Water Well Use
- calendar_today Effective:
- phone (415) 622-7250
- mail_outline Groundwater clyles@sfwater.org
Purpose
To ensure that local groundwater resources designated for beneficial uses will not be polluted or contaminated.
Who Must Comply?
Planned or existing owner of a non-municipal production well that planned will be used for withdrawal of groundwater.
The following page describes the general permitting process for the planned use of water from a planned or existing non-municipal production well.
To ensure that local groundwater resources designated for beneficial uses will not be polluted, the City and County of San Francisco established soil boring and well regulations. These regulations, found in Article 12B of the San Francisco Health Code, define minimum requirements for well and soil boring construction, modification, operation and maintenance, as well as well inactivation and destruction.
The San Francisco Department of Public Health has the primary role of enforcing the requirements of Article 12B. However, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is responsible for reviewing and granting authorization for any withdrawal of groundwater within San Francisco. It also ensures that groundwater withdrawn by the permittee does not endanger the health and safety of the people of San Francisco, and/or adversely impact the ability of the City to make beneficial use of groundwater where economically feasible.
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How do I comply?
If water is intended to be withdrawn from a planned well or existing well that you own or is on your property, then the requirements of Article 12B apply to you.
To ensure that the requirements of Article 12B are met, the planned installation of and use of a new or existing water well must be approved by three City departments.
Please follow these steps:
- Please complete the Environmental Evaluation Application, and submit it to the Planning Department.
- Please contact Christopher Lyles to obtain the SFPUC private well application at clyles@sfwater.org. Please note that permitting conditions will include but are not limited to site-specific requirements and other general terms.
- For planned non-municipal production wells, please complete an application for New Production Well or an application for New Monitoring Well and submit it to the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH).
- To operate a new or existing well, applicants must also complete the SFDPH Application for Permit to Operate a Well.
- Submit a one-time non-refundable fee in the form of a check or money order made payable to the SF Department of Public Health.
Need Help?
If you have questions or need additional assistance, contact the SFPUC Groundwater Program coordinator at clyles@sfwater.org. For more information on SFDPH's approval process and for contact info, please see SFDPH's Water Quality: Well Program.
Last updated: 11/01/2020