An open Arizona well must be secured by compliant capping or properly abandoned. Capping and permanent abandonment have different paperwork: the owner reports capping within five days, while abandonment generally needs advance notice, a licensed well professional and an ADWR authorization card. Confirm the applicable exceptions and completion reporting before work.
Is a cap the same as permanent abandonment?
No. Arizona’s R12-15-822 requires the owner of an open well to install a compliant cap or abandon the well under R12-15-816. A cap secures the opening. Permanent abandonment uses the applicable sealing and closure method for that well; removing the pump or laying a cover over an opening does not complete that process.
The construction and capping statute explains the state’s authority. The practical decision needs the well’s condition, intended future use and applicable rules. Keep people and animals away from an unsecured opening and have qualified personnel evaluate it. This is a paperwork guide, not instructions for entering, welding or filling a well.
What does the owner file after capping?
The capping rule and ADWR’s Form 55-39 instructions require the owner to file a Notice of Well Capping within five days after capping. Gather the well registration number, location, owner information, who installed the cap, the date and relevant casing and cap information.
ADWR’s instructions describe specific cap and casing requirements, including limited situations for locking caps. A casually placed lid is not automatically a compliant cap. Ask the qualified professional and ADWR how the requirements apply to the actual well, especially when casing is damaged or the opening has no suitable casing.
What must happen before permanent abandonment?
R12-15-816 requires a licensed well drilling contractor or single well licensee to perform abandonment. The owner generally files Form 55-38, Notice of Intent to Abandon a Well, with the professional’s assistance before the work. The notice identifies the well, planned method, responsible licensee and reason for closure.
For the ordinary advance-notice process, the driller must possess ADWR’s abandonment authorization card at the site before starting. There are specified exceptions, including abandonment during drilling; the agency’s instructions also address exploration and specialty-well processes. Do not assume that an old or unused domestic well qualifies for an exception. Use the current notice instructions and confirm the proposed work with ADWR.
Which completion records should be retained?
The rule requires the drilling contractor or single well licensee to file the Well Abandonment Completion Report, Form 55-58, within thirty days after abandonment. It also requires the owner or operator to notify ADWR in writing within thirty days, identifying the owner, well location and method. Confirm that both applicable responsibilities are covered rather than assuming the contractor’s report discharges every owner duty.
Keep the authorization, completed report and notice with the property’s well file. Closure is separate from authorization to drill or deepen another well, and from the maintenance of a well still supplying water.
If the property changed hands or the recorded parcel is wrong, separately follow the well ownership and parcel-record correction guide. Retain the administrative and closure records together without assuming one filing substitutes for the other.