Storm Drain and Sewer Waste

Washington State Department of Ecology
Underground Injection Control Program

Stormwater management | UIC at cleanup sites | Well Assessment Example for and Vehicle Recyclers | UIC Registration | UIC Database Search Tool

Water Quality Success Story:

Keeping Pollution out of Urban Waters

The Underground Injection Control Program (UIC) protects groundwater quality by regulating discharges to UIC wells.

UIC wells are manmade structures used to discharge fluids into the subsurface. Examples are drywells, infiltration trenches with perforated pipe, and any structure deeper than the widest surface dimension. The majority of UIC wells in Washington are used to manage storm water (i.e., drywells) and sanitary waste (large on-site systems), return water to the ground, and help clean up contaminated sites. The potential for groundwater contamination from injection wells depends upon well construction and location; quality of the fluids injected; and the geographic and hydrologic settings in which the injection occurs.

Examples of UIC wells: drywells, infiltration trenches with perforated pipe, storm chamber systems, geo probes or push probes, and septic system drain fields serving 20 or more people per day.

UIC Regulation (Washington State Legislature web site)

Online registration is now available for your injection wells

UIC Registration Requirements | Wellhead Protection Area | To Change the Status of a UIC Well | To Register a UIC Well

Registration

All UIC wells need to be registered once, except wells receiving residential roof runoff from a single family home or to control basement flooding at single family homes (includes duplexes). Registration is free.

The Washington Department of Ecology has regulatory authority over the UIC Program for Washington State except for UIC wells located on tribal land. UIC wells on tribal land are regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 10. [See Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 173-218-070(1)(d) for definition of tribal land.]

The majority of the UIC wells in WA are rule authorized, which means the UIC well does not need a permit. To be rule-authorized, a UIC well must meet two requirements:

1. The well must be registered.
2. The discharge from the well(s) must comply with the nonendangerment standard.

Registration fulfills the inventory requirement.