New rules protect drinking water from ground source wells in PA

In Pennsylvania, and perhaps coming to a neighborhood near you, concern have been expressed about contaminants seeping through holes drilled for wells and geothermal heating and cooling systems. A new provision from the Centre Region housing code requires wells drilled below 20 feet to be sealed with impermeable substances such as bentonite clay. The first permit was recently issued by the Centre Region Code Agency under the provision, which is designed to protect the Spring Creek Watershed, which supplies all the drinking water to the region.