La Habra-Brea Management Area
6.2 GROUNDWATER WATER QUALITY PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT
Well Construction, Abandonment, and Destruction Policies
The policies that govern well construction, abandonment, and destruction are designed specifically to protect groundwater quality. The administration of these policies has been delegated to individual counties by California legislature. As stated in Orange County Ordnance No. 2607, all well activity within Orange County will comply with the standards set in DWR Bulletin 74, Chapter 2. These standards are enforced by the Orange County Health Care Agency. The Cities of La Habra and Brea properly construct and abandon wells pursuant to Orange County Ordnance No. 2607.
Wellhead Protection Measures
Wellhead protection is a way to prevent drinking water from being contaminated by managing sources of potential contamination within the vicinity of a production well. Surface contaminants can enter a well through the outside edge of the well casing or directly through opening in the well head. These contaminants can travel in two directions: to the groundwater aquifer or to the distribution system. As defined in the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments of 1986, a wellhead protection area is “the surface and subsurface area surrounding a water well or well field supplying a public water system, through which contaminants are reasonably likely to move toward and reach such water well or well field.” The Cities of La Habra and Brea design and construct wells in accordance with the measures described in DWR Bulletin 74 so that the wellhead is protected from contamination. Important wellhead protection measures described in Bulletin 74 include: methods for sealing the well from intrusion from surface contaminants, site grading to assure drainage is away from the wellhead, and set-back requirements from known pollution sources.
Control of Migration and Remediation of Contaminated Groundwater
Groundwater can become contaminated naturally or through human activity. Based on a 2010 drinking water assessment performed by the City of La Habra, sources of potential groundwater contamination to the La Habra Basin include: car repair and bodywork shops, gas stations, machine and metalwork shops, and sewer collection systems (La Habra, 2013). The City of La Habra has previously taken the position that oil and gas mining operations in or up gradient of the basin have the potential to release chemicals that could contaminate groundwater, particularly during fracking activities. The Cities of La Habra and Brea will monitor the migration of contaminants through its water quality monitoring program and will also monitor nearby oil and gas mining operations. This will allow the point and non-point pollution sources to be identified. If contamination becomes a concern in the future, an approach to address the problem will be developed.
2017 BASIN 8-1 ALTERNATIVE
6-2
Appendix F - 37
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