Yes. Within thirty (30) days after the plugging of your well, the person performing the work must send a completed Water Well Record (WWC-5) to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and a copy to the Wichita Department of Environmental Services. A blank WWC-5 form and an example of a completed WWC-5 form is enclosed for your use.

Kansas State law allows the owner of a property to plug their own well as long as the plugging is done in accordance with State and local regulations. If an owner wishes to contract with another party to have the work completed, we suggest that the owner hire a licensed water well contractor.

Yes, in the City of Wichita, after your well has been plugged it must be inspected by the Department of Environmental Services. If your property is outside Wichita, there is no inspection required.

Confined means the water is under pressure like an artesian well; unconfined means the water is not under pressure and requires a pump to obtain water. If you use a pump to get the water out of the ground your well is probably in an unconfined aquifer.

For most wells complete the following steps:

1. Remove any equipment, i.e. submersible pump, from the well.

2. Measure the water level in the well, and the total depth of the well.

3. Pour 2 gallons of chlorine bleach into the well to properly disinfect the well.

4. Cut the casing, if it is a cased well, three feet below the ground surface.

5. Completely fill the well from the bottom to the top of the cut casing (three feet below ground surface) with concrete or neat cement.

6. Back fill with soil to ground surface.

7. Complete a WWC-5 form, send the original to KDHE, and a copy to the Department of Environmental Services, 1900 E. 9th Street, Wichita, Kansas, 67214.

No. The previous question and answer is aimed at "most wells" - those that are out in a yard or field, not those that are inside a structure. For wells like those in a basement or garage where the well is surrounded by a concrete floor, the best way to plug the well from 3' below the surrounding ground surface to the top of the well is to follow the plugging procedures as above, except cut the casing off even with or, if possible, slightly below the floor level and then fill it with concrete or neat cement. Smooth the concrete or neat cement even with the surrounding floor surface.

Current state and local codes do not allow wells to be constructed or reconstructed in a basement. If your well was installed prior to May 1987 you can continue to use it, unless the structure requires treatment by subsurface pressurized injections of a termiticide. Some termiticide labels prohibit subsurface pressurized application to structures which have a water well and before treatment the well would have to be plugged. If an existing basement well is damaged or suffers a failure which would require reconstruction, it must be plugged and any replacement well cannot be put back in the basement.

If you wish to maintain a well in inactive status, you must first obtain written permission from KDHE, and maintain the well as follows:

1. The well and the annular space between the hole and the casing shall have no defects that will allow the entrance of surface water or vertical movement of subsurface water into the well;

2. The well is clearly marked and is not a safety hazard;

3. The top of the well is securely capped in a water-tight manner and is adequately maintained in such a manner as to prevent easy entry by anyone other than the landowner;

4. The area surrounding the well shall be protected from any potential source of contamination within a 50-foot radius;

5. If the pump, motor, or both have been removed for repair, replacement, etc., the well shall be maintained to prevent injury to people and to prevent the entrance of any contaminant or other foreign material;

6. The well shall not be used for disposal or injection of trash, garbage, sewage, waste water or storm runoff;

7. The well shall be easily accessible to routine maintenance and periodic inspection.

The landowner shall notify KDHE of any changes in the status of the well. Failure to maintain the well as described above will classify the well as abandoned and it will have to be plugged in accordance with Article 30 of the Kansas Water Well Code.

Call the Water Quality section of the Department of Environmental Services at (316) 268-8351.

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