Well Contractor ($2,500) Bond - San Diego County, California in California

Brief Summary

The $2,500 bond is a small filing that sits alongside your C-57 license when you pull well permits in San Diego County. It runs to the County, it costs a fraction of tying up the full amount in cash, and it does not replace the $25,000 contractor bond the state already requires for your license.

San Diego County requires a written permit from the Department of Environmental Health and Quality (DEHQ) before anyone constructs, repairs, reconstructs or destroys a well, and only California licensed C-57 well drilling contractors may submit well permit applications. The $2,500 Well Contractor bond runs to the County of San Diego and backs the contractor's obligation to do permitted well work under the County well ordinance. Confirm the current bond form and filing steps with DEHQ before the bond is issued.

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How to Apply for a Well Contractor ($2,500) Bond:

• Hold an active C-57 Water Well Contractor's License with the Contractors State License Board.
• Keep the separate $25,000 CSLB contractor bond in force under Business and Professions Code 7071.6.
• Get the current Well Contractor bond form and filing instructions from San Diego County DEHQ.
• Have the $2,500 bond issued in the exact name shown on the C-57 license.
• File the executed bond with DEHQ as instructed before submitting well permit applications.
• Obtain a County well permit before starting any construction, repair, reconstruction or destruction of a well.

Detailed Information About the California Well Contractor ($2,500) Bond:

This bond does not replace your state license bond

The most common mix up is treating the County bond and the state license bond as the same thing. They are separate. Every California contractor, including a C-57 water well contractor, carries a $25,000 contractor bond under Business and Professions Code 7071.6, filed with the Contractors State License Board. A $25,000 bond of qualifying individual under Business and Professions Code 7071.9 is also required when a Responsible Managing Employee or certain Responsible Managing Officers qualify the license. The $2,500 Well Contractor bond is a local bond that runs to the County of San Diego.

Who needs it

California Water Code 13750.5 says no one may dig, bore or drill a water well, cathodic protection well, groundwater monitoring well or geothermal heat exchange well, deepen or reperforate one, or abandon or destroy one, unless the person responsible holds a C-57 Water Well Contractor's License. San Diego County adds its own rules. County Code section 67.440 requires a written permit before any well is constructed, repaired, reconstructed or destroyed, and section 67.442 requires that work to be done by a contractor licensed under the Contractors' License Law. DEHQ states that only California licensed well drilling contractors with a valid C-57 may submit well permit applications.

What the bond guarantees

The bond backs the contractor's obligation to the County to carry out permitted well work in line with the County well ordinance and the state well standards the County adopts in section 67.421, which incorporates Bulletin 74-90. If the contractor fails to meet those obligations, the County can make a claim on the bond up to $2,500, and the contractor must repay the surety for any claim it pays.

Permits, fees and expiration

Each well permit application carries a fee set in County Code section 65.107, and a permit expires and becomes void under section 67.444 if the authorized work is not carried out as that section requires. DEHQ can revoke or suspend a permit under section 67.446.

Before the bond is issued

The County Code chapter on wells covers permits, licensing and construction standards. Ask DEHQ for its current bond form, the exact obligee wording and how it wants the bond filed. The water well program can be reached at Wells.DEH@sdcounty.ca.gov or (858) 505-6688.

Eligibility and Requirements for a California Well Contractor ($2,500) Bond:

• Bond amount of $2,500 with the County of San Diego as obligee.
• Principal must be a California licensed C-57 water well contractor.
• Work must follow San Diego County Code sections 67.401 through 67.424 and the Bulletin 74-90 standards adopted in section 67.421.
• Permit application fees set by County Code section 65.107.
• Term, renewal and release confirmed with DEHQ when the bond is filed.

California Well Contractor ($2,500) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the California Well Contractor ($2,500) Bond: