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Wells and Septic
Well and Septic concerns for Baltimore County
 
Following is a letter from Paul G. Miller to Mr. David A. C. Carroll, Director Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management in re well concerns.

28 January 2004

Mr. David A. C. Carroll, Director
Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management
401 Bosley Avenue -- Suite 416
Towson, MD 21204

Dear Mr. Carroll –

Thank you for reviewing and replying to our letter of June 25, 2003.  We hoped our letter, which made 14 specific suggestions that we thought would improve the County’s policies and regulations to protect our wells and ground water quality, would have inspired DEPRM to take some positive response.   

While we sincerely appreciate the effort required to prepare your reply -- our Board felt that your response seemed to defend the status quo rather indicate a willingness to initiate some changes.  No doubt you are aware that wells, both existing and those being drilled for new developments, continue to be a serious issue and concern of all of us in the County that live outside the URDL and are dependent on wells for our water.

I am enclosing a copy of an unsolicited letter written by one of our members that expresses the concerns about wells that is shared by our entire community. It is disconcerting to believe, especially in light of the terrible drought just ended last fall, that DEPRM has not offered any change in its regulations and enforcement procedures to more effectively protect the quantity and quality of the well water resources in Baltimore County.

The FRCA would like to continue to discuss how DEPRM might improve its policies and regulations.  Our community is more concerned than ever as more and more houses are being built in the County outside the URDL -- and more and more new wells are being drilled -- and the wells are closer and closer together than ever before.  

Surely you can understand our continuing concern.  Please advise when we can meet again.

Respectfully yours,

Paul G Miller, for the FRCA Board of Directors

Enclosure
Cc:  Honorable James D. Smith, Jr.    Baltimore County Executive
       Honorable Kevin Kamenetz County Councilman, 2nd District
       Honorable T. Bryan McIntire County Councilman, 3rd District
       Arnold “Pat” Keller   Director, Office of Planning  
       Richard Parsons  President, County Conservation Advisory Group

Below is a snapshot of the "well picture" of Baltimore County.

 

     Critical yield areas are defined by Baltimore County Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management (DEPRM) as aquifers in which there is a high incidence of low yielding wells or dry holes.  The critical yield areas are shown in red.  The Baltimore County hydrologist, Kevin Koepenick, recommends that every homeowner on a well read the following article:  http://www.co.ba.md.us/bin/m/v/ep_wellspam.pdf.  You may find the second cause of wells running dry - "excessive pumping from a nearby well" (listed on page 10 of the document at the top) - to be of some interest.  We are trying to get an answer to the question, "What are minimum well distances and how do they differ from one soil or bedrock type to another?"  Read County Councilman for the 2nd District Kevin Kamenetz's memo addressing the community's concerns. 

 

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Critical Yield Areas

The FRCA will post well and septic related material as it becomes available.  In particular we will address the questions recently raised about hydrofracting wells.

The following is the text of the letter sent to David A. Carroll, Director, Baltimore County DEPRM concerning the County's approach to development and wells.

11 July 2003

 

David A. C. Carroll, Director

Baltimore County DEPRM

401 Bosley Avenue

Towson, Maryland 21204

 

Re: Well Use and New Well Construction in Baltimore County

and the Preservation of 1st Order and Class III Streams

 

Dear Mr. Carroll:

 

We submit the following recommendations to reduce well failures and water quality issues resulting from new residential developments in the County’s R.C. Zones.

 

We believe there is sufficient basis to make some changes to the County’s policies and regulations.  Our recommendations are based in part on discussions during the meeting in your office earlier this year – and on interviews with new well owners, data recorded on problem wells and some hydrological studies. 

 

We assume the URDL and related services will not be extended in the 2nd or 3rd County Council Districts until after 2013, if at all.  We understand bringing water and sewer service into the Chestnut Ridge Critical Yield well areas and similar rural county communities would require a significant expenditure by the County.  No new reservoirs are envisioned.  A system of Water Towers might even be a more practical solution as was suggested by a state director participating in the county sponsored rural strategies work session last year.

 

Therefore, we propose that DEPRM now include the following revisions in the County regulations and policies for wells in new and existing residential developments:

 

1.         New Wells should be dug and qualified prior to approval of development plans.   Soil maps are fairly accurate in predicting satisfactory septic systems, yet little is really known about where groundwater exists until a well is actually drilled.  Subdivision into individual lots should be allowed only after new wells are determined viable.   DEPRM would then no longer be required to consider requests for waiving environmental regulations or policies.

 

2.         Three acre lot sizes should be the minimum required for new residential lots with private wells and septic systems to insure adequate water quantity and good water quality and taste.   New wells should be sited carefully.  The additional nitrogen loads from septic systems may damage out streams or impact down hill well water taste even though bacteria may not be present.   In addition, the new developments on R.C.5 lot sizes are impacting our adequate public facilities, the schools and the rural roads.

 

3.         One well per lot should be the limit.  Digging wells for watering lawns should be banned.   Digging two wells on a new lot to meet the gallon a minute requirement should also be banned.

 

4.         New Wells should be inspected by the Plumbing Inspection Division before and during the drilling process to monitor the construction standards to insure an inventory of high quality new wells for public health and safety.  Construction quality review is needed to limit new well failures and well purification system installations.  Water treatment companies should be required to obtain a permit to treat existing residential wells with salt products or other additives.

 

5.         Hydro fracture should not be permitted to create or develop a new well for a source of private water supply.  This technique should only be permitted as an emergency repair on existing owner occupied wells that have run dry. 

 

6.         New lots should have a delineated 10,000 sq. ft. well reserve area set aside as each lot must sustain its own private water system for the foreseeable future.

 

7.         No more than 4 new well attempts should be allowed when trying to satisfy the well water requirements for a new lot.  That is still a lot of holes to leave capped that could allow groundwater contamination.  Accurate records are very difficult to maintain countywide and few people remember where any capped wells are located on their property..

 

8.         New wells should be sited at least 30 feet from any driveway, 60 feet from any dwelling, and 100 feet from public roads to eliminate road salt and MTBE contamination -- and 200 feet from neighboring wells to allow each well to recharge normally.  No well should be more than 1,000 feet deep to preclude possible contamination to deep water aquifers.

 

9.         Five year well guarantees should be required for developers selling or listing for sale any property in Baltimore County  to protect unsuspecting buyers from wells with hidden yield failures or contamination problems.  Tests for chemical toxins are not conducted on property previously used for farming.  Currently termite treated foundations require new wells to be drilled for older homes.  Many well owners do not report that a well ran dry or may have been contaminated during their ownership.  Disclosure of this information should be required by law or a well quality guarantee be required to be included as part of a property sale.  Waiver of this regulation should not be allowed.

 

10.       Abandoned well holes, new or old, should be recorded and properly filled and sealed by permit and then inspected by the Plumbing Inspection Division before and upon completion.    The State cannot monitor this activity and does not have the resources to investigate violations.

 

11.       All ephemeral streams on undeveloped parcels should be part of R.C.4 zoning protection when they flow from R.C.5 zones directly into first order streams within 1,500 feet.  Water flowing at a rate of 5 mph during long periods of rain will accelerate the instability of stream banks and increases habitat degradation of the CLASS III local streams.  Curbs and storm drains directing outfall toward streams or tributaries should not be allowed in rural zones that are laced with fine clean streams.

 

12.       R.C.4 zoning should extend to 500 feet from the center of a stream, and stream buffer areas should extend to 150 feet from the high water mark of streams directly connecting to the Prettyboy, Liberty and Loch Raven Reservoirs.  Sediment is filling up stream channels as new development is allowed close to CLASS III streams.

 

13.       Churches or other buildings used for religious worship including church schools should be excluded from County Use Regulations that are permitted in R.C.5 Zones or at least be permitted only by special exception.

 

14.       Sand-mound septic systems should not be permitted.  Lands with poor soil conditions just should not be developed.

 

15.       DELINEATED WELLHEAD PROTECTION AREAS should be mapped to protect private wells against sudden contamination from roadway accidents involving chemical carriers and large institutional land owners that move into rural zoned areas.

 

Acting on these recommendations is the right thing to do.  There is sufficient evidence to support these improvements in our County regulations and policies.  The SAFE DRINKING WATER ACT FOR RURAL AREAS 1994 Bill H.R.226 addresses the need to implement wellhead protection zones to protect groundwater availability used for drinking water.   Lynn Y. Buhl, Acting Secretary of the MDE, clearly understands storm water runoff impacts and groundwater availability issues that new developments are creating.

 

Years from now these steps taken will be well regarded because new residential development will be more sensitive to our remaining natural areas.  We believe Wayne McGinness, Pat Keller and David Pinning would agree that these are reasonable recommendations to be adopted.   And we believe they embody the views of well owners in the 2nd and 3rd Districts who signed petitions earlier this year – and well owners countywide.  Dr. Richard McQuaid, President of the North County Coalition, has reviewed these recommendations and he supports their adoption.

 

We hope you will respond to us and forward your comments on these recommendations to Mr. Kamenetz, our County Council Chairman, who has expressed interest in the well water issues as a result of the petitions he has received from his  2nd District constituents.

 

We would be pleased to meet with you and your staff to discuss any of our recommendations.

 

Very truly yours,

 

David Suarez-Murrias: FRCA Treasurer

Paul G Miller: FRCA Director

John Galbreath: FRCA President

 

CC:  Honorable James D. Smith, Jr., Baltimore County Executive

        Honorable Kevin Kamenetz, Councilman, Baltimore County 2nd Dist.

        Honorable T. Bryan Mcintire, Councilman Baltimore County 3rd Dist.

 

Copyright 2008, The Falls Road Community Association