The purpose of this program is to regulate and permit the construction and installation of community water supply wells, individual domestic wells, industrial wells, agricultural wells, cathodic protection wells, electrical grounding wells, test and exploratory holes, observation wells and salt water (hydraulic) barrier wells.
On March 28, 2022, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Executive Order N-7-22 (“Executive Order”) in response to extreme and expanding drought conditions which effective immediately and until lifted prohibits San Luis Obispo County Environmental Health Services (“EHS”) from issuing a construction permit for a new groundwater well or for alteration of an existing groundwater well pursuant to Chapter 8.40 of the San Luis Obispo County Code unless certain requirements are met or the permit falls within the limited exception to the requirements.
SUMMARY FOR WATER WELL PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER N-7-22
Water Well Construction Permitting Changes required while the order is in effect:
1. Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA’s) in median and high priority basins must provide verification that a proposed well would not be inconsistent with their Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP) and its sustainability goals.
a. We will establish a referral process for this
2. All non-exempt well permit applications, regardless of where they are located, need a determination that the proposed well will not interfere with nearby wells, or cause subsidence that could damage nearby infrastructure.
a. We will require a report, certified by a licensed California Professional Geologist, to be submitted with the well construction application.
3. Wells that are exempt from the Governor’s Executive Order include:
a. Domestic wells with less than 2-acre ft/yr. usage, and
b. Public Water System Wells
We will require a self-certification for well owners to sign for these wells to certify they meet the exemption before an application is approved.
The water quality from private (non-commercial) wells is not regulated or monitored by any outside agency or company. It is the responsibility of the private well owner to ensure that their well water is safe.
Launch DrillerView, an interactive Map Viewer to assist water well drillers in well site analysis.
The data in the Water Well Construction Permit Lookup dashboard includes 2 years (from date of update) of completed and pending water well permit applications (based on the application date) submitted to the County of San Luis Obispo Environmental Health Services (EHS) and is updated on a weekly basis.