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GA Well Driller study materials
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GA Well Driller: Georgia Well Construction Rules and Regulatory Compliance

GA Well Driller · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Georgia Well Construction Rules and Regulatory Compliance

Georgia Well Construction Rules and Regulatory Compliance

This domain tests who regulates what, which paperwork is required, and which technical standards are enforceable. Memorizing roles and sequence earns easy marks here.

Who does what

  • The Water Well Standards Act (O.C.G.A. § 12-5-120 et seq.) is the statutory basis; the Environmental Protection Division (EPD) administers it through the water well standards rules (Chapter 391-3-2) and licenses water well contractors.
  • County health departments issue permits and inspect in many jurisdictions, and are the first call before siting or drilling.
  • Public water systems fall additionally under Department of Public Health rules for design, operation, and sampling.
  • Local governments may add setbacks, land-disturbance, and floodplain requirements on top of state rules.

Compliance points you will be tested on

  • Hold a valid contractor license; work under permit where required; keep license and continuing-education status current.
  • Construct to the standards: minimum casing and grout depths, sanitary wellhead, disinfection, and isolation distances from pollution sources.
  • File the well completion report with the required information - owner, location, depth, casing, grout, screen, yield, static level, disinfection - within the required reporting period. Incomplete or late reports are among the most common violations.
  • Notify and follow the rules for abandonment; never convert a well to a disposal or drainage hole.

Worked example

A driller finishes a 240-ft domestic well on a 1-acre lot with a septic system. Compliance sequence: confirm the county permit and setbacks before moving in; construct with grouted casing to the required depth; chlorinate; develop and test; complete the wellhead; file the completion report with the state; give the owner the test and disinfection records. If the report is filed months later with the grout interval blank, the technical work may be fine but the compliance record is not - the violation stands on its own.

Traps

  • Assuming the state and county perform the same function.
  • Treating the completion report as optional paperwork.
  • Confusing public-supply rules with private-well rules.
  • Assuming a requirement that is silent locally does not apply statewide.