Work plans for chemical investigations must be approved before work can be scheduled. Availability of inspection varies from week to week and is on a first come, first served basis. To ensure the availability of an inspector on your desired date, the following procedures are required:

• Call (510) 668-4460 to schedule the field work.
• Schedule the work as far in advance as possible (at least 5 working days in advance).
• Confirm the drilling date one working day in advance of field work since drilling rig schedules often change.

Once the work begins, an ACWD Inspector will coordinate the inspection requirements as well as how the Inspector can be reached if they are not at the site when inspection is required. Except for special circumstances, all work that requires inspection must be performed during the work hours of 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

Permits expire after a period of 60 calendar days. Specific permit conditions may be determined on a permit by permit basis, based on the type of work selected, the location of the proposed site and a number of additional factors. Questions relating to issuance of a permit or permit conditions should be directed to Michelle Myers (510) 668-4454. If you have questions concerning the status of your permit or scheduling, or if you would like to receive an application package, please call (510) 668-4460. The Application for Drilling Permit and Site Hazard Information forms can also be downloaded below.

Application for Drilling Permit

Site Hazard Form