Kentucky private well rules

Who certifies well contractors in Kentucky

Kentucky does not require the property owner to apply for a permit or pay a fee to drill or to close a water well. The certified driller files the paperwork.

State rule 401 KAR 6:310 sets the minimum standards for building, changing and abandoning water supply wells across Kentucky.

The driller certification law does not cover wells used only for watering stock or general farmstead use, as long as they do not supply water for people to drink.

A new water well must sit at least 50 feet from a septic tank or sewer line under the state setback table.

The certified driller must send the state a well record within 60 days of building, changing or plugging a water supply well, and give the owner a copy.

Sources: State regulates well construction, not water quality; No owner permit or fee; Statewide construction standards; Stock and farmstead wells left out

Who may work on a well pump

Kentucky's well driller statute defines well alteration or repair so that it does not include replacing or repairing a water pump or its piping. The driller certificate is not required for pump work alone.

The state well rules define well construction so that it does not include installing a permanent pump and pumping equipment.

Maintenance, additions or changes to the well itself or to the pitless adapter count as well alteration or repair, which needs a certified water well driller.

The Division of Water's well owner page tells owners to have a Kentucky certified water well driller do all work on a well, which goes further than the statute's pump exclusion.

The state's well owner guide says that if the piping, wiring or pressure tank leaks or looks wrong, a certified water well driller or a plumber should check it.

Kentucky's plumbing licensing law lists private water supply systems in its definition of plumbing. It does not name well pumps.

Sources: Pump repair is outside the driller law; Pump installation is not well construction; State guidance favors certified drillers; Driller or plumber for piping and tank; Plumbing law covers private water systems

Does the state require well testing?

Kentucky does not require private well owners to test their water. Testing is the owner's choice.

Neither the EPA nor the state regulates the water quality of a private well in Kentucky.

The Division of Water advises private well and cistern owners to have their water tested every year.

A new drinking water well must be tested for E. coli within 30 days of completion, after the chlorine has been purged.

For a drinking water well, the driller is responsible for the first bacteria test and the first disinfection, and must give the owner the results.

Owners can get a list of state certified drinking water labs by emailing the Division of Water, or ask the local health department for help.

Sources: Testing is voluntary; Private wells not regulated; New wells tested for E. coli; Driller arranges the first test

Getting your water tested in Kentucky

Kentucky law directs the Department for Public Health to run a program that tests private water supplies for bacteria and chemicals when the owner or user asks.

The state public health lab's bacteria test accepts private drinking water from wells, cisterns and springs.

The state lab's drinking water bacteria test reports total coliform and E. coli.

Bacteria samples for the state lab have to be collected by a registered sanitarian, not by the owner alone.

The state lab also tests drinking water for metals such as arsenic and lead, but local health departments must collect and submit those samples.

State guidance tells well owners to contact their local health department for information on getting water tested.

Routine state lab bacteria samples must arrive within 30 hours of collection and stay cold in transit.

Sources: State testing program by law; State lab tests private wells; Ask the local health department; 30 hour shipping window

Disinfecting a well

The state well owner guide says to disinfect the well and plumbing after a pump is repaired or replaced.

State guidance recommends disinfecting the well at least once a year as preventive maintenance, even with no problems.

Routine shock chlorination is cheap and most owners can do it themselves with plain laundry bleach.

Drillers must disinfect a new well to at least 100 parts per million of chlorine and let it stand at least 30 minutes before purging.

Chlorinated water purged from a well must go onto the ground in a way that does no harm, never into a surface water body.

After shock chlorination, have the water tested for bacteria a week or two later to confirm it worked.

Sources: Disinfect after pump work; 100 ppm for new wells; Retest after disinfecting

Plugging an unused well

A water supply well may be built, changed or plugged only by a certified water supply well driller or certified driller's assistant.

A damaged or unusable water supply well must be plugged within 30 days of being found unsuitable for its use.

A certified monitoring well driller may plug a water well only after getting a water well abandonment variance from the Division of Water.

Pumps and equipment are pulled before plugging; if a pump is stuck, it is pushed as far down the well as possible.

A drilled well is filled from the bottom, with sealing material (cement or bentonite) from 20 feet down to 5 feet below the surface.

For a hand dug well, the pump, casing and equipment come out and the surface pad is broken up before the well is filled.

Sources: Only certified drillers plug wells; Monitoring drillers need a variance

Checking a contractor's certification

The Division of Water publishes a directory of certified water and monitoring well drillers and their companies.

In the state directory, W means certified for water wells only, M for monitoring wells only, and B for both.

Owners can find the nearest certified driller with the state's Well Driller Locator map or the Driller Directory.

A certified driller's certificate number must be fixed to the drill rig at the well site, so owners can check it.

Certified drillers and assistants must carry their state wallet card at the job site.

Wells built since 1986 should have a Kentucky water well record from the driller showing depth, casing size and water level.

Sources: State driller directory; Locator map and directory; Certificate number on the rig; Well record for owners since 1986