Barton County Sanitary Environmental Code
The Barton County Environmental Management Division actively administers the Environmental Code for Barton County. The Environmental Code has been officially adopted by all the Incorporated Cities within Barton County, so the administration and enforcement of the Environmental Code covers the entire county. The main objectives of this code are to protect the ground water through controls established on water wells, and private wastewater systems. Permitting requirements include the drilling of new water wells and for any construction work done on wastewater systems.
We offer instructions for properly plugging abandoned water wells and we are able to help with filling out the WWC5-P document that is required by KDHE. We have an in-house laboratory for conducting screenings for private water. The water tests that we do are for Coliform Bacteria, Fecal Bacteria, Nitrate and Chloride. If there are issues resulting in unsafe drinking water conditions we are happy to help with finding solutions for making your water safer to drink. This can involve shock chlorination of the water well, upgrading the water well construction, re-locating the water well and/or wastewater system, and in some cases water filtration equipment.
We conduct Lender Evaluations and anyone involved in the property transfer can request an inspection of property if it has a private water well or private wastewater system. This involves doing a pump-out inspection where the Environmental Management Staff meets with the wastewater pumper to verify the condition of the septic tank, and determine if the existing treatment field is in working condition and how it compares to current standards for new construction. We conduct a water test through a certified laboratory to determine water quality and any water wells on the property are inspected to verify compliance with State and County requirements. Lender Evaluations involve a report and site diagram that is prepared informing all parties involved how the property compares to current standards. If problems exist then information is provided on what steps need to be taken to bring the property up to code.
The regulations are listed below for your convenience.
Environmental Code Regulations