AQUIFERShallow Injection Wells
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Keeping
Drinking Water
Clean |
The Panhandle Health District is under contract with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) to collect inventory fees and forms for the installation of Shallow Injection Wells (drywells). PHD then conducts an on-site inspection of the completed injection well and configures the location of the well on GPS. The information and fees are then relayed to the Boise IDWR office.
What is a shallow injection well?
According to IDWR, injection wells are wells that are used as an entry point for some type of fluid, which is to be put underground for temporary or permanent disposal or storage. Shallow injection wells are less than or equal to 18-feet deep.
The Environmental Protection Agency lists well types. Click here.
Why monitor shallow injections wells?
A shallow injection well, more commonly known as a drywell, receives fluids from the surface of the ground and injects it back into the groundwater. We are concerned about this because most of our drinking water comes from groundwater. By monitoring what and where fluids are being injected into our drinking water, we can keep it clean.
The common shallow injection wells are stormwater injection wells. You will see these in grassy swales or depressions along the roadways or parking areas. The injection well will be raised above the floor of the depression and acts only as an overflow prevention. The water that has run off of the roadways contains oils, greases and other impurities. The grass and surface soils absorb these impurities before the water filters down and reaches our drinking water.
Who needs to register their shallow injection well?
All shallow injection wells constructed after October 1, 1997, need to be inventoried. Inventory forms can be obtained at any Panhandle Health District office. There is a fee per well for inventory. Click here to open the Notice of Construction/Shallow Injection Well Inventory Form in PDF format.
How do I inventory my shallow injection well(s)?
An application should be completed for the shallow injection well project. A map of all injection wells should be provided, if necessary, along with anticipated completion dates. Once the inventory forms and fees have been received by Panhandle Health District, construction may begin.
What is GPS?
GPS is an acronym for Global Positioning System. Hand-held devices communicate with satellites in orbit about the Earth and plot your position within approximately three feet. For more information, follow this link to the University of Colorado.
Idaho Statutes
Waste Disposal and Injection Wells
Questions? Call us at:
- Kootenai County - (208) 415-5220
- Benewah County - (208) 245-4556
- Bonner County - (208) 265-6384
- Boundary County - (208) 267-5558
- Shoshone County - (208) 786-7474