Purpose/Description:
To provide for a fair and impartial means for the licensing of and the development of minimum qualification and standards of conduct for those persons, firms, or corporations engaged or desiring to engage in the business of drilling water wells, boreholes, etc., in order to carry out the provisions of the Water Well Drillers Licensing Act.

Rules and regulations to implement this Act were promulgated and put into effect on April 21, 1983. A ten member advisory committee established in 1982, advises the Department in the implementation and enforcement of this Act. A listing of DOTD licensed water well drillers can be viewed on the world wide web at: http://www.dotd.louisiana.gov/intermodal/wells/home.asp.

Purpose/Description:
Construction and plugging standards are required by the Ground Water Resources Act. The purposed of these standards is (1) to minimize the chances of contaminating the state's groundwater resources via improperly constructed water wells or improperly abandoned water wells; and (2) to minimize health and safety hazards associated with construction of water wells and with unplugged or improperly plugged abandoned wells and holes.

Rules and regulations to implement this Act were promulgated and put into effect on November 1, 1985. Copies of the subject rules are available from the Water Resources Section.

WATER WELL REGISTRATION PROGRAM

Purpose/Description:
To provide for the efficient administration, orderly development, and protection of the State's groundwater resources, and the statewide inventory and registration of water wells, to assure safe and abundant supplies of water for domestic, industrial, agricultural and other purposes. Since 61% of the State's population relies on groundwater for their domestic needs, the protection of this valuable resources is not only essential for public health, but is vital to the future economy of our State.

By requiring that all water wells be registered with the State, this program (1) helps to ensure that these wells are properly constructed; (2) provides a means for the State to collect, catalog, store, and disseminate water well construction and drilling data; (3) helps the State to gather hydrologic data and manage its water resources, for the benefit of and use by its citizens.

DOTD's Water Well Data File has been on the world wide web since August, 1997 and can be viewed at the following address: http://www.dotd.louisiana.gov/intermodal/wells/home.asp.