At University Park, the University supplies the University Park Campus, the Research Park, and Mount Nittany hospital drinking water from deep wells located on PSU property near campus. These wells produce very high quality water at pumping rates from 200gpm to 1200 gpm per well. The University considers these wells a valuable resource that must be protected. In addition, the University Park water withdrawal is regulated by the Susquehanna River Basin Commission and its rules and regulations. All well drilling activity shall comply with SRBC regulations.
In keeping with its focus on environmental stewardship, the University considers groundwater a valuable resource that must be protected at all locations, not just those where groundwater is used for potable water services.
Any project that is considering geothermal, production, test or monitoring wells shall meet the following:
The Project shall retain the University’s registered geologist during the early planning phase to determine the feasibility of installing geothermal wells, and set preliminary limitations on wells drilled within the project area.
If geo-thermal wells are feasible, the Project can retain another registered geologist to provide a Drilling Plan.
No drilling shall be done before this Plan is approved by Engineering Services.
All drilling shall be under the direction of a registered professional geologist.
The Plan shall include but not limited to the following as a minimum:
Details of the exploratory and finished wells.
Number proposed
Proposed location
Proposed depth
Proposed construction: The Plan must address how the drilling contractor will deal with conditions such as lost circulation during drilling and loss of grout during the grouting operation.
Material used in the construction and chemical composition of all material used in the well.
Name and contact information for the drilling contractor.
Proposed dates of drilling.
Name and contact information of the geologist representative that will be on site during drilling.
All open drill holes shall be equipped with a locking cap.
Abandonment Plan for test wells in the event geothermal wells are deemed to be infeasible.
Upon completion of the drilling, drilling logs for each well shall be provided to Engineering Services. Electronic copies are encouraged. The drilling log shall include the following: description of geologic material encountered (limestone, dolomite, etc.), depth to competent bedrock, static water level, depth and flow rate of water bearing zones, depth interval of voids or significant fracture zones, depth interval and diameter of boreholes, casings (both inside and outside).
If an exploratory/test well is completed, the results shall be provided to Engineering Services along with any changes to the approved Drilling Plan resulting from data collected from the test well.