Wells & Exploratory Holes

Inspections and Administrative Field Reviews

Alaco Engineering assists Alameda County Public Works Agency (Agency) with administering the County's Water Wells Ordinance. 

Each year, the Agency issues hundreds of permits for the construction and destruction of wells and exploratory holes throughout its jurisdiction. Its jurisdiction includes the unincorporated areas of western Alameda County (Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, etc.), as well as the cities of Alameda, Albany, Emeryville, Oakland, Piedmont, San Leandro, and Hayward. Some locations within and along the southern boundary of Hayward are under the jurisdiction of the Alameda County Water District (ACWD).

Per the ordinance, those performing well or exploratory hole work that may intersect groundwater in any of the Agency's jurisdictional areas must obtain a permit. A permit can be obtained online at: https://acgov.org/business/wellpermits.htm

Alaco is one of two firms contracted to either inspect the work or to perform an administrative field review of the permit conditions. An inspection may be required for work that interfaces with a high quality aquifer. An administrative field review is usually ordered for activities that represent a lesser threat to groundwater, such as shallow exploratory holes. 

If the Agency has issued you a permit that states an inspection or a field review, please coordinate your work with Cameron Lai at 408-837-1542 or wells@alaco.us.

Click to enlarge map

map courtesy of Zone 7

Inspections

For an inspection, Alaco will send a professional engineer to the project site to monitor and evaluate the work authorized under the issued permit. 

Administrative Field Reviews

For an administrative field review, Alaco may send a technician to the work site to verify the information provided on the permit application and to document whether or not basic permit conditions have been met. The recorded information may be used by ACPWA to confirm data subsequently submitted in the required geotechnical log or well completion report.

The technician only documents objective observations and does not evaluate the quality or acceptability of construction. However, as standard checklist responses and photographic images recorded at the site may be transmitted to the Agency in real time, Agency staff may order a stop work notice if they determine that a violation of the well ordinance or permit conditions has occurred.

Scheduled Inspections / Administrative Field Reviews

Recent Activity

Geotechnical consultants and licensed drillers who are performing work locally are listed below. These are not exhaustive lists, nor an endorsement of those named. These are firms to whom ACPWA has recently issued a drilling permit and assigned Alaco Engineering to inspect the work or to perform an administrative field review.

consultants.pdf
drillers.pdf

Before excavating or boring, contact Underground Service Alert with sufficient lead time to ensure that underground utilities are marked. Alaco staff will immediately cancel scheduled permit work upon observing the initiation of subsurface work within areas not properly marked or in apparent conflict with markings.

Alaco staff always wear safety vests, helmets and steel toe boots on work sites. They also carry eye and hearing protection as well as masks. Please advise in advance of any other personal protection equipment that may be required for visiting a permitted work site. 




Borehole Backfill Requirements

Use grout to backfill soil borings up to or within a few feet of the ground surface. Borehole cuttings can be used as backfill near the surface if the cuttings are not from a contaminated site and if they can be adequately compacted.

If a boring is more than 30-ft deep or contains more than 5-feet of water, use a tremie to place the grout.

If a boring is dry and less than 30-feet deep, grout may be poured into the hole without a tremie.

Borehole cuttings that are not contaminated can (with the permission of the property owner) be dispersed on site. Cuttings that are stored for disposal off-site must be properly labeled as to content and must include contact info for the party responsible for disposal.

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