Click here
and here for detailed
information regarding well requirements in the District. A map of the District
boundary can be viewed by clicking here.
Online form for Annual Water
Production Reporting by the WATER METER METHOD
Frequently Asked Questions (links)
Registration
Reporting
Metering
Water Distribution Systems Permits
Frequently
Asked Questions
Registration
Who must
register their well?
All owners of wells located within the District are
required to register their wells.
How
do I register my well?
All owners of wells located
within the District are required to register their wells by completing a Water
Well Registration Form.
The form and instructions for completing it are provided to prospective well
owners when they apply for a Permit to Construct a Water Well at the Monterey
County Department of Health, Environmental Health Bureau. Note that there is a
$25 fee for registering or amending the Water Well Registration form. An
amended form must be filed if a property with an existing well is sold.
Why do I
have to report annual production?
All well owners within the
District are required to report the amount of water produced each water year
(October 1 through September 30 of the next year). Forms are mailed to
registered well owners near the end of the Water Year (September 30) and need
to be returned to the District within a few weeks so the Annual Water
Production Summary Report can be prepared.
This Annual Report consolidates information on water production by area
and helps the District better manage the overall supply. For example, computer models for the Carmel
River or Seaside Basins need to accurately account for water input (such as
rainfall and streamflow) as well as outputs (such as extraction by wells,
evapotranspiration by vegetation, etc). Also, having metered well production records
is the best way to quantify a property owner’s water rights if there ever is a Court
Adjudication of a water basin.
My well is
inactive; do I have to report?
Yes. It is important that all wells are
accounted for. Inactive wells need to be reported to be sure they are properly
metered and registered if they become activated. Periodic reporting of inactive
wells avoids losing track of their location and owners, which helps prevent
unsafe or improper abandonment.
Reporting – All well owners within the
District are required to report the amount of water produced each year. Forms
are mailed to registered well owners near the end of the Water Year (September
30) and need to be returned to the District within a few weeks so the Annual
Water Production Summary Report can be prepared. Online
form for WATER METER METHOD of reporting.
Metering –
All new wells are required to be equipped with water meters acceptable to the
District. Meters are to be installed and inspected within 90 days of well
completion. The District’s Water Meter Installation Standards and Guidelines
are provided with new well construction permits at the Monterey County
Department of Health, Environmental Health Bureau in Salinas.
Who supplies
the water meters?
Meters are available from many well contractors, plumbers, and plumbing supply
houses. Some handy homeowners install their own, which is acceptable, providing
the installation conforms to District
Water Meter Installation Standards and Guidelines.
How do I
read my meter?
Some meters have a self-explanatory digital readout; however, most water meters
have a “totalizer” on the register face that keeps track of the total volume of
water that has flowed through it, and a dial that sweeps around the outer face
of the meter to calculate the rate of flow. The totalizer is analogous to the
odometer on a car, and looks quite similar, while the dial is comparable to the
speedometer. When filling out the Annual Water Production Reporting form, write
down all of the numbers on the totalizer and the date it was read. Most have
six digits that turn, followed by one or two stationary zeros. If there are any
stationary zeros, please include those in the reading.
For example, the water meter pictured below has one stationary zero in the
totalizer. It should be read as “0015420 gallons”. The inverse coloration of
the 4 and 2 are an aid for timing the rate of production. While there are
exceptions, for example meters that register in very large units such as
acre-feet, most totalizers do not have decimal places. Each sweep of the needle
around the outside face of this meter is equal to 10 gallons, so to be more
precise, one could say the reading was actually 0015416 gallons. However, this
degree of precision is not necessary and can be confusing. The District only
needs the numbers read directly off of the totalizer, not the individual
gallons obtained from the needle. It is important include all of the digits,
including the zeros before the 15420 and the last stationary zero.
In the second example, the water meter below also has one stationary zero.
The reading should be as follows – 0002480 – which includes both the stationary
zero at the end and the three zeros before the 2. The actual amount is 2,480
gallons. The District is not concerned with the numbers on the small dials;
those are used to check how many gallons per minute are being produced or to check
for leaks in your system.
In this last example, there are two stationary zeros. The precision of the
totalizer in this case is 100 gallons. The reading should be reported as
23606500 gallons.
District staff is available
if you need any assistance interpreting your particular water meter. Feel free
to call (831) 658-5642 to schedule an appointment if necessary.
Water Distribution
Systems – All water producing
facilities within the District are defined in Rule 11 as Water Distribution
Systems (WDS). Before starting the MPWMD
WDS Permit process, a Water Well Construction Permit must be obtained from the
Monterey County Environmental Health Bureau.
The well must be drilled and a State Well Completion Report must be
provided. All owners of new wells
located in the District are also required to obtain a Water Distribution System
Permit or a written Confirmation of Exemption from the District. The determination of whether a well is Exempt
or subject to a Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 WDS Permit is based on the well
location, number of parcels served, production and potential impact to the
Monterey Peninsula Water Resource System (MPWRS). Please carefully review the 2014 Implementation
Guidelines
for a detailed explanation of the permit process and for guidance on how to
apply. The Exemption Request Form and WDS Permit Application Form are also included in the
Implementation Guidelines.
WDS Permits processed by staff administratively are currently $1,200 for Level
1 and Level 2, and $3,000 for Level 3. A
Confirmation of Exemption is $1,000.
Please refer to the WDS Permit Fee
Schedule for additional information. For all Permits and Exemptions, MPWMD staff
must prepare Findings and Conditions of Approval based on written documentation
and consistent with existing MPWMD Rules and Regulations.
Depending on the situation, the WDS Permit process may involve well capacity
testing to ensure the reliability of the well and to assess its potential
impact on other wells and sensitive environmental receptors. For most Fractured
Rock Wells outside of the MPWRS, hydrologic testing above and beyond the standard
testing required by the Monterey County Health Department is not required and
production limits are not set. An exception is if there is the potential for a
well to have an adverse effect on the MPWRS.
For all other situations (i.e., wells with the Monterey Peninsula Water
Resource System), the Procedures
for Preparing Well Source and Pumping Impact Assessments must be followed and a
report prepared by a Qualified
Groundwater Consultant.
MPWMD Rules 20, 21 and 22 primarily guide the WDS Permit process. They can be
viewed at: http://www.mpwmd.net, click on “Rules and Regulations”. For more information
regarding Water Distribution System permits, contact Gabby Ayala at (831)
658-5631 or gabby@mpwmd.net For more information on well registration and metering,
contact Tom Lindberg at (831) 658-5642 or tom@mpwmd.net.