DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DIRECTOR 

VfATER-SUPPLY PAPER 258 

UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS 

1910 

BY 

M. L. FULLER, F. G. CLAPP, G. C. MATSON, 

SAl\IDEL SANFORD, AND H. c. WOLFF 

WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1911 

CONTENTS. 

Introduction, by W. C. Mendenhall ...... ______ . _ . _ .. ______ .......... _ .... -. 

Drainage by wells, by M. L. Fuller .. ________________ . _____ .. __ ......... _ .. 

Freezing of wells and related phenomena, by M. L. Fuller .. ____ .. ____ ... _ ... 

Occurrence and composition of well waters in the slates of Maine, by F. G. Clapp. 

Occurrence and composition of well waters in the granites of New England, by 

F. G. Clapp. _ ....... _ . _ . __ . _ ...... ___ ...... _ . _ .. ____ .......... __ .... -. -

Pollution of underground waters in limestone, by G. C. Matson ............... -

Protection of shallow wells in sandy deposits, by M. L. Fuller-- .............. . 

Composition of mineral springs in Maine, by F. G. Clapp .. __ ......... _ ...... . 

Saline artesian waters of the Atlantic Coastal Plain, by Samuel Sanford ...... . 

Magnetic wells, by M. L. Fuller ____________________ . _______ ..... _ . __ ... __ .. 

Underground waters near Manassas, Va., by F. G. Clapp. __ ........ _ ... _ .... _ 

The utilization of the underflow near St. Francis, Kans., by H. C. Wolff .. _ .. . 

Index ... _ .......... -. - -. - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --·- -- - - - - - - - - - - - - -· - - - - - - - -

ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PLATE I. A, Water in sheet joints in granite; B, Sink holes connected with 

Page. 

5 

6 t\_.-.-

23 ?,.__..-' 

32 

40 J 

48.--....-

57- c66 I 

75 ..':::I 

87 ~,.. 

94 ..----/ 

98 (&, 

120 

Page. 

underground drainage. ______ . ____ .___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 40 

II. Cross section of the Arkansas Valley north of St. Francis, Kans. __ ._. 100 

FIGURE 1. Relation of marshes and lakes to water table. __ ._ ...... ____________ 8 

2. Drainage of wells into saturated stratum of lower head. _____ .. ____ 8 

3. Conditions encountered by wells sunk through perched water tables 8 

4. Pond held in impervious basin above water table ...... _______ .... 9 

5. Mode of entrance of water into ordinary casing ____ ... __ ... ___ ._._ 13 

6. Bell-mouth intake to drainage welL ... __ . ______ ._. __ ... __ .. ___ ... 13 · 

7. Protection of in take of drainage welL ____________ _-_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 14 

8. Failure of drainage well due to rise of ground water_ ... _ ..... __ ._._ 17 

9. Conditions of discoloration of waters in nonfl.owing wells ..... _.____ 28 

10. Conditions of freezing in cased well with escape of air at bottom... 29 

11. Conditions of freezing in wells with leaky casings and porous walls. 30 

12. Conditions governing the pumping in limestone wells ........ _._ . _ . 30 

13. Conditions of wells in jointed granites .. _______ .___________________ 42 

14. Cavern showing different levels of underground streams. __ ... _____ 50 

15. Diagram of caver-n showing how sediment may he deposited by 

underground stream. _________________ . ____ ....... ___ .... _. __ . 53 

16. Diagram of cavern showing how sediment may be obtained by 

underground stream ... _ ... ______________ . __ . _______ . _ ...... _ _ 53 

17. Location of sink holes and springs .. _________________ . _____ . _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 55 

18. Conditions of pollution in thick deposits of uniform materials...... 58 

3 
4 ILLUSTRATIONS. 

FIGURE 19. Conditions of pollution in thin beds of sand ..................... . 

· 20. Conditions of pollution in interrupted beds ..................... _ . 

21. Diagram showing_ loss of head by friction ........................ . 

22. Diagram showing concentration of motion in upper part of groundwater body ...................................... _ . ___ ...... . 

23. Location of test wells at St. Francis! Kans ...................... . 

24. Location of test holes 10 miles above St. Francis and cross section 

showing position of the shale and of the water plane .......... . 

25. Curves showing position of water plane near a 15-inch pumped 

well in the Arkansas River valley near Deerfield, Kans ........ . 

26. Logarithmic representation of data in figure 26 ................. . 

27. Curve showing relation between yield and drawdown in a 15-inch 

well in the Arkansas River valley near Deerfield, Kans ........ . 

28. Average monthly discharge (estimated) of South Fork of Republican River at Benkelman, Nebr ............................... . 

29. Relations of three wells in the Arkansas Valley .................. . 

30. Suggested arrangement of wells and pump designed to recover 

400 gallons of water per minute ........•....................... 

31. Relative shape of standard and ''long-sweep" pipe fittings ....... . 

32. Diagram showing loss by evaporation and vegetation on ditch 

8,000 feet long near Ogalalla, Nebr., August 27 and 28, 1905 .. ~. 

Page. 

60 

61 

61 

62 

101 

103 

104 

105 

105 

107 

112 

114 

116 

118. 
UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

INTRODUCTION. 

By w AL'l'ER C. MENDENHALL. 

This report is the fifth of a series of collections of short papers that 

give brief accounts of investigations of special underground-water 

problems by the United States Geological Survey. The first three of 

these, under the title "Contributions to Hydrology of Eastern United 

States," covering the years 1903, 1904, and 1905, were published as 

Water-Supply Papers 102, 110, and 145; the fourth, which was of 

the same scope, appeared as No. 160 of the same series under the 

title "Underground-Water Papers, 1906." The four earlier volumes 

were prepared under the direction of Myron L. Fuller, at that time 

in charge of ground-water investigations in the eastern United States. 

The report for 1910, like its predecessors, consists of a number of short 

papers giving the results of special or subordinate investigations, 

accounts of which are UQt considered sufficiently important to warrant their separate publication. Most of these papers also were prepared under Mr. Fuller's direction. 

In this report an attempt has been made to bring together and to 

discuss a number of peculiarities affecting the economic value of wells 

. and the occurrence of water in certain special classes of rock of widespread occurrence. Most of the papers, though based on more or less 

local observations, deal with problems of wide application and are 

therefore of general as well as of local interest. In fact, the special 

endeavor in them has been to present scientific results that will be of 

interest to the geologist or engineer, the publications of the results of 

general investigations of the occurrence, availability, quality, and 

other features of the waters found over extensive areas--such as the 

various States and Territories and the larger artesian basins-being 

.reserved for special reports. 

5 
DRAINAGE BY WELLS. 

By MYRON L. FuLLER. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Necessity of drainage.-A certain amount of moisture is needed 

to grow and mature all useful plants, but too much may be nearly 

as bad as too little, and, except for a few plants (rice, for instance), 

good crops can not be had from saturated soils or from soils covered 

with standing water. Unfortunately many areas of our country are 

poorly drained. In the north are numerous swamps and lakes in 

depressions in deposits .left by the glaciers which once covered the 

region; along the larger rivers are broad areas of swampy flood-plain 

deposits, and in the coastal plain regions of the Atlantic and Gulf 

States are the broad, flat, poorly-drained, and often swampy upland 

areas between the streams. Im1nense tracts of lands which have 

rich soils and which would, if drained, yield abundant crops, are 

in their present condition ahnost worthless. If such lands can be 

reclahned they will add materially to the productiveness and prosperity of the country, so that their drainage is a problem of great 

importance. Some areas, such as parts of the Mississippi delta and 

some of its flood plains, can never be satisfactorily drained without 

pumping, owing to their slight. elevation above the river or sea, 

but by far the larger part of the wet lands of the country may be 

drained by one or another process, although the drainage of some 

areas may be prohibited by the expense involved. 

Methods of drainage.-Wet lands may be drained in several ways. 

The water may be collected in ditches and conducted by gravity to 

some stream. Subdrainage by tile pipe is similar in nature and 

results to ditching, but does not involve the loss of the space taken 

up by the ditches. Though tiling is laid underground, both tiling 

and ditching eventually carry the water away over the surface. 

Drainage wells, on the other hand, carry the surface water into the 

ground. 

Ditching and tiling are the simplest methods of drainage and are 

employed on lands that are moderately_ flat, if they are not too far 

6 
DRAIN AGE BY WELLS. 7 

removed 'from a stream or valley capable of taking away the water 

and if they are not separated from the drainage lines by ridges of 

too great height. The wet lands of flood plains and the swampy 

upland crests between rivers in parts of the coastal-plain region are 

particularly susceptible to ditching, by which hundreds of thousands 

of acres have been reclaimed. The floating steam dredge, pushing. 

its way through the swamps of the Mississippi and other bottom 

lands, is a common sight. 

In the uneven glaciated regions of the northern United States, 

on the other hand, where confused belts of irregular knolls and 

ridges alternating w~th deep depressions occur over extensive areas, 

the conditions are very different. In such regions most of the areas 

to be reclaimed are covered by relatively small ponds or swamps, 

which must be drained by the individual farmer rather than the 

community. The drainage of these ponds by ditches is also limited 

to a few localities where streams to receive the water are· near at 

hand and on the same property and where the divide through which 

the ditch must be cut is relatively low, conditions which, unfortunateiy, are not common, so that recourse must be had to some 

other method. The method most commonly adopted is to sink a 

well in such a position that it will receive the drainage of the pond 

or wet tract and conduct it to some porous bed of sand or gravel 

beneath the surface. Whether or not this is possible depends on 

local conditions at the point to be drained, the method being by 

no means generally applicable. Where the conditions are favorable, however, the method is effective, especially if only a few acres 

of marsh or pond are to be drained. 

CONDITIONS OF DRAINAGE BY WELLS. 

General ground-water level.-Wherever the surface materials or 

rocks are porous or contain joints, fissures, or other openings, a boring passing downward penetrates a zone saturated with water, 

the depth to which ranges from a few feet in regions of abundant 

rainfall, especially where the surface is relatively flat, to perhaps 

hundreds of feet in deserts or in upland plateaus and other elevations 

adjacent to deep valleys into which the water is drained. In the 

regions of abundant rainfall, in which alone drainage is commonly 

necessary' the top of this saturated zone, otherwise known as the 

water table, fluctuates with seasons, rising during periods of rainfall 

and sinking during periods of drought. Where there is no near-by 

valley into which the underground waters can drain they may accumulate in the ground until they stand almost at the surface. In 

some areas, even on crests, water can be had by digging 3 to 5 feet. 

In such areas it is apparent that, if the land is not absolutely flat, 

as it seldom is, some of the depressions will extend below the water 
8 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

level, in which case the ground water will enter the basin and form 

a marsh or lake. These conditions are exhibited in figure 1, which 

shows the relation of a pond and marsh to the water table. the normal 

level of which is indicated by N. The variation of the groundwater level already mentioned produces corresponding changes in the 

level of the water in the marshes and ponds. In very wet seasons, 

as when the water level is at W, the marsh may be converted into 

FIGURE I.-Relation of marshes and lakes to water table. N, normal level of water table; W, level of 

water table in wet years; D, level of water table in dry years; A, marsh (in normal years) or lake (in 

wet years); B, lake (in normal or wet years) or marsh (in dry years). 

a lake; whereas in dry seasons, when it has the position D, the 

marsh may become dry or the lake may be reduced to a swamp. 

:Many such swamps dry up in summer, but too late to permit the 

planting of crops, and some are dry one year and wet the next; the 

uncertainty, however, is usually so great as to prevent their profitable 

cultivation. 

Below the general grounrl-water level the earth is saturated with 

water down to the depth at which the pores become closed by the 

Pond 

FIGURE 2.-Conditions illustrating the drainage of wells into a saturated stratum of lower head. 

great pressures within the crust. Under such conditions there can 

be no nonsaturated layers, and· drainage by wells will depend on the 

finding of a stratum in which the head of the water is less than that 

entering at the surface. Such conditions are found in basins of the 

form shown in figure 2. 

Perched 'water tablet~?.-lnvestigations have shown that a general 

ground-water level, such as is described in the previous section, seldom 

Cl~y .... :~ _,,::·, ;;~ ~;~~~g,·v~·;,·1,'fJl~1".ll 

~:~%·t-~Ah~~f~fif~~-'-~:f!)>:::?/?~<<+::f~{/?/:::::t:t"1·<1?~:~::\f:f:7EA 

FIGURE a.-Conditions encountered by wells sunk through perched water tables. 

exists, its place being taken by local accumulations of ground water 

in a series of overlapping basins or strata, the surfaces of which, from 

their position above the ordinary water level, are known as perched 

water tables. Such conditions are illustrated in figure 3. One of the 

characteristics of perched water tables is that, except where all the 
DRAIN AGE BY WELLS. 9 

underlying beds are. composed of clay or other nonporous material, 

there is an unsaturated zone at some point below, into which it may be 

possible to drain surface waters through a well, as shown in the figure. 

Impervious basins.-Even where the materials are pervious and 

unsaturated, there are times, as during heavy rainfall, when the 

water, instead of sinking immediately into the ground and joining 

the ground-water body, collects in rivulets on the surface and flows 

to depressions in which, if the bottoms are above the ground-water 

level, the water is gradually absorbed. In flowing over the surface, 

however, more or less fine silt, leaves, grass, straw, and like material 

is picked up and carried to the depression, where it is left behind as 

the water is evaporated or absorbed. In the course of time a coating 

of muck, consisting of the silt and other materials, is formed over the 

bottom, which may eventually make it so impervious that the water 

will be retained, as shown in figure 4. The conditions are closely 

similar to those of the perched water tables, except that the waters 

are entirely on the surface and are derived directly from rainfall 

rather than from the ground water. Unsaturated materials into 

which the water may posBibly be drained are nearly always present. 

Flood waters.-Floods as a cause of wet lands are, like lakes in 

impervious basins, independent of the position of ~he ground· water, 

and, as a rule, flooded Pond in impervious basin 

latnhds atrhe th

1

e res

1

ul t of · ~ter table ____ .-. _________ -i 

o er an oca con- ./-___ ·.:..-:.-- ----

ditions. Floods cover .e::;._----------------------J 

areas which are ordi- FIGURE 4.-Pond held in impervious basin above t.he water table. 

narily drained, but which, owing to their low elevation and flatness, 

have become submerged by the overflow of streamswhose channels, 

because of their gentle slope or crooked courses .. can not remove the 

water as fast as it enters. The water generally returns to the stream 

on the falling of the flood, although the land may be so flat that the 

withdrawal is slow. In some places unsaturated gravels lie beneath 

the surface of the flooded land and it would be possible to reach them 

by drainage wells, although where the water stays over the land for 

a long time t~e deposits beneath it are likely to become saturated 

up to the surface. 

Action of wells.-The efficiency of a drainage well depends on the 

difference in the head of the surface and the ground water, on the 

porosity or water-bearing capacity of the materials or deposits into 

which the water is to be carried, and on the grain of the materials. 

In order that the well may be effective it is necessary that the general 

level of the ground water must be lower than the depression to be 

drained, or else that the well shall strike an open passage or a deeper 

water-bearing stratum of low head. The material, if unsaturated, 

must be sufficiently porous and extensive to take up the water brought 
10 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

to it by the well. If saturated, the head of its waters must be less 

than that of the water of the basin to be drained, a condition which 

generally involves a low outlet, as shown in figure 2. The grain of 

the material must be so coarse that the water can readily enter it 

and drain away, or else there must be a definite open passage for its 

removal. If the water is not removed it will soon rise in the well 

until it reaches the level of the marsh or pond and drainage will come 

to a standstill. 

EFFECTIVENESS OF WELLS SUNK IN DIFFERENT MATERIALS. 

SURFACE DEPOSITS. 

The surface deposits include unconsolidated materials, such as 

cl!1y, sand, and gravel, and the heterogeneous mixture of all three 

deposited by glaciers and known as till. 

Gravel.-Ordinary gravel consists of a mixture of pebbles of 

various sizes with a certain amount of sand that fills the spaces 

between the pebbles. If the pebbles are of uniform size and spherical 

shape, the absorptive capacity will range from a minimum of about 

26 per cent to a maximum of 47 per cent. If the pebbles are fiat 

the porosity is somewhat less, as it is if small pebbles and sand grains 

occupy the spaces between the larger pebbles. The average porosity 

of gravels is probably between 30 and 35 per cent. The grain of 

most gravels is so coarse that the water enters them readily without clogging the pores, thus availing itself of practically the entire 

porosity. Likewi~e if a gravel bed is cut by a ravine or valley its 

waters are quickly drained away. For these reasons gravel, where 

its structure and location are favorable, is an ideal material into which 

to drain wells. 

Sand.-In sand the grains are generally more or less spherical and 

of relatively uniform size; from which it follows that the porosity 

will be high. Theoretically the porosity is greater than that of ordinary gravel, which consists of a mixture of large and small grains, 

but owing to the arrangement of the grains the actual porosity is 

very similar, averaging about 35 per cent. The grain of medium and 

coarse-grained sands is so coarse that water will enter them freely, 

provided it carries but little silt to clog the pores between the grains. 

Olay.-Clays are silts composed of minute particles of rocks and 

minerals, which may contain hardly a trace of grit. Contrary to the 

common belief, tests show that they are exceedingly porous, many 

varieties having porosities as high as 45 or 50 per cent of their volume. 

Notwithstanding this high porosity, however, they can not be used 

for drainage, as their grain is so fine that water penetrates them very 

slowly and with great difficulty. 
DRAIN AGE BY WELLS. 11 

Till.-Till is a heterogeneous mixture of clay, sand, pebbles, and 

bowlders deposited by glaciers. In some till deposits bowlders and 

pebbles predominate and the mixture is almost or quite as porous 

as gravel; other deposits of till are prevailingly sandy; and in still 

others clay predominates and the till is almost as impervious to water 

as clay alone. As a whole, however, till is fairly porous and is capable 

of taking up considerable water, especially in its more sandy and 

gravelly portions, so that it affords a means of drainage by wells. 

ROCKS. 

In unconsolidated deposits such as those just described the spaces 

between the grains are unfilled. In most rocks, on the other band, 

there are relatively few open spaces, even in rocks formed from sand, 

gravel, or clay. This compactness is due to the cementation of the 

rock by mineral matter deposited between the grains. Sands and 

gravels, which originally had porosities of 35 per cent, have only10 

to 15 per cent after they have been consolidated into sandstone or 

conglomerate, and the porosity of slate is only about 5 as compared 

to 50 per cent in clay like that from which slate is formed. In the 

crystalline rocks the porosities are still smaller. 

Conglomerate and sandstone.-As indicated above, sands and gravels 

retain porosities of 10 to 15 per cent after they have been consolidated into sandstone and conglomerates, and this makes them 

capable of taking up a considerable amount of water. The facility 

of entrance of the water, however, is greatly reduced by the consolidation, owing to the partial filling of the pores by cement, and it 

becomes necessary to guard carefully against clogging. Drainage 

into sandstones is said to have been successful in Michigan, and 

several wells in St. Paul and Minneapolis carry refuse into the porous 

St. Peter sandstone. 

Slate and shale.-Both the small porosity of slate and shale, which, 

as stated, is only about 5 per cent, and their compactness of grain 

prohibit their use for drainage. 

Limestone.-Limestone, like slate and shale, as a rule is of very 

low porosity, averaging about 5 per cent. The body of the rock is 

therefore of little or no use in drainage. Usually, however, limestones have more or less well-defined and open bedding planes and 

vertical breaks or joints along which water can move, as well as 

irregular tubular chamiels due to solution. Where not too far 

removed from valleys or depressions into which the water from the 

openings can flow, limestones may afford satisfactory drainage, for 

a well sunk into limestone is almost sure to encounter an open crevice 

of one type or another within a moderate distance of the surface. 

Wells sunk into limestone have been used for the disposal of sewage 

in Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, and possibly other States. 
12 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

LOCATION OF DRAINAGE WELLS. 

The best location for a drainage well is at the center of the marsh 

or pond to be drained, since the natural drainage is toward this point, 

but drilling in this place may be very inconvenient, owing to the 

presence of water. It may therefore be less troublesome to sink the 

well at some convenient point on the edge of the pond or marsh 

where the water can be kept out by a small earth dike while the inlet 

is being constructed. By this method the mouth of the well can be 

set as low as needed at the start and advantage taken of the extra 

head thus afforded. Ditches should be dug to this inlet and extended 

and deepened as the water is lowered until the entire area of the pond 

drains toward the well. 

CONSTRUCTION OF DRAINAGE WELLS. 

METHODS OF SINKING. 

The methods . of sinking wells differ greatly according to loc:al 

practice and the natur.e of materials to be penetrated. 

In rocks the standard churn drill and the diamond and calyx drills 

may be used, but the cost of the last two is prohibitive in drainage 

projects, and the churn drill, operated either from a derrick or a 

portable machine, is practically the only outfit used. In unconsolidated deposits also the churn drill may be used, but where no hard 

materiatis to be encountered the tube is more commonly driven. A 

hydraulic jet forced down an inner tube and rising between it and a 

larger outer tube is also used in sinking wells in loose deposits. Rigs 

in which the well is sunk by rotating a pipe fitted at the bottom with 

a saw-toothed steel shoe (usually in connection with a water jet) are 

also used, especially in the South. The cost is about the same with 

all methods, and all give about the same results, except that in the 

shoe method the water used to raise the drillings is used over and 

over again until it becomes a thick sludge whi:Jh tends to clog the 

pores of the materials penetrated. Since in drainage wells it is very 

desirable that these should be kept open, the method is not to be 

recommended. Otherwise the rig which comes handiest may be 

used. 

CHARACTER OF INLET. 

Usually the top of the casing is left by the driller just as it was 

sunk, the condition when the water is admitted being as shown in 

figure 5. This is a very poor form of intake where the water enters 

rapidly, owing to the constriction of the water column, which, as 

shown in the figure, occupies only 50 to 7 5 per cent of the pipe. With 

a bell mouth, such as is shown in figure 6, nearly double the amount 

of water is taken in under ordinary conditions. This difference in 
DRAIN AGE BY WELLS. 13 

the rate of taking the water is of great importance if time is considered, since .a bell-mouth well, other things being equal, will drain a 

pond or swamp in about one-half the time required by the others, 

It has the disadvantage of being · 

somewhat troublesome to con- ~h~@~~~~ 

struct where only the conven- - - -......... J~lill .r - - -:-

iences of a country blacksmith's - ----=:: \ / ~ :---=-~ shop are available, and it need -- ---~ 0 1 !/ __ --

not be used when no haste is nee- - -_; \.- ---

essary, for the regular casing· will 

give the result desired. In figure FIGURE 5.-Mode of entrance of water into ordi6 the diameter· of the pipe is D; nary casing. 

0.62 times the diameter is the length at the end which is enlarged; 

1.25 times the regular diameter is the diameter of the bell-mouth; 

and 1.62 times the diameter is the radius of curvature of the 

. expanded end. 

PROTECTION OF INLET. 

Many of the ponds and marshes to be drained contain floating 

vegetable matter-leaves, twigs, grass, water plants, and slimewhich is rapidly drawn toward and into the well by the current set 

up by the indraft of water. As this material would soon clog the 

well it should be kept out by surrounding the well mouth with a 

brick or other curbing provided 

/Jimensions or bell mouth with screen-protected holes, as illus- to outlet pipe 

1.2s D trated in figure 7, or by means of 

0 

FIGURE 6.-Bell-mouth intake to drainage well. 

some other effective screen. 

CAPACITY OF DRAINAGE 

WELLS. 

RELATION OF CAP ACJTY TO CHARACTER OF INTAKE. 

The relation of the capacity of 

the well to the character of the 

intake has already been noted, it 

being pointed out that the capacity 

of a bell mouth, such as shown in figure 6, is nearly double that of a 

well having only the ordinary casing. The capacity of a well is also 

related to the character of its protection, screens of sufficient area 

and porosity to admit an adequate volume of water and at the same 

time keep out debris being essential. 
14 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

RELATION TO EFFECTIVE HEAD. 

In a well like that shown in figure 7 the theoretical head is the 

difference of level of the ground and the surface waters, or the distance from A to the water surface of the pond. If the material at the 

bottom is not very porous and the water enters slowly, the entire pipe 

will be filled, and the actual effective head, or that forcing the water 

Circular brick outlet chamber 

Cast:-iron cover 

Level to which ground water rises in well--

with no inflow 

Arrows indicate outFlow 

FIGURE 7.-Protection of intake of drainage well. 

into the ground, will be the same as the theoretical head. If, however, the water is taken off rapidly into the ground, a sort of whirlpool 

will be formed, as a result of which the pipe is no longer completely 

filled, and the entire inflow may be only just sufficient to raise the 

water level from A to B. In this case the effective head forcing the 

water into the soil is the distance from A to B instead of from A to the 

surface as before. 
DRAIN AGE BY WELLS. 15 

RELATION TO SIPHONAGE. 

In regard to siphon action in drainage wells R. E. Horton has made 

the following statement: a 

In a well having a tight casing and a proper entrance the inflow will be augmented 

by siphonage or draft-tube action, the water being forced down by atmospheric pressure 

in a manner the inverse of the action of a lift pump. If there be free discharge at the 

bottom and if the well be over 33 feet deep, then the maximum possible draft-tube 

head of 32.8 feet may be available. 

Unless the ground-water horizon is at exceptionally great depth, however, it will 

probably happen, as has been observed in practice, that the discharge head, h, required 

to take care of this large inflow of water, will cause the water level B to rise within 

much less than32.8 feet of the surface, limiting the siphon head and dividing the total 

static head from A to the water surface of the pond in such a manner that the inflow 

head will just supply such a quantity of water as can be forced out of the bottom 

of the well by the remaining or discharge head. In any event the gain in capacity 

and rate of drainage which will result from siphonage will be very great; for example, 

with a pressure head D of 1 foot over the inlet, the discharge would be nearly doubled 

by the addition of 3 feet of effective siphonage and nearly trebled by the addition of 

8 feet of effective siphonage. 

AREAS DRAINED. 

The area which can be drained depends on a great variety of factors. 

Under some conditions, such as those illustrated in figure 4, it is 

simply the visible water of the pond or marsh which must be considered, but under the conditions represented in figure 3, not only 

must the visible water be taken into account, but also the much more 

extensive area of tributary ground water. The pond can not be 

drained until the level of the ground water is reduced to a point below 

its bottom. It is therefore apparent that an extensive marsh can 

be readily and quickly drained if its bottom is above ground-.water 

level, but that even a very small marsh that is continually replenished 

from the ground water can be drained only with great difficulty. 

Again, the effectiveness of the drainage will depend to a considerable extent on the excess of head of the pond 'Waters over those in the 

ground. If the difference is slight the drainage will necessarily be 

slow and difficult. The porosity of the bed into which the water is 

drained is also an important factor in determining the effectiveness, 

for unless the water is taken up and removed the well will be a complete failure. - -~---------- -------

a The drainage of ponds into drilled wells: Water-Supply Paper U.S; Geol. Survey No.145, 1905, p. 35. 
16 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

Some actual examples of the areas drained, as cited by R. E. Horton,a are presented below:. 

Areas drained in Michigan by wells. 

Owner. County. Diameter Land P~~~~r of well. drained. drained. 

-----------------------------1-----------l---------------

Inches. Acres. Acres. 

Fred Watkin ........................................ Jackson........... . . ... . . . •. 35 2! 

6: f:U.~e:.~~:::: ~ ~~ ~:: :: ::::~ ~ ~::: ::~~ :::: ~:::: :~ ~::: :::: :~~:~·-·::::.~·.:: ~ · ···· · ·io· ...... . :~~ V. R. Horton ............................................. do............ 4 60 ......... . W. H. Hartwell... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Calhoun..... . . . . . . 4 40 ......... . 

The time taken for drainage differs with the area drained and with 

differences in conditions. A pond covering 2 or 3 acres can be drained 

in a few months;. if begun in March, the drainage will be completed 

in time for planting in May. 

If the well enters an open cavity, as in limestone, the drainage is 

much more rapid and the area drained may be much larger than with 

other materials. In many drainage wells the capacity of the intake 

pipe is the only limiting factor. 

COST OF WELLS. 

The cost of wells varies according to the size and type· of well, 

depth and length of casing, character of screens, if any, and other 

factors. Local practice also has much to do with the cost; a well at 

one point may cost twice as much as a well at another, even if the 

two wells are in adjoining counties. A drainage well of about the 

minimum practicable diameter-4 inches-will cost from 7 5 cents to 

$1.25 or more a foot, $1 being perhaps a fair average. In addition 

to this there will be a charge of about 25 cents a foot for casing. 

Screens for a 4-inch well cos.t from · $4 to $8 a foot, according to 

material, method of construction, and size of mesh. 

CAUSES OF FAILURE. 

The causes of failure -of drainage wells include what may be termed 

primary causes (or those dependent on the underground conditions, 

including the character of the materials and the hydrostatic conditions), and secondary causes, or those arising subsequent to the 

sinking of the well and independent of the underground conditions. 

PRIMARY CAUSES. 

Head of ground water.-Of the primary or original causes of failure 

the most common is probably the deficiency in head of the waters of 

the marsh. In many places the water in the drainage well stands so 

a Loc. cit., pp. 30--39. 
DRAINAGE BY WELLS. 17· 

nearly at the level of that in the pond or marsh that little pressure is 

exerted by the ponded water and the inflow into the well is either 

feeble or lacking. In some wells the ground water is even under 

sufficient pressure to lift it above the level of the pond or marsh, and 

the well must be shut off to prevent further flooding of the depressions . 

.Absorptive capacity.-Next to the head of the underground waters, 

low absorptive capacity of the material encountered by the· well is 

the most common cause of failure. Nearly all unconsolidated materials are poro~s, even clays having as high as 40 to 50 per cent of pore 

space, but many of them, owing to fineness of grain, so resist the 

entrance of water that they are unavailable for drainage. Anothe:r; 

cause of failure arises from the pocket-like character of some of the 

sand or gravel layers, which are so small in extent that they quickly 

become filled to their full capacity, if they were not full at the start. 

Rise of ground water.-Still another cause of decline and eventual 

failure lies in the lifting of the ground-water level as shown in figure 8. 

In this diagram A B represents the normal or original ground-water 

level. When the water is first turned into the well it is rapidly 

absorbed and the water table rises in the vicinity of the well. As 

the water continues to pour into the bed it becomes saturated to the 

FIGURE 8.-Failute of drainage well due to rise of ground water. AC and BD, elevated water table due 

to influx of water from pond; CE and DF, line of head or theoretical extension of water table, touching 

pond level and preventing further inflow. 

top and all further escape must be laterally toward A and B. At first 

the slope is fairly steep, but it gradually becomes more and more 

gradual, taking the form A C D B, the friction at the same time 

greatly increasing and acting as a restraint to the entrance of further 

water. If the friction becomes equal to or greater than the head, 

the inflow will stop. 

SECONDARY CAUSES. 

Obstruction of well mouth.-Most of the ponds or swamps to be 

drained contain much aquatic vegetation-reeds, grasses, etc.~ 

which is torn up by ice or otherwise uprooted or broken and ever 

ready to accumulate at the well and to choke the pipe or clog the 

screens with which the well mouth is protected. 

Clogging of receiving materials.-If coarse matter, such as leaves, 

grass, and weeds, are allowed to enter the well, the sand, gravel, or 

other material into which the water is drained will soon be.come 

clogged. The entrance of such matter is easily prevented, but the 

difficulty due to the clogging of the pores between the finer grains 

by silt is very serious in wells sunk in the finer materials. 

64198°-WSP 258-11-2 
18 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

Clogging of well screen.-The clogging of the screens is even more 

serious than the clogging of the sand itself, inasmuch as the screen, 

in order to keep it out of the well, must be of a mesh finer than the 

sand, and thus is still more likely to become clogged. 

Entrance of quicksand.-If the wells are without screens quicksands 

may enter through the open bottom and gradually become compacted 

into a relatively impervious mass that fills the bottom of the well and 

greatly hinders the exit of the water. 

Oaving of the materials.-If the materials penetrated are fairly 

stiff, even if they are not consolidated, it is not uncommon to leave 

the well uncased. In such uncased wells, however, the material 

afterwards may become softened or loosened and cave in and clog 

the well, damaging or ruining it for purposes of drainage. 

REMEDIES. 

The procedure in case of failure will depend upon the probable 

cavse of the difficulty as determined by a careful investigation of 

the conditions. If the stratum reached by the well is of low porosity 

or low absorptive capacity little can be done with it, and a lower bed 

should be tried. If the head is high enough to lift the underground 

water to the surface there is usually no remedy, as lower heads will 

rarely be found in underlying rocks. If the stoppage of drainage is 

due to the rise of the ground water or to the filling of pockets lower 

beds should be sought. 

Of the secondary causes of failure the clogging of the well is the 

most common. The entrance of coarser floating matter can readily 

be prevented by proper screening, but the fine silts, which are hardly 

less objectionable, can not be so readily excluded. Much of this 

silt is washed in by the rains and settles in a few days or weeks, so if 

provision is made for closing the well until the water has cleared 

much difficulty will be avoided. 

If the silt finds access to the well and clogs the pores of the sand 

one or another of several treatments may be adopted. Heavy 

pumping for a few hours may serve to draw back and remove some 

of the silt which has accumulated in the sand, leaving it free to take 

up water once more, or additional pressure may be brought to bear 

on the material at the bottom of the well by means of a water jet 

forced down by a steam pump, the object being to break up the 

film of silt which has collected on the surface of the material at the 

bottom o£ the well and to force it back and disperse it throughout 

the body o£ the deposit. For this purpose the "steam jet," us~d in 

drilling in Ohio, may be employed to advantage. By this apparatus 

highly heated steam forced into the material at the bottom of the 

well converts the water it contains into steam, causing an explosion 

that loosens the surrounding deposits. 
DRAIN AGE BY WELLS. 19 

USES OF DRAINAGE WELLS. 

The foregoing discussion has dealt chiefly with wells sunk in unconsolidated materials, mainly to reclaim small ponds and marshes 

for cultivation. There are, however, several other important uses 

of drainage wells, some of which are considered in the following 

paragraphs. 

MARSHES AND SWAMPS. 

Marshes of drift regions.-Marshes have been drained in several 

northern States, especially Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, the surfaces of which are in large part covered with deposits 

of gravel, sand, clay, and other unconsolidated material left by the 

glacier in the form of irregular hills and ridges, between which are 

numerous deep undrained depressions containing ponds or marshes. 

The conditions and results differ but little in the various States, the 

figures given for Michigan on page 16 being typical. Depressions on 

the higher lands can as a rule be successfully drained by wells, but 

many wells sunk in the deeper basins or on lower grounds strike . 

flowing waters instead of waters of low head. 

Coastal-plain swamps.-A special type of swamp is found on the 

upland crests between the streams of the Atlantic coastal plain in 

certain of the Southern States. These upland surfaces, which_ represent old sea bottoms, have been uplifted intact, retaining the same 

flat stretches and shallow depressions that marked them when 

originally deposited. Over these surfaces swamps, most of them 

characterized by heavy timber, have been formed. In general they 

are too extensive to be drained by wells, even if the head of the underground waters were not, as it frequently is, too high. Fortunately 

many of the streams in this region have cut deep valleys to which it 

is feasible to conduct the water by ditches. 

River-bottom swamps.-Riyer-bottom swamps are generally not 

like basins but are simply low tracts that border large rivers and are 

subject to overflow, the water standing on them temporarily rather 

than permanently. While the river is in flood there is of course no 

possibility of draining one of these swamps, for the water will come 

in from the river as fast as it is removed, and even after the river 

goes down much water is still held on the flat lands. The area of many 

of these river-bottom swamps is too extensive to permit their drainage 

as a whole. Some of them are underlain by beds of gravel or sand 

which are not completely saturated, and the surface water could be 

carried into these beds by wells, but except for small areas that could 

be separated from the surrounding wet lands by dikes, their drainage 

by wells would be impracticable and, in view of the cheapness of 

well-drained land in the same region, it is seldom desirable. Ditching 

is practicable in most of these swamps and in some of them is being 

pushed rapidly forward. 
20 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

Sunk-land swamps.-In southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, and western Tennessee there ~re numerous depressions due to 

local sinking of the land caused by the New Madrid and other earthquakes. The largest of these is Reelfoot Lake, in northwestern Tennessee. This lake is 20 miles long and 5 miles broad, and covers 

land which, if reclaimed, would afford agricultural soils of ·the finest 

quality. The drainage of this lake is now under consideration, but 

the work must be done entirely by ditching, the water table being 

too high for drainage by wells. . 

Extensive sunk-land marshes also occur along Varney and other 

rivers in Missouri and St. Francis River in Arkansas, and many small 

basins or sloughs lie in the woods in northeastern Arkansas. Marshes 

near a river are controlled by river level, and the drainage of most of 

them is impracticable. A smaller slough can be drained by wells 

when the region in which it lies is occupied by settlers. 

PONDS. 

The drainage of ponds in Michigan by wells has already been note(l 

(p. 16). In Minnesota very similar results have been obtained at 

several places, and in Wisconsin, Indiana, and. other States where the 

surface deposits are of a similar type drainage wells have been 

successfully employed. In these States most of the wells drain into 

beds of sand and gravel in the drift, although a few of them in 

Michigan are said to drain into sandstone, and some at Minneapolis 

and St. Paul discharge refuse into the St. Peter sandstone. In 

Georgia and Florida the receiving bed of a number of wells is limestone. By a drainage well sunk at Quitman, Ga., 1,500,000 gallons 

were drained from a pond in a few hours. In Virginia, Kentucky, 

Tennessee, Indiana, and other States in which limestone occurs it is 

a common practice, it is said, to dig or drill for the purpose of carrying 

the water out of sinks into the underlying limestone. 

CELLARS. 

Cellars have been drained by wells at Minneapolis, St. Paul, 

Hampton, Blo01ning Prairie, Bricelyn, and Geneva, and doubtless 

at other places in 11:innesota, as well as in other States where the 

surface is underlain by porous beds of sand or gravel or by limestone 

with open crevices. 

INDUSTRIAL WASTES. 

Little is said by owners of borings into which industrial wastes are 

being turned, but it is probable that such drainage is practiced in 

Minneapolis and St. Paul and in certain limestone areas in Georgia 

and Florida. Creamery waste products are disposed of in this way 

in some country towns. 
DRAlN AGE BY WELLS. 21 

SEWAGE. 

In Kentucky, Georgia, Florida, and other States sewage is at many 

places poured into borings in limestone. Among the cities in which 

there are public or private sewage wells are Georgetown, Ky., fmd 

Orlando, Ocala, Live Oak, Gainesville, and Lake City, Fla. 

POLLUTION OF GROUND WATER BY DRAINAGE WELLS. 

NATURE OF POLLUTION BY WATER TAKEN FROM DIFFERENT SOURCES. 

Drainage wells have been successfully used in many places and 

may be multiplied to advantage, but they are likely to pollute the 

ground water. 

Ponds.-The water of ordinary small ponds on a farm is not of 

good quality. Usually shallow, the water becomes much heated 

and contains vegetable growth, which gives it a decided taste and 

color. Cattle may drink from the pond or stand- in its waters, 

polluting it in various ways. A drainage well adds the organic 

matter and pollution to the ground water, materially lowering its 

quality. • 

Marshes.-What has been said of ponds applies also to marshes. 

Swamps contain even more organic matter than ponds, and consequently their drainage into the ground water is a source of greater 

pollution from vegetable though not from animal refuse. 

Fields.-Waters derived fron1 fields are generally somewhat 

polluted. In running down slopes they carry along decaying vegetable matter; in cultivated fields where manure or other fertilizer is 

used and on land where cattle are pastured they gather much n1ore 

objectionable pollution and carry it to the ground water through 

drainage wells. 

Cellars.-Water in cellars has fallen as rain in the yard or vicinity 

and seeped down through the soil into the cellar, perhaps made foul 

by privy wastes, slops, or other pollution. It is needless to say that 

such water does not constitute a desirable addition to the groundwater supply when it is conducted into the ground through a drainage 

well. 

Wastes.-Most industrial wastes are obnoxious in taste and odor, 

and some of them are deleterious to health, but generally not so 

dangerous as water taken from the farm and barnyard. Nevertheless, 

if they are carried into the ground water by a drainage well, they will 

unfit it for domestic uses. 

Sewage.-The drainage of sewage into the ground water 1nay spread 

disease to all who drink the water. 
22 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

EXTENT OF THE POLLUTION. 

The distance to which conta1ninating material will pollute ground 

water will differ greatly under different, conditions. If the polluted 

water is added to saturated sands or gravels, its effect will not 

extend to a great distance, usually not more than a few hundred feet, 

owing to the slowness of movement of the water. If added to an 

open sand, the polluted water may spread to a considerable distance. 

In general, however, in such material the area affected is not likely 

to be much if any greater than the area drained. The extent of the 

_pollution also depends on the amount of water introduced, the water 

from a pond or marsh spreading much farther than that from a cellar 

or cesspool. It is fortunate that the most dangerous sewage introduced into sand or gravel spreads but little as compared with the 

relatively harmless water from ponds. 

If a drainage well enters limestone, the conditiop.s are wholly different. The polluted water or sewage enters an open passage in 

which it may be conducted for a long distance without dilution or 

purification. A public well that encounters such a passage may communicate typhoid fever to hundreds of persons, even if the well is 

miles from the source of contamination. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

1. The emptying of sewage into drainage wells is very dangerous 

and should be avoided. 

2. The drainage of industrial wastes into borings is objectionable 

if not dangerous, and the practice is to be condeinned. 

3. The drainage of cellars into wells is objectionable in towns where 

near-by wells 1nust draw on the ground water into which the cellar 

waters are carried. In the country the practice is not objectionable 

if the water is carried through a tight casing to a bed lower than that 

which supplies the local water wells or to a higher bed if the water 

wells are tightly cased through this bed and through a thickness of 

impervious material sufficient to prevent any possibility of contamination. 

4. The drainage of most ponds and swamps into wells is unobjectionable, for they are far from houses and from wells that supply 

drinking water. The movement of ground water is normally away 

from rather than toward the houses, the addition from the pond 

serving, at the worst, to back up rather than to reverse the movement. Moreover, water does not spread far underground. On the 

, whole the drilling of wells for draining swamps and ponds should be 

encouraged, but the usefulness of the wells is limited to ponds covering 

a few acres and to basins not exceeding in extent 7 5 acres. 
THE FREEZING OF WELLS AND RELATED PHENOMENA. 

By MYRON L. FULLER. 

CONDITIONS OF FREEZING. 

Region a.ffected.-Throughout many of the Northern States much 

trouble is caused by the freezing of wells, not so much with the 

shallow dug wells as with the deeper drilled ones. Many wells in 

the North can be kept in use during the winter only with the greatest 

difficulty, so that the determination of the cause of the freezing and 

of means for its prevention is of great practical importance. 

Open wells.-In open wells, including in this class the dug wells 

not provided with covers, the cold air-often many degrees below 

zero-is free to enter and displace the air of the wells, which, owing 

to its contact with the water and the unfrozen earth, is generally 

considerably warmer. Under such conditions, although the temperature of the entering air is somewhat modified by mixture with that 

already in the well and by contact with the walls, freezing often 

occurs at considerable depths, and the well is rendered useless during 

the continuance of cold weather. 

Oovered dug wells.-In dug wells protected by covers there is generally little trouble from the freezing of the water unless it happens 

to stand very near the surface. Although few well coverings are 

tight ~nough to exclude the cold air, it penetrates so slowly that the 

temperature in the well, owing to the warmth given off by the earth 

and the ground water, seldom reaches th~ freezing point. In some 

wells, however, where open, water-free gravels occur above water 

level, much trouble is experienced. 

Driven wells.-In the simpler type of driven wells, consisting of a 

single continuous casing, or of double tubes, both of which are 

carried below the ground-water level, little or no trouble is caused 

by the freezing of the water in the well, except, perhaps, when its 

level is very near the surface. The amount of cold air entering 

through the pump is insignificant, and there is no material circulation 

of air in the surrounding materials, and therefore no adequate cause 

for freezing. 

23 
24 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

Drilled wells.-Most of the wells subject to freezing are drilled or 

double-tube driven wells in which the inner or pump tube is carried 

below the outer casing, stopping in some porous stratum (figs. 10 and 

11), or wells drilled in limestone or other rocks that contain open 

solution passages (fig. 12). The cause of freezing in these wells is 

discussed on pages 29 and 30. 

Pumps.-Pumps are certain to freeze if the cylinders are near the 

surface, as the water left in the valves and box after pumping freezes -

before it can -drain back into the well. Where the cylinder is placed 

at a considerable depth, however, this difficulty is avoided, except in 

what are known as the drilled wells, just noted. It is therefore the 

nearly universal practice to set the cylinder at as great a depth as 

possible and where practicable to surround it with tightly packed 

earth to shut out the air." 

Character of material penetrated.-An investigation by F. G. Clapp 

of the wells of Maine, a large part of which are in granites, slates, 

shales, and other hard rocks that are free from openings, showed 

no instances of deep freezing. In Minnesota, North Dakota, and 

Nebraska, on the other hand, large numbers of wells that penetrate 

porous deposits or cavernous limestones freeze every winter. In 

Wisconsin and Michigan freezing, though less common, occasionally 

occurs, especially in smne of the wells in the porous gravelly hills 

and ridges. Even in Pennsylvania freezing, apparently due to the 

same causes, occurs in oil wells at depths of thousands of feet. In 

States farther south, especially. in Iowa, .. Missouri, Kentucky, and 

Indiana, wells occasionally freeze, both those in the porous surface 

deposits and those in limestones. 

ATTENDANT OR RELATED PHENOMENA. 

The phenomena attendant on the freezing, apparently due to the 

same or similar causes, include the indraft and outdraft of air that 

produces sucking and blowing wells, changes in the character of the 

water, fluctuation of the water level, and changes in the discharge of 

flowing wells. Each of these is not only of great interest to the 

owner of the well or to the driller, but presents an economic problem 

of practical importance. 

Blowing wells.-Wells that emit currents of air from their mouths 

are called blowing wells. Blowing is not confined to drilled wells, 

but is noted in many dug wells, the air escaping through cracks or 

other openings in the covers. It was reported to the writer that the 

current passing out through the knot hole in the cover of one well 

was strong enough to lift a hat several feet into the air. At some 

times the whistling of the escaping air through the planks or pipes 

can be heard for several rods; at other times the current is strong 
FREEZING OF WELLS AND, RELATED PHENOMENA. 25 

enough to operate small whistles whose sound is loud enough to be 

heard for a mile or more in still weather. In some wells a dull roaring 

sound is ·heard as the air rushes through the casing; in other wells 

the air can be heard bubbling through the water. 

Breathing wells.-In most blowing wells the blowing is not continuous but alternates with sucking; such wells are more properly 

known as breathing wells. Probably most of the "barometer" or 

"weather" wells are of this class, although the indraft is usually less 

rapid and less conspicuous than the outdraft, and in warm climates, 

where freezing never occurs, may be overlooked. Its presence is, 

how~ver, abundantly demonstrated. (Seep. 26.) Even if no indraft 

is observed, it is noted that the blowing is weak or ceases at times, 

so that there is a rhythm in the movement of the air. In humid 

regions the blowing is, as a rule, most marked before rain storms, and 

the sucking or indraft of air occurs in clearing weather after a storm. 

In other words, the blowing occurs during periods of low barometer 

and the indraft oceurs in periods of high barometer. The blowing 

may be associated with some partieular direction of the wind, as 

would be expected from the fact that the direetion of the wind in 

rain storms is different from that prevailing in elear weather. Some 

wells show fluetuations with very small changes of barometric pressure, even with the diurnal changes, blowing at times of low pressure, 

as at 3 a. m. and 4 p. m., and sucking at times of high pressure at 

10 a. m. and at 9 p. m. In some wells there is a noticeable "lag" in 

the phenomena, the blowing and sueking co_ntinuing an hour or more 

after the limits indicated. 

Sucking wells.-Wells that suck in air at times are common, but 

those with continuous in drafts are very rare. Two such "sueking" 

wells have, however, been reported in Tertiary limestone near Boston, 

in southern Georgia. Where indraft alternates with outdraft the 

movement has a direct relation to barometric. changes, but where the 

indraft is continuous no such relation is observed, the phenomena 

apparently being independent of barometric pressure. In the wells 

noted above the air is sucked in by streams of water running in 

caverns in the rock. 

Fluctuation of '/!)atet· level.-In many parts of the country the water 

level in certain wells rises and falls with changes of weather, being 

highest in periods of low barometer and lowest when the barometer is 

high. In some wells the difference amounts to several inches, and a 

well that must be pumped in clear weather may flow during storms 

or when the wind blows from a certain direction. 

Variation in discharge.-Some flowing wells discharge only during 

periods of low barometer. Others flow with greatly increased volume 

at such times, the effect being especially marked in wells of large 

diameter that flow when they are only a little below their highest 
26 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

level or maximum head. In such wells the discharge may be increased 

several hundred per cent during periods of low pressure. 

Changes in character of water.-Most drilled wells yield perfectly 

clear water after they have been in use a short time, but although the 

water is ordinarily clear, it becomes cloudy or milky on the approach 

of storms and occasionally it becomes bright yellow or deep red during 

periods of low barometer. Examination of the water shows that its 

milkiness is caused by a small amount of suspended silt or clay and 

the yellow and red colors by suspended fine particles of iron oxide 

(yellow and red ocher). The presence of iron oxide makes the water 

unfit for use. 

DISTRIBUTION OF PHENOMENA. 

The phenomena described are of widespread occurrence. Blowing 

wells are especially common. The following list is based in part on 

data furnished by Samuel Sanford, of the Bureau of Mines. 

Localities at which well phenomena have been noted. 

Blowing and breathing. 

States. Number of I localities. Depth. 

------------------1 

Material. Age of material. 

Feet. Arizona.................. One .......................................... . Arkansas... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Several.... a 100 Limestone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paleozoic. 

Indiana .................. One....... 120 Sandstone................. Do. 

Iowa .........................• do..... 70 Gravel.................... Pleistocene. 

Louisiana ..................... do..... 80 Sand ...................... Tertiary. Michigan ...................... do .••............... do.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pleis,tocene. 

Minnesota ................ Many •••.. 50-150 Sand and limestone....... Pleistocene and Paleozoic. 

Missouri.. ..................... do..... a 170 Limestone ...... , . . . . . . . . . Paleozoic. 

Nebraska .•••................. do ..•.. a 1,000 Sandstone, gravel, and Cretaceous, Tertiary, and 

New York .•............. Several.. •• Oregon.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . One ...... . South Carolina ................ do .... . Texas .................... Several. .. . Washington ................... do .... . Wisconsin ................ One ...... . 

sand. Pleistocene. a 150 Gravel and sand.......... Pleistocene. a 360 Sand and sandstone ...... ,. Tertiary. 120 Sand..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cretaceous. 

:~gg ·Lava.be(is·.~::::::::::::::: Tertiary and Pleistocene. a 100 Sand...................... Pleistocene. 

Continuous indraft. 

Georgia ................. ·I Two ..... ·1100-150 I Limestone ............... ·I Tertiary. 

Variations of head and :flow. 

Michigan ................ ·1 Many ..... 125-200 I Drift ................... ···1 Pleistocene. Minnesota ..................... do ..... 35-150 ..... do..................... Do. 

Wisconsin ................ SeveraL .. 56-150 ..... do..................... Do. 

Change in character of water. 

Minnemta ... , ........... ·I SeveraL .. , 371 Drift ...................... , Pleistocene. 

a Depth of deepest well here listed for the State. 
FRE:EZlNG OF WELLS AND RELATED PHENOMENA. 2'7 

CAUSES OF FREEZING AND ATTENDANT PHENOMENA. 

GENERAL CAUSE. 

A study of the phenomena as a whole shows that they are only 

casually related to changes of temperature or of wind direction, but 

that they agree very intimately with barometric changes, the relation 

of the blowing to storms being recognized by nearly every o'\vner of a 

blowing well. On the one hand, freezing, indraft of breathing wells, 

low water level, small discharge and clear water all occur in clear 

weather during periods of high barometer; on the other hand, the 

thawing of the well, the melting of the surrounding snow, blowing, 

high head, strong discharge, and milky or discolored water occur 

- during periods of low barometer. This association, which is constant, together with the fact that the results are exactly what would 

be expected from barometric fluctuation, leaves little room for doubt 

that this is the general cause of the phenomena. 

CAUSE OF FREEZING. 

The freezing of wells seems to be due to the indraft of cold air at 

periods of high barometer, the air passing down the well (see p. 29) 

and freezing the water. When, on a change of weather, the direction of the air current is reversed the well thaws and the snow about 

the well mouth melts. 

CAUSE OF FLUCTUATIONS IN WATER LEVEL OR FLOOR. 

The water in many deep wells is under more or less hydrostatic 

pressure, which is opposed by the pressure of the air, the level at 

which the water stands representing the result or the balance of the 

two forces. If the pressure of the air is lessened and the hydrostatic 

pressure remains the same the water level in the well will rise, and if 

the atmospheric pressure increases the water level will fall. In 

some nonflowing wells the increased head will cause the water to 

flow; in flowing wells it increases the volume of discharge. 

CAUSE OF CHANGE IN CHARACTER OF WATER. 

As low air pressure causes increased discharge In certain flowing 

wells, and as increased discharge produces increased velocity of the 

water both in the well and in the material from which the water is 

derived, it often happens, where this material includes more or less 

silt which is too coarse to be affected by ordinary currents, that 

quantities of silt are loosened under the increased velocity and taken 

up by the water, producing milkiness. Iron oxide may be precipitated in the earth from chalybeate waters, although it may not ordinarily be present in amounts large enough ,to be noticeable in the 
28 tTNDERGROUNb-WA'tEB. PAPERS, 1910. 

water drawn from a well, but during periods of low barometer this 

oxide is disturbed in much the same way as is the silt, and mixes 

with the water as a yellow or red precipitate, rendering it unfit for use. 

In wells that do not flow occasional turbidity is more difficult to 

explain, but the motion of the ground water tapped by these wells 

is no doubt affected by an increase of discharge at places of constant 

outlet-an increase caused by change in barometric pressure--and 

as the phenomena occur under identically the same conditions it is 

FIGURE 9.-Supposed conditions producing discoloration of waters in nonflowing wells. A, Normal 

water level in bed; a, normal water level in well; B, level in water bed during low barometer; b, level 

. in well during low barometer. 

probable that they are due· to the same general cause. The disturbance in the well is probably not caused by the slight rise of the water 

in the well (a to b, fig. 9), but rather by a general movement of the 

whole water body (A to B), due to relief of pressure on the water surface, the silts or precipitates throughout the whole mass being disturbed. In this connection it may be said that most of the wells 

exhibiting this phenomena are shallow, so that direct barometric 

action on the water is possible. 

REMEDIES. 

SIMPLE TREATMENT. 

Several simple methods of preventing wells from freezing are in 

common use, but owing to a failure to understand fully the causes 

of the freezing many of these methoqs fail and others are only partly 

successful. Some persons have the idea that freezing is caused by 

the chilling of the air inside the well by the transmission of the cold 

outside air through the casing, to remedy which the pumps are carefully wrapped in cloth, packed with straw, or otherwise protected. 

As a rule, this protection is entirely without effect, for the freezing 

does not occur in the n1anner assumed, but by access of air to the pipe 

at considerable depths. Other persons partly recognize the true 

cause of freezing and make an attempt to prevent access of air by 

packing earth, straw, or other material about the well. This practice is partly successful, as it tends to cheek the indraft of air, but 

the materials used are as a rule so porous that more or less air gets 

through them and the well freezes. The use of manure is somewhat 

more effective, for it warms the air that passes through it, but it 

involves great danger of pollution. 
FREEZING OF WELLS AND RELATED PHENOMENA. 29 

EFFECTIVE TREATMENT. 

Freezing is due to faults in the construction of the well itself and 

can ordinarily be prevented only by remedying the defects of 

construction. 

Open wells.-The air obtains access to open wells through the soil 

at the junction of curb and cover and through cracks in the curb or 

in the cover. As the soil is usually 

frozen in whiter, little air enters the 

well in this way. The junction of 

curb and cover is tight in but few 

wells, and the cover itself, if of wood, 

is tight in none. The remedy for 

freezing consists in substituting cement for wood and in tightly fitting 

it to the curb, which should also be 

coated with cement for some distance 

below the surface. 

Oased wells with escape at bottom.-

The conditions in a. cased well with 

escape at bottom a1e represented in 

figure 10, in which A is the outer casing; B, the inner or pump tube;C, the 

pump cylinder; and D, the well point. 

When the barometer is high the air 

is sucked in atE, at the mouth of the 

well, and passes off into the unsaturated sand at F. If tlie well is not 

pumped, it will not freeze at first, as 

the pipe contains no water above the 

water level G. If the well is pumped 

and the water is raised to the cylinder C and up pipe B, the- cold air 

passing between A and B is likely to 

freeze the well. Even if the well is 

not pumped, the air current, if long 

continued, will eventually freeze the 

ground water at G and possibly also 

the water in the pipe. FIGURE 10.-Conditions governing freezing in 

cased well with escape of air at bottom. The remedy for freezing in such (Sanford.) 

a well is to fill tightly the space 

between A and B at a point near the surface with some impervious 

material. A filling of cement resting on an improvised plug will 

probably effectively prevent freezing. .The homemade rag packing 

sometimes used is generally too porous, permitting enough air to get 

through to produce freezing. Rubber plugs are effective, but care 
30 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

should be taken not to use materials which can damage the water 

if they happen to drop to the bottom of the well. Manure should 

never be used about a well cased in the manner shown in the figure, 

as it can get to the water just as well as the air can. 

Wells with leaky casjngs.-Figure 11 

shows a well which, though cased to a certain depth, has developed leaks by corrolmpervious 

material sion or imperfect joints and by careless 

:::.:·.:·.:·_:":'.:.::--.:~:::::::: r~:t:~t.~r~~fr 

:·.::_:.:.•_: .. :···:··.:·.. ·.···:·:::;·::;.:.:•.:·:.:;.:··_·:···::·:··~.:::: .•. : .. ·::·: ... :.~.:::·:·.:·:·: .. _.::·:•.·.:_:·:.:(.)~:§:;.::~. ·· CLCIIE, f~iKt/Y: CEL.JJ?:. 

:irryproper s~t:.:. 

~~--·~·~ ~~ofcasmg~ 

setting of the casing in the rock. During 

periods of high barometer cold air enters 

the mouth of the well, passes downward 

between the casing and pump tube, and 

out into the porous stratum. The constant 

indraft of cold air quickly freezes the water 

remaining in the pipe after pumping. 

Impervious 

rock 

The proper treatment is to plug effectually the space between the two pipes at a 

point near the · B 

Water level 

Impervious 

rock 

surface. 

Wells in porous rock.-

The conditions 

in a well pass-

{:/\~?\~?\)~: ~~·::;::.-\~(i;:~:{-~ ~~ri~ ~:~o~:r:~~ ;r: 

also illustrated _FIGURE H.-Conditions governing 

freezing in wells with leaky casings in figure 11, in 

and porous walls. which the bed 

of sandstone, although stiff enough to 

stand without casing, may be sufficiently 

porous to permit large amounts of chilled 

air to enter from the well during periods 

of high barometer, resulting in freezing, 

as before. The remedy is a tight packing between the two p1pes at a point 

near the surface. 

Wells encountering open passag::s.-

W ells encountering open passages are 

!~Jfl ---, -

r--

E 

-.1 _!_-,-- Limestone 

~~-~ T ~-__ _ . _I 

practically limited to limestone in which FIGURE 12.-Conditions governing the 

pumping in limestone wells. 

solution channels have been formed by 

circulating waters and later abandoned. In figure 12, which shows 

such a well, B is the pump tube and C an open passage into which 

air entering at the mouth of the well during periods of high pressure 

is carried off into the rock, producing a circulation which soon freezes 

water standing in the inner pipe. The treatment is the same as 
FREEZING OF WELLS AND RELATED PHENOMENA. 31 

that required for the well just described; it consists of plugging the 

well at E. 

In many wells, however, this treatment is ineffectual, indicating 

that the cold air is not entering at E, but is circulating through 

underground passages, as indicated by the arrow at D. In such 

wells it becomes necessary to set the plug at the point where the passage is encountered, in this case at D. In some wells, as in one near 

Wabasha, Minn., the crevices through which the air is circulating 

are so numerous that the space between the outer and inner tubes 

must be filled from bottom to top with cement. 
OCCURRENCE AND COMPOSITION OF WELL WATERS IN 

THE SLATES OF MAINE. 

By FREDERICK G. CLAPP. 

INTRODUCTION. 

There is a popular belief that little water can be found in slate. 

This idea is based on the very fine grain and impervious nature of 

the rock and on the fact that in regions where the strata are nearly 

horizontal slate acts as a confining stratum to hold water in more 

porous beds. Investigations of the underground waters of Maine 

in 1906 have shown, however, that in that State the slates contain 

more water than any other kind of rock, and that where they do not 

contain lime in detrimental quantities their water is the best found in 

the State. 

CHARACTER OF MAINE SLATES. 

The slates found in southern Maine are exceedingly diverse in 

character. Most commonly they are typical fine-grained, hard, black 

rocks, consisting of hardened clay, but in places they are schistose 

and even grade into true schist. In northeastern Maine and at a 

few places elsewhere in the State they are calcareous. ·Practically 

all the slates in the State are highly folded, and the stratification 

and cleavage planes dip at high angles. Near the coast the strike is 

diverse, but in many. parts of central Maine it is very constant, 

being about N. 60° E. over broad areas. The dip is not so uniform, 

but is nearly everywhere high. The slates range from very hard to 

very soft. 

WELLS IN SLAT~. 

NUMBER. 

In the investigations all records of wells in Maine more than 50 

feet deep were compiled, so far as they could be obtained. Nearly 600 

such wells were found south of the forty-fifth parallel of latitude. 

For 385 of these it was possible to determine with certainty the typ~ 

of rock penetrated. Of this num her 214 were in slate and 37 in 

schist. As schist is in most places a metamorphic form of slate it 

is considered here with the slate. Thus, in southern Maine, 251 

32 
WELL WATERS IN SLATES OF MAINE. 33 

wells, or 70 per cent Qf those of which the type of rock is known, 

are in slate or schist. In northern Maine practically all the drilled 

wells are in slate or similar rocks; many of the rocks in this region 

are spoken of as "slated limestones,'' but they are in reality moderately calcareous slates. 

PROPORTION OF SUCCESSFUL WELLS. 

The following table includes all Maine wells more than 50 feet in 

depth in which the character of the rock could be determined: 

Proportion of successful wells in various rocks in Maine. 

I Success-~ Unsuc- PercentType of rock. f l welles I cessful Total. age sucSoh!,t..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . u 341 w•'"· 3 --3-7 ""'ful~2 Slate .......................... _................................ 191 1 

a 23 , 214 88 

Complex .................................................. '..... 4521 ! b86 4589 I 8876 

Granite........................................................ 1?_ I ~~ 14] 86 

Gneiss......................................................... - Trap and greenstone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 3 i 13 • 77 

-----:340i--4-5j-----as5: ___ 88 

a Includes six wells ruined by entrance of ocean water. b Includes one well ruined by entrance of ocean water. 

From the table it will be seen that the proportion of successful 

wells (wells from which enough water. for the domestic use of a 

moderate-sized family can be obtained) ranges in various rocks from 

92 to 77 per cent. The table does not include gravel wells, which 

nearly alw~ys get a supply, but in which the character of water is 

uncertain. The table shows that in slate and schist the chances of 

obtaining water are somewhat greater than they are in any other 

type of solid rock in Maine. There is, however, a surprising uniformity in the proportion of successful wells in various rocks. It is also 

surprising to note that schist appears to offer better chances than· 

slate, having 92 per cent of successful wells, whereas slate has only 

88 per cent. With the 23 unsuccessful wells in slate, however, are 

included six wells which were ruined by the entrance of salt water, 

for the reason that they were drilled within a few feet of the ocean. 

These wells would undoubtedly have been successful if drilled a few 

hundred feet inland, and if the figures in the table should be changed 

so as to include these six wells with the successful ones, the percentage 

of successful wells in slate would be brought up to 91, corresponding 

closely with the proportion of successful wells in schist, with which 

no salt-water wells were included. 

The table does not include any wells north of the forty-fifth parallel 

of latitude, as that region was not included in the investigation. 

64198°-WSP 258-11-3 
34 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, HHO. 

It is believed, however, from a hasty reconnaissance of the conditions 

in northern Maine, that practically all wells drilled in slate in that 

region are moderately successful. 

WATER SUPPLY AND DEPTH. 

In most rocks there is a more or less definite relation between the 

success o{ a well and its depth. In granite, for instance, there is a 

marked decrease in the amount of water found below about 200 feet. 

In order to learn whether any similar relation exists in slate the 

following table was compiled, taking into account all drilled wells 

more than 50 feet deep in which the rock is known definitely to be 

slate. 

Data of slate wells in Maine. 

Depth (feet). 

Number yielding, in gallons per minute- Sue- Too Per 

l---,------,------,----c----- cessful; little Water [ Total cent yield water not ! 

50 to Over not (fail- usable. I, wells. suc- 1 to 5. 6 to 10. 11 to 50. lOO. lOO. known. ures). cessful. 

------1------------------------------

50-100..... ... . . . . .. . 30 7 11 1 . .. . ... . 63 5 6 ' 123 91 

100-200.............. 9 3 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 7 2 58 85 

200-300.............. 3 3 9 2 1 12 1 1 32 94 

300-400.............. 1 1 . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . 1 5 80 

400-500.............. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 100 

Morethan500 ....... .:..:.:..:..:...:..:.:..:..:.. __ 1 .:..:.:..:..:...:..:.:..:..:...:..:.:..:..:.. __ 1 .:..:.:..:..:..1 __ 2 __ so 

43 14 37 1 5 1 90 14 10 1 214 ss 

The most important column in this table is the last, which shows 

the percentage of successful wells of various depths. The unsuccessful wells include both those in which too little water was obtained for 

the use of a family of ordinary size, and those in which the water was 

so poor as not to be usable. Of the ten poor wells, six were ruined by 

the incursion of salt water. · 

The proportion of successful wells in granite and other crystalline 

rocks decreases from about 95 per cent for wells less than 100 feet deep 

to a low figure for the deeper wells. In slate, however, there is no 

such regular decrease with increase in depth. Of the 123 wells 

between 50 and 100 feet deep 91 per cent were found to be successful; 

of the 58 wells between 100 and 200 feet deep 85 per cent were successful; and of the 32 wells between 200 and 300 feet deep 94 per cent 

were successful. The wells deeper than 300 feet are few and the 

figures for them carry little weight. Evidently, however, there is no 

close relation between success and depth of well. The greatest success was obtained with wells between 200 and 300 'feet deep. 

The facts above stated were unexpected by the investigator, for it 

had been supposed that, as in granite and crystalline rocks in this and 

other States, little water would be found in slate below 200 feet. The 

difference is probably due to the difference in the. character of the rock. 

In granite and most crystalline rocks the water occurs entirely in joint 
WELL WATERS IN SLATES OF MAINE. 35 

cracks, which tend to close with increase ~n depth and are few in number below 200 feet, but in slate the watet occurs not only in the joint 

cracks but also in minute crevices along tl;w stratification and cle-avage 

planes, and in calcareous slates it may ~ccur in cavities formed by 

solution. The stratification and cleavag~ planes, like the joint cracks, 

probably close with increasing depth, b~t as they do not correspond 

in direction with the joint cracks the pressure of the rock in any 

particular direction would close only a! part of the cavities which 

might hold water. It can not be said ~efinitely what proportion of 

the Maine slates are calcareous enough tp contain dissolved cavities, 

but it is known that in some places thin layers of limestone are interstratified with the slate, and it is prob~ble that in such places the 

water occurs in cavities. 

The chief lesson to be learned from the above table is that in drilling 

in the ~Iaine slates the chances of obtaiding a sufficient and suitable 

water supply at less than 200 feet from ~he surface are about 90 in a 

hundred. If such a supply is not found1, however, it is worth while 

to continue the drilling to at least 300 feei. If the yield is still insufficient, it might even pay to drill 100 or 2QO feet deeper. In all rocks, 

however, great pressure exists below th~ surface, and it is probable ' I that the crevices are closed below the depth of a few hundred feet. 

The statements made here do not apply 1

1 

to any kind of rock except 

the slate of compact type and possibly tq schist. 

'i 

I 

PRINCIPAL WATERr VEIN. 

The foregoing statements as to depth ~f well do not mean that the 

principal vein of water in the wells is always found at the maximum 

depth. In only 123 out of the 214 wel~s drilled in slate could the 

depth to the principal water vein be asce:rjtained. The relation of the 

depth of this vein to the depth of the well, so far as known, is given 

in the following table: 

Relation of principal water vein :to depth of well. 

I 

Number of wells in which depth to principal water vein i (in feet) wasDepth of well (feet). 

I 

0-500 50-1000 i 103-2000 200-3000 300-4000 400 + o Total. 

-------------1---------------

50-100 0 o o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 45 I 0 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. 0 o 0 0 0 0 0 o o o o 0 o o o o 0 o 0 72 100-200 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 • 0 3 8 ! 12 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 23 200-300 0 • 0 0 0 • 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 1 7 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 • • 21 

~;!D£llian.4ooo :~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: OOOOOo~oiOOOooo~ol :::::::: oooOOo~o ~ 0·····2· : 34/--5-7 '--1-9 __ 9 ___ 2 ___ 2 ___ 123 

I 

The most interesting feature brought dut by the foregoing table is 

that the depth of the principal water s~pply generally bears little 

relation to the depth of the well. Usua~ly in slate wells there is no 
36 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

one crack which yields all the water, but many cracks which furnish 

water, so that with continued drilling the supply becomes sufficient. 

In most wells one opening yields more water than the others, and this 

is called the "principal water vain." A comparison of the figures 

shows that in slate the supply is not necessarily to be expected within 

50 feet of the surface, although it is frequently found at shallow depths. 

The figures corroborate those in the first table, showing that wells 

may be drilled to 200 feet, or even to more than 300 feet, with a fair 

expectation of increased yield. 

FLOWING WELLS. 

In general, flowing wells are not looked for in slate. In Maine, 

however, there are 24 flowing wells in slate, out of 39 recorded in all 

kinds of rock. Ten of the flowing slate wells are in Cumberland 

County, 5 are in Piscataquis County, and the remainder are scattering. 

The best flowing wells in the State are those at Greenville, in Piscataquis County, where the water rises 10 to 20 feet above the surface. 

All the flowing wells are believed to be due to the arrangement of 

joint cracks in the rock by which the water penetrates downward 

beneath an impervious surface coating of bowlder clay and reaches 

the surface when tapped by wells at suitable points in the valleys. 

COMPOSITION OF SLATE WATERS. 

It is not supposed that the quality of slate waters of Maine is characteristic of all waters occurring in slate in other regions. There is, 

however, a considerable degree of probability that the average quality 

of water found in this rock in Maine is fairly typical of the quality of 

that from the metamorphic slates which are so widely distributed 

throughout the country. 

In the investigation of the underground waters of Maine over 100 

analyses of slate waters were collected and compiled. Of these about 

25 were detailed chemical analyses made by Prof. F. C. Robinson, of 

Brunswick, Me. These record the character of the water with considerable accuracy and are probably the most reliable analyses of 

slate waters known. In order to give a good idea of the character 

of these waters, the following table is appended, giving 13 ·characteristic analyses of waters widely scattered throughout the State: 
Composition of waters from wells drilled in slate in Maine. 

[F. C. Robinson, analyst. Quantities in parts per million.] 

0,-· I I--alumOwner. 1 Depth Total ganJc Silica inurn 

(feet). I solids. I v~~tile (Si02). oxides 

matter. , (F~Oa+ Al20a). 

No. County. Locality. 

------------

1 York .............. Kittery ........... Roland Thaxter ..... _ . _ ...... _ ........ 75 208.7 14.6 11.0 3.2 2 Cumberland ..•.... Cape Cottage ...... Amos Miller ... _. ____ ................. _ 115 140.0 22.5 9.0 .9 3 ..... do ............. Mere Point ........ W. D. PennelL ....................... 67 88.2 29.9 8.8 2.0 4 Kennebec._ ....... Winthrop ......... C. M. Bailey Sons & Co ............... 307} 226.9 20.3 15.5 2.0 5 Waldo ............ Belmont .. __ ...... ~~r~~e Jr~~~f(:: : : : : :: : : : : : : : : : : : ::: : 187 138.2 9.5 16.8 2.5 6 ..... do ............. Searsport ......... 100 162.4 10.6 21.0 3.0 7 Hancock .......... Bucksport. ....... Eastern Maine Conference Seminary ... 308 115.7 9. 6 15.1 1.8 8 ..... do ............. Hancock ... __ ..... Jeremiah Stratton ... ____ ............ _. 65 108.8 10.5 14.8 1.0 9 Penobscot ......... . ~~~~~~::::: :::: :: : Maine Creamery Co ......... _ . _ .. : .... 120 86.0 21.4 6. 7 .7 10 ..... do ............. High SchooL ......... ·--- __ -··-·-····· 217 180.0 37.1 10.2 1.1 11 Piscataquis ....... Greenville ......... H. M. Shaw Manufacturing Co ........ 155 52.1 7. 7 13.8 .4 12 Aroostook._._ .. _ .. Houlton .......... Houlton Grange .... _ .......... _ . _ ..... 75 354.7 33.0 16.1 4.3 13 ..... do .. : .......... Van Buren ........ D. Murray ............................ 105 755.9 146.8 20.8 .8 --------------- Average ...... ................................... ........................................................................ 201.3 21.0 13.8 1.8 

+- A.v;erageoLZ -----------------

samples of 

granite 

waters 15.21 ••.. ................................... ......................................................................... 218.7 45.7 2. 7 

Cal- Magn.e- Socium sium dium 

(Ca). (Mg). (Na). 

--------- 46.8 12.8 26.6 43.0 2.4 10.8 7.0 4.5 7.3 56.7 6.3 26.6 23.1 6.4 15.2 28.4 5.1 21.2 25.5 3.6 17.7 14.7 2.9 6. 7 20.1 5. 7 4.0 46.0 7.4 11.7 10.0 3.6 2.0 77.6 36.0 16.5 159.2 12.1 21.0 --------- 42.9 8.4 14.4 

33.4 4.6 23.4 

Sui- Potassium phate 

(K). radicle 

(SO.). 

------

8. 7 14,1 3.8 15.1 1.5 22.4 5.0 62.9 6.1 13.6 6.2 27.5 2.2 22.3 2.3 10.9 .8 5.9 1.3 18.2 .5 6.8 .5 16.0 39.0 30.5 ------

6.0 20.5 I 

5.5 I 18.7 I 

Chlorine 

(Cl). 

---

40.• 

18.5 

10.4 

7.5 

5.0 

22.0 

6. 5 11.9 

21.0 

50.0 

2.5 

51.2 

129.6 ---

28.9 

45.2 

~ tzj 

~ 

~ 

> 

~ 

tzj 

fZ 

H 

~ 

te 

>- . ~--- [/): 

0 

l'%j 

~ 

> z 

f.i 

~ 

-l 
38 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

The table shows that the total solids found' in slate waters in 

Maine range frof(l 50 to 7 50 parts per million, the lowest proportion 

being in the hard metamorphic slates of western and southern 

Maine, and the highest, as a rule, in the calcareous slates of Aroostook 

County. The silica ranges from 6 to 21 parts per million, but does 

not seem to hold any definite relation to locality. Iron is nearly 

always absent, but the solids include some alumina, and the figures 

for iron and aluminum oxides range from 0.4 to 4.3 parts per million. 

The most variable constituent, with the exception of chlorine, is 

probably calcium, which ranges from 7 to 159 parts. ·As calcium 

is the principal constituent of lime, its amount is rather closely associated with the proportion of lime in the rocks, and the waters having the most lime are, as a rule, the hardest. The hardness is also 

dependent to a certain degree on magnesium, which ranges from 2.4 

to 36 parts per million. Sodium ranges from 2 to 27 parts, potassium 

from 0.5 to 39, and chlorine from 2.5 to 130. The average composition of the slate waters of Maine, as calculated from these analyses, 

is given in the table. It will be seen that a slate water with an 

average composition would contain 201 parts per million of total 

solids and 43 parts per million of calcium, which would seem to be a 

rather soft water. 

In order to compare the composition of slate water ·with that of 

granite, the average composition of granite waters as represented by 

seven analyses from different parts of the State is given at the foot 

of the table. It will be seen that whqe granite contains on an average more soluble mineral matter than slate does, the amounts of 

calcium, magnesium, and sulphates in slate are considerably higher 

than they are in granite. Hence slate waters, if the above analyses 

can be taken as representative, n1ay be said to be, as a rule, somewhat harder than granite waters, though some slate waters which do 

not contain the sulphates and carbonates of calcium and magnesium 

a_re very soft. No tests for hardness were made in any of these 

analyses. 

COST OF DRILLING. 

The cost of drilling in slate is not so great as in granite and other 

crystalline rocks, and there is little reason why drilled wells in slate 

should not be preferred to dug wells. In Aroostook County, where 

the rocks consist of rather soft slate, the cost is only about $1 a foot, 

the well being cased to rock and the casing being furnished by the 

drillers. In Penobscot County the charge is generally about $3 a 

foot for the first 50 feet, $4 for the second 50 feet, and $5 for every 

foot below 100. In the more wealthy of the summer-resort regions 

drillers are likely to charge n1ore, and on the islands a higher charge 

is necessary owing to the additional expense of getting machines and I 
WELL WATERS IN SLA[TES OF MAINE. 39 

fuel across the water. ';rhe speed of ~rilling varies according to the 

hardness of the slates. Generally 2 tio 10 feet a day can be accomplished, but one well is reported to haye been sunk .35 feet in a single 

night. ' 

SUMMA.:$Y. I 

Plenty of water of excellent quality can be found in n1ost of the 

types of metamorphic slate that occvr in Maine. This water may 

be found almost anywhere within the prst 500 feet below the surface. 

The largest supplies are found gener~lly between 200 and 300 feet, 

but abundant water for a fanlily of or~inary size is usually to be had 

within 100 feet from the surface. Th~ deeper wells are recommende~ 

wherever they are practicable, as theyt are safer from pollution. The 

cost of drilling wells in slate is less ~han in any o'ther kind of rock 

in Maine, and a drilled well will always be cheapest in the end. The 

composition of slate water is uncertain, but the, water is always 

excellent for drinking, and, except i~1 a few regions where there is 

considerable lin1e in the rock, it is notl too hard for boilers and causes 

very little scale. 1 
OCCURRENCE AND COMPOSITION OF WELL WATERS IN 

THE GRANITES OF NEW ENGLAND. 

By FREDERICK G. CLAPP. 

INTRODUCTION. 

From time immemori~l it has been commonly believed that an 

available supply of water does not exist in granite. This belief, 

though erroneous, appears to be well founded when it is considered 

that granite is one of the hardest rocks and that where it is exposed 

at the surface it is usually very solid and free from pores or crevices 

in which water might be held. 

Until within the last few years few wells had been drilled in crystalline rocks. The conditions of the occurrence of water in such 

rocks have thus been little understood, and it has not been generally 

recognized that in many places they are traversed by numerous 

cracks along which water penetrates and in which it is held. 

The literature bearing on this subject is scanty, but Ellis a has 

described the conditions under which water exists in crystalline rocks 

in Connecticut, as found during an extensive investigation of the 

underground waters of that State. The information obtained was 

of great practical value, as it showed that plenty of water exists in 

these rocks, although its presence or absence at any particular spot 

can not be predicted. Of two wells that are drilled side by side, one 

may be a failure and the other a success. 

Field work by the writer in eastern Massachusetts and southern 

Maine in 1906 furnished considerable additional information regarding 

deep-well waters obtained in granite, a rock which covers large areas 

in these States. 

CHARACTER OF MAINE GRANITES • 

. Granite varies in character. The most common variety consists 

of a moderately coarse-grained, light-colored crystalline rock, composed of quartz, feldspar, and mica or hornblende. Granite ranges 

a Ellis, E. E., Occurrence of water in crystalline rocks: Water-Supply Paper U.S. Geol. Survey No. 160, 

1906, pp. 19--28. 

40 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER·SUPPLY PAPER 258 PLATE I 

A. WATER IN SHEET JOINTS IN GRANITE. 

(Seep.41.) 

B. SINK HOLES CONN ECTED WITH UNDERGROUND DRAINAGE. 

(See p. 49 .) 
WELL WATERS IN G:RANITES OF NEW ENGLAND. 41 

in texture from a rock so fine that the grains are barely perceptible 

to a coarsely crystalline graphic granite (pegmatite), composed 

of crystals measuring several inches across. The rock commonly 

quarried as " black granite" is really a diorite. Many varieties of 

granite are found in Maine, but the one which covers the largest areas 

and in which most of the wells sunk in granite have been drilled is of 

moderately coarse texture. In many places it grades into the banded 

variety known as gneiss, and as the conditions that allow the penetration of water in gneiss are similar to those in granite, gneiss is 

included in the following discussion._ 

OCCURRENCE OF WATER IN GRANITE. 

All rocks are traversed by numerous fissures or joint cracks, and 

these openings contain practically all the water that is found in 

granite. Most of the fissures are arranged in systems having a 

fairly constant trend, but there are also many that do not belong to 

any regular system. Some fissures are approximately vertical and 

extend many hundred feet in one direction, and along them water 

may find its way downward from the surface. 

The vertical joints, though not at all regularly placed, are commonly 10 to 20 feet apart. They trend in all directions, but in most 

regions the greater number fall into a series which has a fairly constant 

direction or strike. These joints stand vertically or at steep angles 

ranging up t~ 30° from the vertical. There are also abundant c~acks 

approximately parallel with the surface, as hoi·izontal or sheet joints. 

These range from a few inches apart near the surface to many feet 

apart at a depth of several hundred feet. In a well at Stonington, 

Me., 27 distinct fissures from a few inches to 14 feet apart were 

passed in sinking to a depth of 94 feet. 

Water may be held in sheet joints until it is tapped by a well, or it 

may find its way downward toward smne adjacent lower ground. 

The occurrence of water in joint cracks is shown in Plate I, A, which 

illustrates a granite quarry at North Sullivan, Me. The more nearly 

vertical joints serve as channels for admitting the water from overlying surface deposits, and the sheet joints fonn reservoirs in which 

it is stored. 

As most of the joints in granite are mere seams, the amount. of 

water contained in them is necessarily sn1all. Occasionally as much 

as 30 gallons a 1ninute has been obtained with a steam pump, but in 

most wells the amount yielded is not over 10 gallons a minute. 

On account of the great irregularity of the spacing of joints in 

gra:p.ite, the success of any well in this kind of rock is wholly a matter 

· of chance, dependent on whether the loeation is a fortunate one with 
42 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

respect to the arrangement of the joints. Figure 13 shows how a 

well may be sunk several hundred feet without striking a single joint 

crack, and in such a well no water will be found. More often many 

joint cracks are cut by the well. Where they are numerous an increased amount of water may be found by deeper drilling, but 

instances have. been known where continued drilling struck an open 

FIGURE 

I 

13.-Conditions of wells in jointed granite. A and C, Conditions under which flowing 

If~ wells may be 

obtained; B, D, and S, eonditions under which no water may be found; E, normal condition of obtaining 

water in drilled wells; A, conditions under which well may be polluted by drainage entering joint cracks 

near mouth of well. 

crack in which the water was lost. Such unoertainty of results is 

one of the characteristics of well drilling in granite and similar rocks. 

Of two wells drilled within 50 feet of each other one may be a 

failure and the other a marked success, the result depending on 

whether or not a water-bearing fissure is struck. 

PROPORTION OF SUCCESSFUL WELLS. 

An effort has been made to obtain accurate information regarding 

the proportion of wells drilled in granite which are successful. Such 

an estimate is difficult to make for several reasons. Most well 

drillers are inclined to be optimistic and report few if any failures; 

failures are also apt to be forgotten by residents of a community; 

engineers, well drillers~. and well owners do not agree as to what really 

constitutes a sucessful well; finally, a well that may properly be 

called successful where but a small water supply is needed is a failure 

if a large amount is required. The United States Government has 

abandoned wells in the East because the supply was only 10 to 20 

gallons a minute, and in the irrigating communities in the arid States 

wells that yield even 200 or 300 gallons a minute may be called failures 

because 400 or 500 gallons is required to make the enterprise successful. For ordinary domestic purposes in the Eastern States 1 or 2 

gallons a minute will usually suffice for a single family, but if less 

water than this is obtained the well is generally ranked as a failure. 

A few experienced drillers report one or t~o wells out of a hundred 

that do not yield sufficient water. Sometimes there is a disagreement between the driller and the owner, owing to the fact that the. 

well produced a fair amount of water when the vein was first struck 

by the drill, but later the water gave out. For this reason some of 

the more experienced and reliable drillers will not leave a well until 
WELL WATERS IN GRANITES OF NEW ENGLAND. 43 

a sufficient time has elapsed to de.tennine whether or not the· supply 

will be permanent. 

It is difficult to decide what really constitutes a successful well. 

In the following table a successful well is considered as one which 

supplies enough water for ordinary domestic use, generally about a 

gallon a .1ninute. In eompiling the table all wells more than 50 feet 

deep in which the rock was known to be granite were considered, 

but it has been necessary to omit a few wells whose yield is not 

known. These are mainly wells that have been long abandoned, 

owing to installation of publie supplies or to other causes. The 

unsuecessful wells include both those in which little water was found 

and those in which it was of inferior quality. All known instanees 

of inferior quality af water fron1 wells sunk in granite are due to the 

influx of sea water. 

Relative success of wells sunk to different depths in granite. 

50-100 

feet. 

Number of wells with depth of~ 

100-200 

feet_ 200-300 

feet. 300-400 feet. 

Total 

Over 400 wells. 

feet. 

-------------1~~-- ~-----~-- ~----

Yield (gallons per minute): 

1to5 ... -------------------------------- 5 2 2 ---------- 16 6 to 10 ................... _-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 _ ..... ______ . _____ .. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 6 

}:}v:~------~::::: ::::::::::::::::::::: :::j ~ l ~ :::::::::: :::::::::: 1~ Successful; yieldnotknown .. ______________ 

1 

19 6 3 ---------- 1 29 

~~t~~t~~t~~~bie·_-_-_-: ~: ::::::::::::::::::::: d~ -~- --~f =-~~--~ Total wells __ . _ .. ____ . _____ . _ . _____ . _. _ _ 40 22 15 3 2 82 

Percentsuccessful __________________________ ~~~~=====m====sQ\~ 

By a study of the table it will be seen that 87 per cent of the wells 

drilled in granite of whieh records are available were suecessful 

enough for ordinary domestic use. The other 13 per cent were 

wells in which water was absent or insufficient in quantity, or in 

which it was not usable because the wells were drilled near the 

ocean and salt water entered them along the open joint eraeks. Of 

72 suecessful wells only 3 were reported to produee over 50 gallons 

of water a minute. 

WATER SUPPLY AND DEPTH. 

There seems to be a general belief that where water oceurs it 

increases in quantity with the depth of the well, and some people 

suppose that water may be found anywhere if a well is only drilled 

deep enough. This belief, however, is incorrect. Although water 

ean usually be found by drilling in granite, it may not exist at a 

depth of several hundred feet. The joint cracks and other fissures 

in the rocks close at ·a great depth, owing to the pressure, and hence 

they ean hold no water. 

I 
44 DNbERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

In the investigation of underground waters in crystalline rocks in 

Connecticut, previously referred to, Ellis found that below a depth 

of 200 feet the chances of obtaining water greatly decrease. The 

same conclusion has been reached in a study of the granites of Maine, 

but it is not f~und to be true of all rocks. One of the most experienced well drillers in Maine informed the writer that the maximum 

depth to which it is advisable to drill in granite is 185 f~et, below 

which the chances of striking a supply of water decrease. This 

estimate was based on the results of all the wells sunk by him and 

agrees with the facts indicated by the foregoing table. By ft}r the 

greater portion of wells drilled in granite to a depth of more than 

50 feet do not exceed 100 feet. About half of those deeper than 

100 feet do. not exceed 200 feet, and only two granite wells are known 

to be more than 400 feet deep. The most important figures in the 

table are those showing the percentage of successful wells. To 

summarize these figures it,may be stated that the chances of obtaining a good water supply by drilling in granite range from 95 per 

cent for wells less than 100 feet deep to only 50 per cent for wells 

more than 400 feet deep. Below 200 feet the chances of success 

decrease very rapidly, and those who drill below this depth take 

the risk of incurring more expense than would be involved if they 

should stop drilling and sink another well 50 or 100 feet distant. 

The same conclusion is reached by a study of the following table, 

which shows the relation of the principal water vein to the depth of 

the well. Froip. the totals it will be seen that of 47 wells in granite, 

which record the depth to the principal water supply, in 17, or over 

one-third, it is found within 50 feet of the surface; 16 more, or over 

half the remainder, reach it within 100 feet of the surface; 7, or 

half the recorded wells over 100 feet deep, obtain their principal 

supply from depths of 100 to 150 feet; 3 more get it between 150 

and 200 feet; and 4 wells, or half of the wells more than 200 feet 

deep of which records are available, get their most important water 

vein below 200 feet. 

Relation of depth of prindpal water 'l'ein to depth of well. 

Depth of well (feet). I 

Number of wells in which depth to principal water vein (in feet) isI, .0-50. .10-100. 100-150. 150-200. 200-250. Total. 

--------------! -··--- ----------------

50-100............................................. 13 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

100-150............................................ 2 1 5 ········' ········· 8 150-200............................................ 1 . . . . . . . . . 2 2 . . . . . . . . . 5 200-250............................................ 1 2 ......... ......... 3 6 250-300 ........................... :................ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 Over300 ............... ~---······················· ........ ......... ......... 1 ......... 1 

I~ 17 ___ 16 --. -7 ~-, -3~--4 --47 
WELL WATERS IN GRANITES OF NEW ENGLAND. 45 

COMPOSITION OF GRANITE WATERS. 

In the investigation of the 'Underground waters of Maine, over sixty 

1-gallon samples were collected from wells in different parts of the 

State and were analyzed by Prof. F. C. Robinson, of Bowdoin College. Nine of ·these samples were collected from wells drilled in 

granite in Hancock, Lincoln, and Cumberland counties. 

With two exceptions the amount of total solids in the samples 

ranges from 81 to 419 parts per million. The exceptional waters are 

those of a well at the glue factory at Vinalhaven, and of a well belonging to C. A. Sproul at Pem.aquid Beach. As both these wells are near 

the sea and as their waters are high in minerals in the proportions 

which would be expected where well water was mixed with ocean 

water, there is believed to be such a mixture in these wells and they 

were discarded in compiling the subjoined table. The seven remaining analyses are given in the order of the depth of the wells, which 

ranges from 25 to 279 feet. Comparison of the constituents shows 

no relation between the depth of the well and the proportions of any 

of them. 

The average composition of granite water, as given in the table, is 

the average calculated from the seven analyses. With several of 

the constituents this average is considerably higher than the most· 

common composition, for the reason that one or two exceptionally 

high figures raise the average. Granite water, when not contaminated by surface drainage, is excellent for drinking and is probably 

satisfactory for every ordinary use. A comparison of .the average 

composition of granite waters with the aver~ge composition of slate 

waters calculated from 13 analyses shows that the former contain a 

somewhat higher amount of total solids. Slate waters are, however, 

the harder, as shown by the greater amount of calcium· and magnesium, which are probably present mainly as carbonates and sulphates. 

No tests for hardness were made in these analyses. 
Composition of granite waters from drilled wells in .Maine. 

[F. C. Robinson, analyst. Quantities in parts per million.] 

0 'I I ~~~ I I I I I s I 

rgamc . . alumi- Cal- Magne- . Potas- hu - Chlo- Depth Total and vol- SJhca num cium sium Sodmm sium p ate rine 

(feet). I solids.\ a tile (Si02). oxides (Ca). (Ma). (Na). (K). radicle I ( Cl). matter. (Fe2

0a+ (So4). 

No. County. Locality. Owner. 

AbO a). 

I I •--·---•--•--•--•·---·--·--

1 I Hancock .......... North Sullivan .... J. M. Blaisdell. ....... __ .............. 25 195.7 26.9 8. 3 4. 7 37.4 4. 3 25.6 5. 6 14.9 41.2 2 ..... do .................. do ............. Crabtree & Havey..................... 51 364.3 66.7 12.5 2.1 62.4 3. 4 61.8 3. 7 16.0 140.0 3 Lincoln .•......... Waldoboro ........ Miss E. F. Genthner.................. 56 418.9 99.5 10.9 3. 5 56.6 9. 0 29.5 13.0 36.0 56.6 41 ..... do.... . . . . . . . . . Damariscotta Mills G. W. Waltz. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . .. . .. . . . . . 64 129. 0 29. 0 23. 8 2. 5 18. 1 2. 9 13. 1 5. 8 13. 6 15. 0 5 Hancock.......... Greeninge Island.. J. G. Thorp........................... 88 81. 4 5. 2 8. 5 1.1 1.1 1. 8 11. 0 1. 7 14. 7 23.1 6 Cumberland ....... Bridgton .......... J. K. Martin.......................... 125 205.5 74.0 31.1 2.8 28.9 7.6 9.6 6.9 9.6 23.5 7 Hancock.......... Stonington........ J. C. Rogers........................... 279 136. 5 18. 6 11. 2 2. 0 29. 3 3. 4 13. 0 1. 9 25. 9 16. 9 

Averagecomposition ..................................................... ~218.7~~15.2--2-. 7-"33.4~~--s7J8.7~ Average composition of 13 samples of water from slate.................... . . . . . . . . 201. 3 21. 0 13.8 1. 8 42. 9 8. 4 14. 4 6. 0 20. 5 28. 9 

I I 

~ 

~ 

c:j 

z 

t:t 

trJ 

!:0 

C1 

!:0 

0 

q 

z 

t:t 

~ >- 1-3 

trJ 

~ 

~ 

~ !:0 

.... m 

f-1. 

~ 

~ 
WELL WATERS IN GRANITES OF NEW ENGLAND. 4 7 

COST OF WELLS IN GRANITE. 

As granites and gneisses are among the hardest rocks known, drilling in them is difficult and expensive. Generally the well is not deepened more than 3 to 5 feet a day and sometimes only a few inches. 

The cost is necessarily an important factor in the sinking of wells. 

It not only varies with the kind of rock, but with locality and other 

conditions. The price for drilling 6-inch holes in granite on the coast 

of Maine ranges from $4 to $6 a foot, the higher figure being the more 

common. Most drillers charge about $1 a foot more for drilling on 

the islands than they do on the mainland. 

A significant fact is brought out by comparison of the cost of drilling 

granite wells and the cost of blasting open wells in granite. In some 

parts of Maine $6 a foot is the rate charged for either of these methods. 

A blasted· well is necessarily limited to a few feet in depth and is open 

to the chance of pollution through surface drainage, which may 

easily enter it. Both these objections are less applicable to a drilled 

well, which is therefore to be preferred as a permanent investment. 

SUMMARY. 

To summarize, it is safe to say that under the conditions which 

prevail in the New England States about 90 per cent of the wells 

drilled in granite will find enough water to supply the domestic needs 

of a family. In about 85 per cent enough water will be found within 

100 feet of the surface. A well should not be abandoned without 

sinking at least 200 feet, but drilling deeper than 200 feet is not advisable, although a few wells have procured water at greater depths. If a 

well owner does not obtain sufficient water at 200 feet, he is advised 

to sink a second welllOO feet or more distant, and the chances are good 

that the second attempt will be successful. 

Although granite water is moderately charged with mineral matter, 

it is not hard and is known not to contain sufficient mineral matter to 

interfere with its use. 
POLLUTION OF UNDERGROUND WATERS IN LIMESTONE. 

By GEORGE c. MATSON. 

INTRODUCTION. 

With increase in density of population the maintenance of the 

purity of water becomes a matter of vital importance. In a few 

places it is possible to procure supplies which have moved long distances through beds of sand capped by clay or other impervious materials. Such supplies are essentially free from pollution because 

whatever polluting matter they may have contained lias been removed 

by the natural filtration they have received in their passage through 

the sand.· Unfortunately, however, in many localities it becomes 

necessary to use supplies which receive little or no natural filtration. 

In such places it is necessary either to prevent pollution or to resort to 

some method of artificial purification. Even the most ardent advocates of filtration will arunit that the purification of polluted water 

must always be more or less imperfect. For this reason it becomes 

desirable to prevent pollution, and this can be accomplished only 

when the source of the polluting matter and the methods by which it 

reaches the .water are thoroughly understood. , 

In limestone regions where the country rock is covered by a thin 

rr.J.antle of residual n1aterials the dangers of pollution are very great, 

·and there is practically no opportunity for natural purification. 

The danger is enhanced by the fact that persons using underground 

water are apt to rely on its appearance and temperature as indications of purity. It is generally considered that water which is clear 

and cold is pure, but no such conclusion is warranted, for some of the 

most dangerously polluted waters are free from sediment and as cool 

as ordinary well or spring water. 

OCCURRENCE OF WATER IN LIMESTONE. 

Pores.-In order to understand the manner of pollution in limestone it is necessary to review briefly the mode of occurrence of underground water in such rocks. A few limestones are sufficiently porous 

to absorb much moisture, but most of them, especially :those in the 

48 
POLLUTION OF UNDERGROUND WATERS IN LIMESTONE. 49 

older geologic formations, are too dense to absorb water. In this 

paper the porous limestones will not be considered, the discussion 

being confined to those limestones which yield water from more or 

less open passages. 

J oints.-Limestones are usually traversed by at least two sets ,of 

vertical joints, making approximately right angles with each other. 

Other partings at right angles to these joints form the bedding planes 

of the rock. The spacing of joints is fairly uniform over considerable 

areas, and the interval is commonly to be measured in feet, though 

where the rocks have been deformed the number of joints is increased. 

The bedding planes usually show little uniformity of arrangement, 

and an interval of a few inches may be followed by one of much 

greater magnitude. 

Oaverns.-The water which comes from limestones usually makes 

its way along enlarged joints known as caverns. The enlargement is 

due to solution of the lin1estone by water containing carbonic acid. 

Obviously the places where water circulates most readily will, other 

things being equal, suffer the greatest loss by solution, but differences 

in the solubility of the 'rock may offset the effect of tapid circulation. 

Doubtless the n1ost common locality of rapid solution is at the 

intersection of a prominent bedding plane and a more or less open 

joint. Owing to the presence of numerous open joints or to the 

solubility of the rock, very large chambers, called d01nes, are formed 

in certain places where a considerable anwunt of water enters the 

underground channel. This water, coming fresh from the surface, is 

armed with a great amount of· carbonic acid and attacks the lime- , 

stone about the point of entrance. ·As it flows farther and farther 

from this point it loses its power to dissolve, because it has gradually 

picked up as large an amount of calciun1 carbonate as it can carry. 

The belt of rapid solution is limited to the 'Zone of active water circulation, and the fonnation of ·caverns therefore takes place largely 

above the level of the surface streams which receive the underground drainage, but this does not ilnply that there is no deepseated solution nor that active circulation 1nay not in some places 

extend slightly below the level of surface drainage. 

Sin~ holes.-As solution progresses some parts of the cavern roof 

become so weakened that they collapse, forming sink holes (Pl. I, B, 

p. 40). If the channel beneath the point of collapse is large in proportion to the amount of material which falls, the sink is an open 

hole; but if the amount of fallen material is sufficient to clog the 

channel, the sink appears as a rounded depression which has no outlet. 

The fallen material n1ay obstruct the opening so 'that the stream 

appears at the surface, or it n1ay leave a passage which will allow 

641~8°-w~w ~158-ll-4 
50 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

the drainage to continue underground. In this event the gradual 

wearing of the stream mtty remove enough of the fallen material to 

form an open sink. 

UNDERGROUND STREAMS. 

RELATION TO SURFACE DRAINAGE. 

Downward migration.-In the process of deepening its valley a 

stream lowers the base level of its tributaries and thus affords them 

an opportunity to degrade their channels. When the tributaries 

flow in caverns they lower their channels along joint planes, and the 

process goes forward most rapidly along some particular lines, ju~t 

as in the formation of the original cavern. At certain places where 

there is rapid downward n1ovement from the old to the new channel 

1nore or less rounded openings are developed. These openings furnish a passage from the old to the new cavern and are usually called 

pits. They often fonn beneath the domes mentioned above, their 

FIGURE 14.-Cavem showing different levels of underground strea.lns. 

location being determined in part by the presence of initial crevices 

and in part by the san1e condition which produced the domes, namely, 

the entrance of surface water bearing ·considerable free carbonic 

acid. (See A, B, fig. 14.) Doubtless the formation of both pits and 

domes is aided by the mechanical action of the water, especially where 

it contains sediment. As long as the lower channel or the passages 

leading to it are comparatively small the old cavern retains a large 

part of the drainage. With the enlargement of the new cavities the 

old channel receives less and less of the original drainage until it is 

entirely deprived of its original headwaters except during storms, 

and at last, when the new channels have become sufficiently enlarged, 

the old channel receives only the drainage of its local tributaries. 

Migration from higher to lower levels may take place at successive 

intervals, leaving a series of abandoned channels at different levels. 

The course of the underground stream at each successive stage pro b-· 

ably deviates more or less from the course of the abandoned channel. 
POLLUTION OF UNDERGROUND WATERS IN LIMESTONE. 51 

Moreover, the course may not lie in a single channel, but passages may 

divide and subdivide, forming a more or less extensive network of 

channels. 

Effect of shale beds.-If a shale bed is encountered by the water in 

its downward progress a cavern is usually formed above it, and if the 

shale bed is a considerable distance above the level of the surface 

stream which receives the drainage from the cavern the water :may 

emerge from the cliff above the surface stream. The mechanical 

wear of the underground stream may remove the shale at so;me point 

and thus permit the formation of another channel nearer the level 

of the surface stream. If the shale bed is of considerable thickness 

the downward migration of water lnay be permanently obstrlicted. 

The lowering of the surface streams usually takes place :much more 

rapidly than the lowering of the underground streams. In consequence of this fact the underground strean1s may remain considerably 

above the level of the surface stream, even where there are no beds 

of shale or other dense material to prevent downward migration. 

Change from an underground to a surface stream.-The numerous 

points of weakness in the roof of an old cavern may result in the development of a line of sink holes, which serves to indicate the course of 

underground streams. As the work of undermining the roof progresses the coalescing of the sink holes may give an open channel for 

a considerable distance. 

If this happens at the lower end of the underground stream a gully 

is formed with a large spring at its head. This explains the common 

occurrence of springs in such situations rather than along the valleys 

of the large surface streams. A segment of the roof of a cavern may 

fall and the water, after emerging as a spring and flowing for some 

distance as a surface strean1, may reenter its underground channel 

through an open sink. Sinking streams are very common in liinestone regions. Where all but a small section of the roof of the underground channel falls the section still left standing is known as a 

natural bridge. 

TRACING UNDERGROUND STREAMS. 

Because of the great complexity of the underground drainage the 

tracing of underground streams is a task requiring the exercise of 

considerable patience. If it is possible to enter the underground 

channels, a survey may be made; but most of these channels are inaccessible and some other method must be used. The common methods 

of tracing such streams may be grouped under two heads-chemical 

and physical. 

Chemical tests are made by dissolving certain materials in water 

and introducing them into the underground stream either directly 

through open holes or by seepage through the soil. The compounds 
52 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

most commonly used are chlorides of sodium, calcium, or ammonium, 

nitrate of potassium, and salts of aluminum or iron. After the 

introduction of one of these substances chemical tests are made at 

frequent intervals to detect its presence in samples taken froni the 

. well or spring that is supposed to receive water from the underground stream. 

Physical tests are made either with coloring or suspended matter. 

The coloring materials commonly used are potassium permanganate, 

fuchsine, Congo red, methylene blue, and fluorescein. Suspended 

matter may be of either microscopic or megascopic size. Such substances as flour, starch, or cultures of bacteria may be introduced 

into the water of the underground stream and the suspected spring 

or well water examined to determine their presence or absence. For 

microscopic tests wood, sawdust, leaves, oil, and many other substances are used. 

The choice of the material for tests will depend largely on the local 

conditions. Oil and other substances which float on the water are 

satisfactory only where there are no quiet reaches of water and no 

marked constrictions in the channel to delay their progress. In some 

experiments they have proved satisfactory; in others they have 

given negative results. They are useful in connection with chemical 

or with other physical tests because they give an idea of the character 

of the underground stream. 

In one test oil, fragments of wood, and common salt (NaCl= 

sodium chloride) were used in a single underground stream. The 

materials were put into the stream through an open sink about one .. 

eighth of a mile from its point of emergence in a spring. The oil 

appeared at the sprmg in one hour and the salt in seven hours; the 

wood fragments had not appeared after a lapse of several days. The 

writer has found salt very satisfactory for testing streams having a 

flow of several million gallons or less daily, but its use would be impracticable in very large streams such as are found in some caverns. 

DEPOSITS IN CAVERNS. 

After the abandonment of a section of the underground stream 

the amount of water entering the old channel becomes less and less 

until it is confined largely to :m1all seeps. At this stage much of the 

water is rmnoved by evaporation and the process of solution gives 

place to that of deposition. At first deposition is rapid because 

the crevices are large enough to supply all the water that can be 

evaporated, but gradually as the points of ingress· become closed by 

deposition the amount of water entering diminishes until finally it 

may cease altogether, leaving a portion of the cavern dry. Although 

the greater part of the deposition in caverns takes place after the 

ttctive work of solution has ceased~ the two processes may go on at 
POLLUTION OF UNDERGROUND WATERS IN LIMESTONE. 53 

the salll:e time and there is always a gradual transition from one to 

the other. 

The products of deposition are the stalactites, stalagmites, and 

various irregular masses which ornament caverns. These are always 

most numerous in the upper levels, though they may forn1 to so1ne 

extent in all the underground channels. 

POLLUTION OF LIMESTONE WATERS. 

CHARACTER. 

Suspended matter.-Certain waters may be rejected as unfit for 

use because they contain straw or other materials of organic origin, 

and the wisdom of such rejection is too apparent to need comment. 

On the other hand, the presence of sediment in water is often taken 

as an indicat~on of the entrance of surface water through an open 

sink; such a conclusion, however, may be wholly erroneous. · 

FIGURE 15.-Diagram of cavern showing how sediment may be deposited by the underground stream. 

Figures 15 and 16 show that the presence or absence of sediment 

can not. be considered a safe indication of the presence or absence 

of surface drainage. In the cavern shown in figure 15 sedimentladen surface water entering at A may be so retarded in the chamber 

B that it deposits its sedin1ent and passes through a constricted 

channel, r, to emerge at D cmnparatively free from sediment. 

FIGURE 16.-Diagram of cavern snowing how sediment may be obtained by the underground stream. 

This water, though comparatively clear, may contain a large amount 

of surface drainage in some other form. In the cavern shown in 

figure 16 the water 1nay obtain sediment at the closed sink A and 

emerge at B so turbid as to indicate a direct connection with surface 

drainage. 
54 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

The conditions represented by these two figures are transitory, 

for in the cavern of figure 15 the chamber B will soon become partly 

filled with silt, so that the water passing through the channel C 

will transport a considerable amount of sediment, and in the cavern 

of figure 16 the gradual removal of material from the sink A will 

soon form an open hole. Sediment may also be deposited in caverns during low-water periods and then washed out during highwater periods. Solutions of organic matter may be temporarily 

retained in underground sinks in the same way. It is always wise 

to refrain from drinking underground water which contains silt or 

clay, for although these Inaterials in the1nselves are seldmn injurious they may indicate the presence of surface drainage which has 

received little or no natural purification. It must not be inferred 

that all surface drainage is harmful; but it is well to bear in mind 

the possibilities of pollution by such drainage, and -if any part of 

the surface drainage cmnes from a city or from dwellings the water 

should be rejected. 

NATURAL PURIFICATION. 

A fact which needs great emphasis is that water which flows in 

channels in limestone probably receives less natural purification 

than surface water. Especial attention is called to this fact, because 

there is a popular belief that water is purified by passing a short 

distance underground. This belief is based on a study of the purification of water by its passage through sand or sandstone. In these 

materials the purificatio~ is mechanical and takes place because the 

openings between the sand grains are very small. In other words, 

in removing the objectionable matter the sand acts as a mechanical 

filter. 

Water that flows through channels in limestone receives no filtration, and consequently but little natural purification. It is also 

effectually sealed from the oxidizing effects of air and sunlight. The 

flow of water in limestone passages may be compared with its movement through ordinary water mains, and the chances for purification 

are about equal in the two channels. 

EXAMPLE OF POLLUTION. 

A typical example of the pollution of underground water in limestone is afforded by a certain city containing a spring which supplied 

several persons. The failure to realize the danger of pollution was 

due not to carelessness or negligence but to a belief that the water 

of the spring all came from points beyond the city limits. The 

important fact that underground streams have tributaries was entirely overlookefl. Figure 17 gives the plan of the Rurface drainage 

of the area furnishing water to the spring A, which is located at the 
POLLUTION OF UNDERGROUND WATERS IN LIMESTONE. 55 

edge of the city. There are several sinks within the city limits, and 

the question to be decided was whether the spring received drainage 

from the city through these sink holes. The depressions which received the surface drainage, outlined in figure 17, appeared to be 

the result of the partial collapse of cavern roofs, this fact being 

indicated by their general rectangular arrangement and their relation to the joint planes of the limestone. The presence of the sink 

holes indicated underground drainage, and it was assumed that this 

drainage would follow more or less closely the lines of surface drainage. The general trend of this surface drainage is toward the spring. 

To test the connection between the sinks and the spring, salt was 

introduced into some 

of the sinks and its 

presence noted in the 

spring. The sinks 

selected for the investigation were chosen because they were 

supposed to include 

between them nearly 

all the area in the city 

which drains to the 

spring. 

The sink B is not 

open, and after a 

heavy rain it is occupied by a pool of 

water which seeps 

away rapidly. Four 

barrels of salt were 

put into this sink 

during a rain which 

lasted for twenty-four 

hours. Samples were 

F~GURE 17.-Location of sink holes and.springs. 

then taken at the spring at intervals of one hour. The amount of 

chlorine in the samples was determined by means of standard silver 

nitrate tablets, potassium chromate being used as an indicator. 

Eight hours after putting the salt into the sink the amount of 

chlorine in the spring had doubled, and within the next two hours 

it rose to four times the original amount. It remained fairly uniform for several hours, finally falling to double the original amount 

and continuing nearly uniform for the succeeding f0rty-eight hours, 

when observations were discontinued. 

The sink hole 0 had originally been open, but at the time the tests 

were made was filled with broken stone and loose earth. During 

heavy rains considerable water collected in this sink. It was 
56 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

· drained by means of a small passage through the loose material. 

The water poured into this passage at the rate of 25 to 30 gallons a 

minute. Two barrels of salt were put into the water which had 

collected in this sink after a· heavy rain, and tests were made at the 

spring in the same manner as before. At the expiration of sixteen 

hours the amount of chlorine in the spring had increased 100 per 

cent. It rose rapidly to nearly 150 per cent above the normal and 

then fell with corresponding rapidity until, twenty-four hours from 

the time the salt was put into the sink, the amount of chlorine in the 

spring was only about 50 p~r cent above the normal. 

Similar tests were made in connection with the smk at D, but the 

results were not entirely satisfactory because only 1 barrel of salt was 

used. However, the general trend of the underground drainage is 

probably toward the spring and the location of the sink D indicates 

that it is, with little doubt, connected with one of the underground 

channels which supplies water to the spring. 

The importance of this investigation is shown by the facts that the 

sink B receives all the drainage from two houses and a barn and that 

the sink 0 receives a large part of the drainage of more than a ~core 

of houses. None of these houses ate connected with sewers, so that 

the danger of pollution is very grave. In the area between Band 0 

are a number of dwellings and the drainage of some of them is allowed 

to enter sink holes. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The practice of putting rubbish, barnyard filth, etc., into sinks 

should be abandoned. Still more reprel~ensible is the custom of 

running sewage into sinks, thus converting the underground channels 

into natural sewers. This practice, which is by no means uncommon, 

is often defended by the assertion that the water in limestone channels beneath a city is unfit for drinking even without the sewage. 

The correctness of this assertion can not be disputed, but there are 

persons who are ignorant of the danger and who continue to use the 

underground water. Moreover, those living at some distance from 

the city may use water from the underground channel which receives 

the sewage. For these reasons any city which proposes to convert 

an underground watercourse into a sewer should be forced to trace 

the channel to its destination so that others may be protected. 

There is need of legislation to prevent the unnecessary pollution of 

underground streams. Such legislation has been enacted for the 

protection of surface water, but the protection of underground water 

has been entirely neglected. 
PROTECTION OF SHALLOW 'WELLS IN SANDY DEPOSITS. 

)3y MYRON L. FULLER. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Notwithstanding the exceedingly unsanitary surroundings, of 

the driven wells in certain sandy districts which have been investigated by the United States Geological Survey, the waters in many 

of these wells have been found to be reasonably safe. Investigation 

shows this safety is due to certain definite conditions, which are the 

result of known laws governing the movements of ground water. 

It is the object of this paper to discuss these conditions and to point 

out their application to the sinking of shallow wells in sands receiving polluting matter at adjacent points. 

SANDY DEPOSITS. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

In the eastern and northern parts of the United States deposits 

of sand are very numerous, widely distributed, and of considerable 

area, and constitute the chief source of domestic water supplies at 

hundreds if not thousands of points. Part of the deposits have 

been formed by waves along the coasts, part by winds blowing the 

sands from beaches and other exposed sandy areas and building 

them into dunes, part by deposition in glacial streams, la~es, etc., 

during the ice age, and part by deposition along the courses of the 

present rivers and smaller streams. The glacial and alluvial deposits 

are among the most common sites of towns, and many of even the 

dunes and sea beaches are occupied by populous resorts, as along 

the Long Island and New Jersey coasts. 

In sandy regions of the type described water is generally abundant, 

at least in the eastern part of the United States, and commonly occurs 

very near the surface. For this reason shallow wells are in general 

use, most of them being of the driven type, although open wells are 

used in some of the more unprogressive districts. This is especially 

to be regretted, as the open porous sand readily ·transmits sewage 

and other polluting matter, much of which enters the open well 

through the curbing. In tubular driven wells this matter is shut off 

57 
58 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

from all except the bottom of the well, and to procure good water 

it is only necessary to drive to a moderate distance below the water 

table. 

In the internal structure of sandy deposits, as determined by the 

character and arrangement of the materials, many variations exist, 

but the deposits can all be grouped under one or the other of two 

classes-sands of uniform character and sands with included impervious or relatively impervious layers, which need not necessarily be 

beds of clay, for layers of fine sand or even well-stratified layers of 

material of the same texture may act as confining beds. a The 

second class therefore is very large, and deposits of this type far 

outnumber those of the first class. 

UNIFORM SANDS. 

Deposits of uniform sand are limited in large measure to the windformed deposits known as "dunes," although certain of the more 

sandy glacial deposits closely approximate uniformity. The glacial 

deposits generally present a fairly uniform surface, but the dune 

areas are commonly irregular, though some rather fiat-topped winddeposited dunes are known. A smooth-topped gently sloping 

deposit is taken as a type in the following discussion for sake of 

\ 

' 

\ 

\ ', ..... _____ .,_.,--

', ' ..... , ______ ... -~-

0 

0 

Q. 

Ill 

<II 

Q.l 

0 Land surface wa er 

FIGURE 18.-Conditions of pollution in thick deposits of uniform materials. 

simplicity. The conditions in a dune area of rolling topography 

would, however, be essentially the same, as the form of the water 

table in porous sands would be little affected by individual dunes, 

which are gener:ally a minor feature of the topography. 

The conditions to which wells are subject in uniform sands are illustrated in :figure lR, in which the position of a cesspool and of the wells 

A, B, C, and D are indicated. The wells are assumed to be tubular 

and to draw water from the bottom only. The normal position of the 

water table is represented by w-w1-w2 and its position after pumping 

from well C by the dotted line x-x1 -x2 • The normal movement of the --------

a Fuller, M. L., Two unusual types of artesian flow: Water-Supply Paper U.S. Geol. Survey No, 145. 

1905, pp. 41-45. 
PROTECTION OF SH LLOW WELLS IN SANDY DEPOSITS. 59 

ground water is indicated by the broken lines extending diagonally 

downward from the water t ble and curving upward to points of emergence along the lake or wat rcourse at the left. Before any of the w~lls 

are pumped the sewage fr m the cesspool will follow approximately 

the line x 2-x3 • Under thes conditions well A, which just penetrates 

to this line of flow, will b endangered by the polluted matter, but 

well B, which fails to reach the line of movement, and wells C and D, 

which penetrate to a point well below it, will probably be unaffected. 

If either of the wells is p mped vigorously the water table will be 

lowered in its vicinity. ( ig. 18 shows the effect of pumping well 

C.) The effect as regards ontamination will depend on the amount 

pumped. Pumping well ~will result in a lowering of the water 

table in its vicinity and an influx of water from below and from the 

downhill side as well as fro the direction of the cesspool, but as an 

offset to the increased am unt of pure water drawn in more sewage 

is likewise obtained. If ~ell C is pumped but slightly, the quality 

of the water may be unaff cted, but if pumped hard the water table 

may be lowered beneath a area extending to a point near the cesspool, the resu. lt of which lkll almost certainly be pollution of the 

well water. The effect of pumping this well, as shown in the diagram, is a lowering of the 1 

ater table at the well from w1 to x1 and a 

change in the direction of t e ground-water movement in its vicinity 

from x 2

-x3 to x 2-y, which w ll result in a pollution of the well. Pumping well D, though lowerin the water table to a depth corresponding 

with x3, will not result i pollution because of the Inuch greater 

depth of the well. 

Thus in uniform materia s where the water is unconfined any considerable pumping of wells hose bottoms are near the lines of underflow from cesspools or oth r sources of polluting matter is likely to 

result in pollution of the ell water; on the other hand, wells sunk 

any .considerable distance below these lines of underflow are safe 

under ordinary conditions of pumping. 

The" safety distance," a it may be called, has been the subject of 

much discussion. A com on statement is that a well should not be 

located within a distance qual to one to five times its depth from 

any source of pollution. The application of any such rule may be 

far from safe, however, as an examination of figure 18 will show. 

The source of danger is n t necessarily the nearest cesspool, but is 

quite as likely to be a mo e distant one. Well D, for instance, is 

safe from pollution from t e cesspool shown, but would not be safe 

from a cesspool located at 2 

It has been found tha the depression produced in the water 

table by pumping has a di meter ranging from 15 to over 150 times 

the vertical distance whic the water has been lowered, and some 

authorities assume that a y polluting matter coming within the 
60 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

limits <;>f this depression will find its way to the well. This is probably 

true of open wells in general, but, it is not true of driven wells nor of 

tightly-cased drilled or bored wells. These, though protected from 

the entrance of polluting matter near the surface, are, as has been 

e:x:plained, not safe from pollution from distant sources. So many 

factors, most of which are variable and generally unkno~, enter 

into the question of the depth at which a well is safe that no general 

rule can be laid down. Field observations, however, seem to show 

that where the bottom of the well is 10 feet or more below the position of the water table when lowered by pumping the water is 

generally pure. A· larger margin of safety should, if possible, be 

allowed, especially where the well is to be subjected to heavy pumping or is in a thickly settled district where many cesspools or other 

sources of contamination exist. 

NONUNIFORM SANDS. 

In the class of nonuniform sands are included both deposits consisting of alternations of sands of different textvre and deposits consisting of sands with interbedded layers of finer silt. 

In deposits of this nature the conditions differ greatly from those 

ex~ting in uniform sands. The active circulation, instead of reaching to a considerable depth, as in uniform sands (fig. 18), is, so far as 

need be considered in the present discussion, restricted to zones of 

moderate depth (see fig. 1 9), in which movement is relatively rapid. 

~ .e 10 10 U) 

U) >. 

0 c I I rlJ 1 ~LJ Water table 

.........::::= I xU Y , _z --- ---- ------

2'-w ::0 .0<.- Ill 10(0 ..0 

J!IO -g ~ ,e. ~=>. ...... ~ tim b .,;_ a Land surface 

d 

------ u 

I I 

FIGURE 19.-Conditions of pollution in thin beds of sand overlying impervious layer. 

The conditions shown in figure 19 may be taken as typical of those 

existing in nonuniform sands. The figure shows a bed of porous 

material overlying an impervious or relatively impervious bed, also 

a series of cesspools (a, b, c, d) and tubular wells (A, B, C, D) drawing 

water from the bottoms of the casings. The normal level of the 

.water table is indicated and the ground-water movement is shown 

by broken lines. Before the wells are pumped or when only slight 

amounts of water are raised the ground water is essentially undisturbed and the movement of sewage from the cesspools will be approximately along the lines x-x', y-y', and z-z'. Under these conditions well A is probably safe, as it extends below the line of movement 
PROTECTION OF SHAtLOW WELLS IN SANDY DEPOSITS. 61 

from cesspool a. Well B, owever, although of the same depth as 

well A is probably unsafe 1 ecause of the greater depth reached at ' ~p oint by the polluting matter from a. At the same time ~B 

is pro bably safe from poilu ion from cesspool b, showing aga· rn that 

it is n ot always the nearest cesspool that is the source of cont aminaa Cesspool b 

Interrupted imp-ervious bedl ~ Lens 

'""--- .. ~ .. '' 

Continuous ImperVIOUS bed 

... FIGURE 20.-Section showmg mterrupted beds and the consequent poss1b1lity of pollutmg matter passing 

und meath impervious beds. 

tion. Well C, close to well B, by going deeper obtains water which 

is probably safe from cessp ols a and b but might be polluted from 

a more distant source, as a cesspool at d, although the distance 

may be so great that all da ger is eliminated. To guard against possible pollution a well , ~ 

should be sunk below Inlet. 

the· first impervious 

bed(asatwellD),but ~::::~~~~~~~~~ 

even this will not al- -- --, 

--. t ~oesasd of 

ways insure safety, 

as in many places the 

i1npervious beds are 

not continuous but 

thin out, as shown in 

figure 20, so that polluted waters can pass 

underneath them. 

Well b, in figure 20, 

passes below a continuous impervious 

bed and would be 

safe. Figure 20 also 

shows why the succession of beds in 

closely adjacent wells 

IGURE 21.-Diagram showing loss of head by friction in 

column of sands. (After Hazen.) 

may be dissimilar and wh the encountering of similar beds 

same depth, as at a and , does not prove continuity. 

at the 

MOVEME T OF GROUND WATER. 

Figures 18 and 19 show hat water while sinking a certain distance 

downward spreads out to much greater horizontal distance. That 

th~ movement is much m re rapid near th~ surfac~ than at greater 
62 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

depths will also be apparentdrom a study of the conditions of motion. 

The flow of water through a soil of given texture at a fixed temperature and depth is proportional to the difference between the pressure 

head at that depth and that at the surface of the water table. The 

head at any deeper point will be diminished owing to the friction caused 

by the material between the two points. This is brought out very 

clearly in figure 21. The velocity of the ground-water body near the 

level of the water table may be many times greater than at depths of 

even no more than 50 or 100 feet. In fact it is probable that in many 

valleys and basins, especially where the materials are open and porous, 

---:::: 3E~ ~~1:?_~~,~(~-~~f.fs,{i_~~e.fft'~::---

·······•······· Zone of / \ slow movement ........... , ... 

......................................... ·· ······•··························· ·········· 

FIGURE 22.-Diagram showing concentration of motion in upper part of ground-water body. 

the ground water below the level of the surface drainage is relatively 

stagnant, the increment due to rainfall being almost entirely removed 

by movements in the upper portion of the ground-water body, as 

shown graphically in figure 22. 

The principle outlined is of great importance in considering the 

pollution of wells. It means that polluting matter may be carried 

in the upper portion of the ground-water body with greater rapidity 

and to a greater distance than in the portion a few feet farther down, 

and this suggests deepening tubular wells as a precaution against 

contamination. 

NATURAL FILTRATION. 

Types.-So-called natural filtration has been much discussed in 

recent years, and more or less definite ideas of its supposed applications exist in the minds of people in general as well as in those of 

scientists. Everyone has observed and is familiar with the effects 

of filtration in removing visible impurities from liquids, and many 

have been inclined to the belief that bacteria and even matter in solution could be removed in the same way. There are, however, for the 

most part, very slight grounds for such belief. 

Natural filtration may be subdivided according to the character of 

the supposed action into mechanical, chemical, and bacteriological 

filtration. These are briefly considered in the following paragraphs. 

Mechanical filtration.-The removal of matter held in suspension 

in the water constitutes mechanical filtration and is due mainly to the 

entanglement of the suspended particles among the grains of soil or 

other filtering medium through which the water passes. The efficiency of this process depends on the size and uniformity of the grains, 
PROTECTION OF SHALLOW WELLS IN SANDY DEPOSITS. 63 

on the pressure head of the water which is passing through the soil, 

on the temperature of the water, etc. The slower the filtration the 

more effective it will be, h~nce fine material is more effective than 

coarse, mixtures more efficiept than uniform materials, and low-pressure heads and low temperapures better than high ones. 

There is no chemical pur· cation in filtration of this nature, and in 

ordinary materials and with waters free from sediment there is but a 

relatively small decrease in t e number of bacteria. Where sediment 

of any sort is present in co siderable amounts, however, many bacteria are entangled in the fi ter and remain behind with the residue. 

Although the number thus emoved may amount to a considerable 

proportion of the whole, if t~e water was originally polluted, there are 

almost invariably enough bafteria left to render it unsafe for drinking. 

In artificial mechanical fil ration through stone or other very dense 

media fairly perfect remova of bacteria has been effected, but under 

the conditions existing in n~ture such removal will rarely take place, 

except where the water pass· s for a long distance through fine materials. But even if bacteria will not pass through a filter with the 

water, they may in the cour e of time spread through it by multiplication, finally contaminatin the water on the other side. 

Chemical action.-Chemic I changes in waters passing through soils 

are the result not of any echanical filtering but of reactions between the water and them terial with which it comes into contact. 

In shallow ground waters t~e process, instead of being one of purification, is generally one of pineralization, material being taken up 

from the soil instead of beint left behind in it. Purification through 

chemical deposition is usn lly accomplished only at considerable 

depth below the surface, b yond the reach of the ordinary shallow 

wells. Iron, however, is o casionally deposited in small amounts 

between grains of sand, etc., along the contact with underlying clayey 

materials, even near the sujace. In general the mineral matter dissolved by shallow waters is mall, but in the alkaline lands of regions 

of slight rainfall it may be lery great. 

So far as the sanitary effec~ is concerned the most important chemical action accompanying filtration through soil is the oxidation of 

polluting materials. Oxyge (in air) is everywhere present in soils 

above the water table and, ei her by direct chemical action or through 

the influence of bacteria, att cks and breaks down the impurities, reducing them to harmless mi eral compounds. 

Bacteriological action.-E en more important than the oxidation 

of impurities by the aid of b cteria is the work done by the so-called 

nitrifying bacteria, which n t only break down the organic polluting 

materials but destroy most f the disease-producing organisms. Under artificial conditions, as · filtration plants, the action is almost per-
64 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

feet, 99.5 per cent or more of the dangerous bacteria being removed; 

under natural conditions, however, only a relatively small fraction of 

the germs are affected. 

General e.t/ect.-In summarizing the preceding paragraphs it may be 

said that in natural filtration through 'a moderate depth ef soil the suspended impurities are in large part taken out, parts of the remainder 

are oxidized and their odors destroyed, and many of the bacteria are 

removed. The water is clear and sparkling, but as a rule it· still 

contains unoxidized polluting matter and sufficient bacteria to make 

it unsafe for domestic use, ·except where the wells are remote !'rom 

the source of pollution. The "safety distance" depends on a large 

number of factors, including the nature and porosity of the soil, the 

velocity and direction of ground-water movement, the number of 

sources of contamination, and the amount of pollution entering the 

ground. · 

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS. 

The alternation of layers of materials of different texture, even if all 

are pervious, and the presence of stratification planes in uniform materials tend to obstruct the downward passage of water and to confine 

pollution to the upper portion of the ground-water body-the part immediately below the water table. This explains why many towns 

located on sand deposits procure unpolluted water from driven wells 

sunk a few feet below the ground-water level, notwithstanding the 

sands receive the entire drainage of the towns. To this fact is due the 

absence of typhoid, cholera, and other water-borne diseases at many 

points where danger from pollution might be supposed to exist. To 

insure safety wells should be carried to a considerable depth below the 

ground-water level, and as each succeeding layer of material affords 

additional security they should be sunk as deep as possible. 

Polluted ground waters are more or less purified through the removal of their suspended matter and a portion of their bacteria by 

entanglement among the grains of the material through which they 

pass, by oxidation, and by nitrifying bacteria, but more or less polluting matter remains for a considerable length of time. 

The distance to which pollution is carried will depend on the porosity and size of grain of the materials through which it passes, the 

amount of rainfall, the inclination of the surface and the elevation of 

the outlet, the temperature, the number of sources of contamination, 

and the amount of pollution entering the ground. 

Where a single source of pollution exists and only a small amount 

of polluting matter enters the ground the contamination does not commonly extend beyond 150 feet. An open well at this distance would 

probably give no trouble, and a driven well extending 15 feet or more 

below the water level is almost sure to be safe, providing the rate of 

movement of the'ground water is :normaJ and the pumping not severe. 
PROT'ECTION OF SHALLOW WELLS IN SANDY DEPOSITS. 65 

Where there are several sources of pollution and large amounts of 

polluting matter are introduced into the ground the contamination 

may extend in porous materials for some hundreds or even thousands 

of feet,a especially when the underground waters move with considerable velocity. In such places open wells are out of the question, but 

driven wells carried 20 or 25 feet below the water level will usually 

afford safe water if not heavily pumped. If the wells are heavily 

pumped to obtain water for manufacturing purposes or for city supply 

the water table is usually lowered considerably, the polluted waters 

likewise sinking to ·a greate depth~ Under such conditions a depth 

of 50 feet or more below the normal water table is none too much. 

a Dole; R. B-., Use of fluorescein in the tudy of underground waters: Water-Supply Paper U.S. Geol. 

Survey No. 160, 1906, p. 81. 

64198°---VVSP 258---11----5 
COMPOSITION OF MINERAL SPRINGS IN MAINE. 

By FREDERICK G. CLAPP. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Many analyses of mineral-spring waters from Maine and other 

States have been published from time to time, but no effort has been 

made to give a summary of the chemical characteristics of spring 

water in any particular area. Field work done in an investigation of 

-the underground waters of Maine in 1906 ap_d subsequent office work, 

in which practically all the chemical analyses made of waters in that 

State were compiled, has enabled the writer to get together much 

material showing the- character of the spring waters, and a summary 

of the work done is here presented. In the detailed report on this 

investigation a the numerous springs are described and information 

concerning the character of the water and the volume of the flow, and 

other· facts of interest are presented. For that reason only a brief 

summary of the composition of the waters will be given here. 

SPRINGS OF MAINE. 

Number and importance.-Springs are abundant .in Maine, especially in the interior of the State. Many of them· are situated on 

hillsides, from which the water can be distributed by gravity to residences and farms. In places several families ·have combined to have 

the water of the larger springs distributed through their dwellings by 

pipes. Here and there the water is raised by windmills. 

The water is very cool, temperatures as low as 45 ° being common, 

and temperatures over 50° rarely being reported. This low temperature makes the spring waters valuable for use in dairies and 

creameries. 

In those parts of the State where the well water is hard, springs 

are more generally utilized than where it is soft. In a few places, 

where the quality of water in the neighboring streams is poor, springs 

supply manufacturing establishments. 

The earliest published work on the mineral springs of Maine wa~ 

the report by .Goodale, issued in 1861.b The data contained in this 

a Clapp, F. G., Underground waters of southern Maine: Water Supply Paper U.S. Geol. Survey No. 

223,1908. 

b Goodale, G. L., Report on the mineral waters of Maine: Sixth Ann. 1Rept. Maine Bureau Agr., 1861. 

66 
COMPOSITION OF MINERAL SPRINGS !N MAINE. 67 

report, consisting of a few analyses, statistics of temperature, etc., 

were compiled by Peale a in~ 1886. A few springs were described in 

1899 by Crook.b Otherw· e no information has been published 

regarding Maine springs ex ept the reports of. sales of spring waters 

given in the Geological Surtey's annual reports on the mineral resources of the United States 

Oommercialsp'rings.-A g~oup of springs of great economic value to 

the State comprises those ~hich are designated commercial springs, 

or those of which the waters resold by measure. In this group there 

are two subclasses. The rst includes springs that furnish table 

water to consumers in their icinity at regular intervals. The second 

subclass comprises springs t e waters of which are bottled and shipped 

to distant points; springs hose waters are commonly supposed to 

possess medicinal propertie , and certain others whose waters are 

exceptionally pure. 

The springs reporting sale in southern ~1aine at the time this investigation was made were 44 i.l number, as follows: 

Addison Mineral Spring, Ad ison, Washington County. 

Arctic Spring, Bangor, Pen bscot County. 

Baker Puritan Spring, Old rchard, York County. . 

Bluehill Mineral Spring, Bhjlehill, Hancock County. 

Carrabasset Mineral Spring, parrabasset, Franklin County. 

Chapman's Spring, Brewer~enobscot County. 

Cold Bowling Spring, Steep Fa,· lls, Limington, York County. 

Crystal Mineral Spring, Au urn, Androscoggin County. 

Forest Spring, Litchfield, K nnebec County. 

Glenrock Mineral Spring, G eene, Androscoggin County. 

Glenwood Spring, St. Alba , Somerset County. 

Highland Spring, Holden, enobscot County. 

Highland Mineral Spring, L wistol_l, Androscoggin County. 

Hillside Spring, Bangor, Pe obscot County. 

Indian Hermit Mineral Sp · g, Wells, York County. 

Ishka Springs, West Hanco k, Hancock County. 

Katagudos Spring, Eastbro~k, Hancock County. 

Keystone Mineral Spring, East P-' :,nd, Androscoggin County. 

Knowlton's Soda Spring, So th f ng, Franklin County. 

Mount Desert Spring, Bar arbor, l:iancock County. 

Mount Hartford Mineral Sp ing, Hartford, Oxford County. 

Mount Oxford Spring, Sum er, Oxford County. 

Mount Zircon Spring, Milto Plantation, Oxford County. 

Oak Grove Spring, Brewer, enobscot County. 

Old Yorke Spring, Old Ore ard, York County. 

Oxford Spring Home, Oxfor , Oxford County. 

Paradise Spring, Brunswick Cumberland County. 

Pejebscot Spring, Auburn, ndroscoggin County. 

Pine Spring, Topsham, Sag dahoc County. 

Pine Grove Spring, Pittsfiel , Somerset County. 

Poland Spring, Poland, An roscoggin County. 

a Peale, A. C., Mineral waters of the Uni ed States: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 32, 1886, pp. 13-16. 

b Crook, J, K., Mineml wat&s oftha Unrd States and Canada. 
68 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

Pownal Spring, New Gloucester, Cumberland County. 

Pure Water Spring, Waterville, Kennebec County. 

Raymond Spring, North Raymond, Cumberland County. 

Rocky Hill Spring, Fairfield, Somerset County. 

Sabattus Mineral Spring, Wales, Androscoggin County. 

Seal Rock Spring, Saco, York County. 

Sparkling Spring, Orrington, Penobscot County. 

Switzer Spring, Prospect, Waldo County. 

Thorndike Mineral Spring, Thorndike, Waldo County. 

Ticonic Spring, Winslow, Kennebec County. 

Underwood Spring, Falmouth Foreside, Cumberland County. 

Wawa Lithia Spring, Ogunquit, York County. 

White Sand Spring, Springvale,. York County. 

Iri addition to the springs listed above, the following were reported 

by Peale,a with analyses that were made at various dates between 

1861 and 1879. It is not known whether these springs are still in 

use, but they do not report sales: 

American Chalybeate Spring, South Auburn, Androscoggin County. 

Auburn Mineral Spring, South Auburn, Androscoggin County. 

Boothbay Medicinal Spring, East Boothbay, Lincoln County. 

Ebeeme Spring. 

Fryeburg Spring, Fryeburg, Oxford County. 

Lake Auburn Mineral Spring, North Auburn, Androscoggin County. 

Lubec Saline Springs, head of Lubec Bay, Washington County. 

North Waterford Springs; northwest of Waterford village, Oxford County. 

Poland Silica Springs, South Poland, Androscoggin County. 

Rosicrucian Springs, Rosicrucian, Lincoln County. 

Samoset Mineral Springs, Nobleboro, Lincoln County. 

Scarboro Spring, Scarboro, Cumberland County. 

Summi~ Mineral Spring, Harrison, Cumberland County. 

West Bethel Spring, West Bethel station, Oxford County. 

Analyses of some of the above were taken by Peale from Goodale's 

report. 

Origin of spring waters.-A common but erroneous belief regarding 

spring waters is that most of them are derived from a distant source. 

Several spring owners have told the writer that the water from their 

springs came from the White Mountains, at least 40 or 50 miles 

distant. Owners of flowing wells in Islesboro have stated their 

belief that the water of the wells had its source in mountains on the 

mainland several miles distant. 

In certain regions springs may have such an origin. The waters 

of many mineral springs in the West come long distances underground. In Maine, however, so far as known, no spring or well obtains its supply at a distance of more than a mile from the place 

where the water emerges. }.1ost spring waters enter gravel deposits 

on the surface of a hill and find their way downward along the top 

of the bed rock or hardpan deposits until they find an easy point of 

aOp. cit. 
COMPOSITION OF MINERAL SPRINGS IN MAINE. 69 

emergence on the slope. The waters of a few mineral springs issue 

from joint cracks or from fissures in rock. These waters may come 

from a considerable depth, but as their temperature is generally 

about the normal temperature of the region they probably do not 

come from a ~eater depth than 100 feet below the surface. 

QUALilrrY OF WATERS. 

CLASSES. 

The waters of the mineral prings of Maine are mostly of the classes 

known as "neutral" and 'J light alkaline-chalybeate." There are, 

however, a few strong cha~ybeate waters and several which might 

be ranked as saline-chalyb 1 te. 

Sources.-The analyses iven on page 74 may be divided into 

three classes, according to t eir sources: First, those made by Prof. 

F. C. Robinson, some of ih m for the United States Geological Survey, in connection with u derground-water .investigations; second, 

those made by Dr. W. W. Skinner, of the Bureau of Chemistry, 

United States Department f Agriculture, in cooperative work between that bureau .and the United States Geological Survey; third, 

those made by other person and collected in field work and through 

correspondence. 

In all 75 analyses of Mane mineral waters have been made by 

about 25 different chemists. Some of these analyses are very reliable; others are less certain. 

Variations.-The compila ion of the results showed more or less 

important discrepancies in few analyses made by different chemists 

on the same spring water. For example, the water of the Poland 

Spring, which has probably een analyzed more' times than any other 

spring water in :Maine, was reported by different chemists to contain total solids ranging in mount from 63 to 108 parts per million. 

Two analyses of Pine Sprin , in Topsham, both by reliable chemists, 

show 13 and 33 parts per m ion of total solids; and the several constituents are similarly . div rse in amount. This variation. in the 

composition of the water is due to differences in the season or year 

when the samples were tak n; to their collection at some abnormal 

time, as immediately after storm or during a dry period; to variations in chemical manipul tion; or perhaps to the fact that the 

water has stood in bottles or a considerable time before analysis, 

a factor which may be of so e importance. 

Forms.-As the chemists of the country have not agreed on any 

uniform method of reporti g analytical results, the analyses collected from different sourc s were found to vary greatly in form. 
70 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS. 1910. 

In some the results were stated in parts per million, a method which 

is now generally recognized as the most scientific. In others they 

were given in grains per gallon, a form of statement that appeals 

most to laymen. In some they were reported in parts per 100,000 

and _in some as parts per 10,000. A few analyses, as those made 

for the Geological Survey and those made by the Bureau of Chemistry, are stated in ionic form. In the many miscellaneous analyses 

collected from different sources, however, the various elements are 

commonly grouped together in the forms jn which the analyst has 

thought them to be combined in nature, and the resulting compounds 

are reported; this method is now generally recognized as misleading, 

because no chemist can say definitely in what form a certain group 

of elements is combined in a water. In order to reduce all the analyses to a standard basis which would permit their direct comparison, 

they were recomputed, mostly by R. B. Dole, of the United States 

Geological Survey, into parts per million and into the ionic form, 

and they are so given in the table (p .. 7 4). 

Errors.-The investigations in Maine brought to light the fact that 

errors appear in many analyses of mineral waters published in circulars issued by the owners and in reports of various kinds. These 

errors are not usually due to intentional misstatements by the owners, 

some of them being simply printer's errors, in which the decimal 

points are transposed and chemical terms misspelled, the result 

being that the analysis shows a compound entirely different from 

the one it was intended to report. The analysis of one prominent 

mineral spring in Maine reports ''carbonate of· iron,'' whereas what 

was meant was carbonate of lime. Another circular received by 

the writer and submitted to the analyst for verification was found 

to contain three mistakes in the figures. 

A defect in some analyses is the omission of any statement indicating the form in which the figures are reported, whether in "grains 

per gallon," in" parts per million," or in some other form. Of course 

such an omission renders an analysis valueless. 

RANGE IN COMPOSITION. 

Total solids.-A study of the 75 ·analyses of mineral springs shows 

that the waters vary widely in composition. The total solids run 

from 11 to 425 pa.rts per million, the lowest figures being found in the 

spring at Paris Hill, in Oxford County. The water of Pine Spring, 

in Topsham, Sagadahoc County, which was analyzed by Robinson, 

shows only 13 parts per million of total solids. The third spring in 

Maine in respect to mineral purity is Paradise Spring, in Brunswick, 

Cumberland County, for which Robinson aiid Carmichael report 17 

and 18 parts per million of total solids, respectively. The springs of 

the Paris Hill Water Company are believed to issue from bowlder 
COMPOSITION OF MINERAL SPRINGS IN MAINE. 71 

clay; Pine Spring and Panadise Spring, situated only a mile apart, 

on opposite sides of Andro coggin River, issue from sand and gravel 

overlying clay. 

So far as known, the ghest mineral content of the springs in 

Mainejs found in the Sarno et Mineral Spring, in Nobleboro, Lincoln 

County. The total solids ound in this spring, as reported by Carmichael, are 425 parts per ~illion. 

Silica (Si02).-The maxi urn and minimum amounts of the various 

constituents are not always found in the same springs as those which 

show the maximum and inimum amounts of total solids. For 

instance, although the low st amount of silica (1.2 parts per million) 

is found in the spring of th Paris Hill Water Company, which shows 

the lowest total solids, th amount found in the Samoset Mineral 

Spring, the highest in tota solids, is only 12 parts per million, considerably less than the big est amount of silica found in the State. 

According to the analyses, he spring highest in silica is the Bluebill 

Mineral Spring, in Hancoc County, where 21 parts per million were 

found. Next to this come tl e Pejepscot, Windsor, and Poland springs, 

situated in AublJrn, Lewist n, and Poland, in Androscoggin County, 

only a few miles apart, in w ich there are 18 and 19 parts per million 

of silica. Two of these spri gs can be seen to issue from gneissic rock, 

and it is probable that roc lies not far below the surface in the third. 

The ·lowest proportions of ilica are found in springs that issue from 

bowlder clay and gravel. An interesting feature is th~t two fairly 

high reports of silica, 15 a d 15.5 parts per million, were found in a 

spring in the bottom of ali estone quarry at Rockland, Knox County, 

and in the Pine Grove Spri g, near Bangor, notwithstanding the fact 

that both these springs issue from calcareous rocks. 

Organic and volatile ~at er.-Tbe organic and volatile matter, as 

reported by reliable chemists, ranges in the springs of Maine from 2.1 

to 28 parts per million. T e highest report, strange as it may seem, 

comes from a spring in the ottom of a limestone quarry at Rockland, 

Knox County, 70 feet, belo the surface of the ground. The lowest 

amount is from the spring f the Paris Hill Water Company. A few 

analyses report organic. an volatile matter as absent, but as the complete analyses that have een made show small amounts of these 

materials, it is probable th t the analyses reporting none are in errpr. 

Iron and aluminum o · es CFe20 3 +Al20 3).-Iron and aluminum 

oxides range from a trace reported in several springs, to 8.9 parts 

per million in the spring n the quarry at Rockland. A comparatively small number of' the nalyses report iron and alumina, however. 

It is not known exactly wh tis meant by the word ''trace," but some 

reports give it as low as 0. 

Iron (Fe).-Where iron as been tested s~parately from aluminum, 

·it has usually been found to e absent, and where present is as a rule not 
72 UNDERGROUND-WATER. PAPERS, 1910. 

over 1 part per million. The highest amounts reported are 19 and 20 

parts per million, in the Samoset Mineral Spring and the Boothbay 

Medicinal Spring, but as alumina. is not reported in these springs, 

these figures may indude that also. The highest amount of iron 

reported in an analysis where alumina is reported separately is 3.1 

parts, in the Bluehill Mineral Spring, which tastes very strongly of 

iron. 

Calcium (Ca).-The lowest amount of calcium reported in Maine is 

found in the springs of the Paris Hill Water Company. The largest 

amount is 42 parts, reported in two springs-the Ticonic Mineral 

Spring, in Waterville, and the Windsor Mineral Spring, in Lewiston. 

The rocks in these places are not particularly calcareous, and it is 

somewhat surprising that the calcium should be so much higher than 

that in the limestone spring at Rockland, which shows only 29 parts. 

Magnesium (Mg).-Magnesium is reported absent in sev~ral analyses, but as these were not complete .the accuracy of the reports can 

not be vouched for. The lowest reliable report is 0.05 part, in the 

spring of the Paris Hill Water, Company. The highest magnesium 

reported is 22 parts per million, in the spring in the limestone quarry 

at Rockland. It is rather interesting to note that in this spring the 

magnesium amounts to 80 per cent of the calcium found. In most 

Maine springs the magnesium is below 3 parts per million. 

Sodium . (Na).-Sodium ranges from 1 part per million in the 

Carrabassett Mineral Spring, in Franklin County, and the Mount 

Zircon Spring, in Oxford County, to 19.6 parts in the spring in the, 

limestone quarry at Rockland. 

Potassium (K).-In the Rock Hill Spring, in Fairfield, Samoset 

County, and the Vienna Sparkling Spring, at Vienna, Kennebec 

County, the amount of potassium is reported as only 0.4 part. From 

this figure it ranges to 15 parts in the Boothbay Medicinal Spring, at 

East Boothbay. The potassium in the Samoset Mineral Spring is not 

reported. Potassium is generally less in amount than sodium, but 

the Mount Zircon Mineral Spring contains 9.8 parts of potassium 

and only 1 part of sodium. 

Bicarbonate radicle (HC03).-As no waters have been analyzed 

which are known to contain natural carbonates, it is believed that 

all the carbonates in underground waters in Maine exist in the 

bicarbonate form. The amount of bicarbonates ranges from 1.14 

parts per million in the Raymond Spring, at North Raymond, Cumberland County, to 157 parts in a spring at Brewer, Penobscot 

County. The latter determination is not from a laboratory analysis, and for that reason the figures are not .absolutely trustworthy. 

The highest amount found in analyses made by reliable chemists 

was 73 parts, in the Oak Grove Spring, at.Brewer. 
COMPOSITION OF MINERAL SPRINGS IN MAINE. 73 

Sulphate radicle (S04).-In a number of the analyses and assays 

sulphates are reported to be absent. In complete analyses they are 

generally reported as present, though in small quantities, and for 

th~t reason it is believed that they are probably present in all these 

waters. They range from less than 1 part per million in several 

springs to 37 parts in the Samoset Mineral Spring, Nobleboro. 

Chlorine (Cl).-As would be expected, the anwunt of chlorine is 

dependent to a certain extent on the normal chlorine of the region, 

the lowest chlorine being found in springs in the interior of the 

State rather than in those near the coast. It is also dependent, 

however, on the presence or absence of surface pollution and on the 

character of the formation from which the water issues. The smallest amount reported from the mineral springs in Maine is 0.8 part 

per million in the MountZ rcon Mineral Spring, in Oxford County. 

Another chemist, however, reports the amount in this spring as 1.5 

parts per million. Several other springs report less than 1 part per 

million, and from these sm ll amounts it ranges to 60 parts per million in the Sparkling Spri g in Orrington, Penobscot County. In 

well waters chlorine was fr quently found to be much higher, independently of the normal chlorine of the region. 

Hardness.-Few mineral springs have been tested for hardness, 

but according to the data ,at. hand it seems to range from 1 to 26 

parts per million. Probabfy, however, it is much higher than this 

in the regions of calcareous slates in northeastern Maine. 

Other elements.-Few of the rare elements are reported in the 

Maine mineral springs, but this is possibly due in part to the fact 

that few have been soug t. Aside from those mentioned above, 

the most comffion constitu nt tested for is lithium, which occurs in 

several springs; but with ne exception it has been reported either 

as a "trace," a "minute trace," or '·absent." The exception is 

the· Wawa Lithia Spring, at Ogunquit, York County, in which 3 

parts per million of lithiu was reported, but this figure has not 

been verified. 

LTS OF ANALYSIS. 

The waters of over 50 mi eral springs in Maine have been analyzed, 

and figures showing the c mposition of most .. of them are given in 

the detailed report on the underground waters of southern Maine. a 

Froni these has been compi ed the following table, giving the observed 

maxima and minima of eac of the principal substances contained. 

From the same paper a number of analyses, representing typical 

spring waters from each ounty, have been selected and are prea Clapp, F. G., Water-Su ply Paper U.S. Geol. Survey No. 223, 1908. 
74 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

sented in the following table for the purpose of showing the general 

character and range of composition of the various waters: 

Range in compoffition of Maine spring waters. 

[Parts per million.] 

Maximum. Minimum. 

g~f:~ce (~1) ~~-l~~~l_e_ ~~~~~~: :: :::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::: 28 

60 

19 

2.1 

.8 

1.2 Trace. 1.2 

.05 

Silica (Si02) ................................................................... . Oxides of iron and aluminum (Fe20a+AbOa) .................................. . Calcium (Ca) ................................................................... . 9 

42 

22 

127 

15 

157 

37 

Magnesium (Mg) ..................... , ............... -~ ........................ . Sodium (Na) ................................................................... . Potassium (K) ................................................................. . Bicarbonate radicle (HCOa) .................................................... . 

1.0 

.4 

.14" 

Sulphate radicle (S04) ......................................................... . .00 

Selected analyses of wdt~rs of mineral springs in Maine. 

[Including typical waters from each county.) 

No. County. 

1 Androscoggin .. . 2 Cumberland ... . 3 Franklin ....... . 

4 Kennebec ...... . 

Knox .......... . 

6 Lincoln ........ . 7 Oxford ... __ ... _. 

8 ..... do ......... . 

Locality. Owner. 

South Poland .... Hiram Ricker·& Sons .. Brunswick ............................. . Carra bassett.... Carrabassett Mineral 

Spring Co. Litchfield. . . . . . . Forest Springs Water Co. Rockland ............................. · .. 

Name-of spring. Total 

solids. 

Poland Spring.... . . . . . . . . . . . 108. 651 

Paradise Spring. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18. 0 Carra bassett Spring. . . . . . . . . 72. 0 

Forest Spring, No.1. ........ a100.0 

Spring in bottom of lime- 234. 2 stone quarry. Nobleboro .............................. Sainoset Mineral Spring •.... 425.0 Milton planta- Mount Zircon Spring Mount Zircon Mineral Spring. b 33. 0 tion. Co. 

Paris..... . . . . . . . Paris Hill Water Co ... 

9 Sagadahoc. . . . . . Topsham ...... . 

Crocker Hill Spring (public a 11. 0 supply). Pine Spring Water Co. Pine Spring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13. 0 Quantabacook Water Harrington (public supply).. 70.0 Co. 10 Washington... . . Harrington .... . 

11 York .•.......... Old Orchard .... Olde Yorke Springs Olde Yorke Spring.......... 94.0 Co. 

~0- Material. Analyst. 

------------------- ------------------1------

........... 15.40 .............. ............ 14.37 

2 0.34 6.6 ............ 0.09 .68 

............ 14.0 5.3 8.2. 

3.0 14.0 ............. Tr. 22.0 

5 28.2 15.0 8.9 ............ 28.8 

Tr. 12.0 ............. 19.0 23.0 

2.2 9. 7 .66 2.3 

8 3. 7 1.2 .33 .51 9 4.6 .33 1.0 

10 11.9 13.1 1.2 ........... 16.6 11 ............ 4. 2 .06 14.0 

a Including lithium, trace. 

2.38 

.28 

4.3 

1.6 

22.4 

1.9 

.05 

.03 

6.34 0.90 

2.8 

5 .. 3 

19.6 

127.0 

1.0 

2.8 

1.6 

2. 7 

4. 7 

. ........ 

9.8 

1.8 

2.0. 

3. 5 11.0 5. 8 1.8 6.0 11.1 

55.63 3.29 

1.0 

.. ......... 16.0 

.. ......... 9.0 

.. .......... 29.1 

.......... 37.0 

........... 5.4 

5.90 

1.6 

4.4 

3.0 

6.1 

11.0 

1.5 

Gran- W. W. Skinite. ner.c 4.2 Gravel F. C. Robin- son. 15. 0 .. ;do. . Salvatore La 

Bua. 38.0 ... do... F. C. Robin- son. ...... Lime- Do. stone. 192. 0 . . . . . . . . H. C. Carmichael. . . . . . . TilL. . F. L. Bartlett. ....... · ..... 3.9 ......... do.:. .2 2.3 3.1 Gravel F. C. Robin- son. 6.5 9.0 ......... do... Do. 8. 2 12. 0 34. 0 . . . . . . . . Do. 

b Including aluminum, trace. c Analysis made in cooperative work between United States Geological S'urvey and Bureau of Chemistry. The following substances were also found: P04, trace; B02, none; NOa, 3.98; N02, none; bromine, none; iodine, none; Fe and AI, 0.32; Mn, none; Li, none; NH4, 0.011; oxygen· to form F~03 and 

Al20a, 0.130. 

·-
SALINE ARTESIAN WATERS OF THE ATLANTIC COASTAL 

PLAIN. 

By SAMUEL SANFORD. 

INTRODUCTION. 

Extent.-The land area of the Atlantic Coastal Plain stretches from 

New York Harbor to the Florida straits. East of New York, except 

for patches, such as Long Island, Block Island, and the islands of 

Buzzards Bay and of the east coast of Massachusetts, the coast~l 

plain is almost completely covered by water, its underwater extension reaching to the edge of the Banks of Newfoundland, nearly a 

thousand miles beyond Boston. This paper treats of underground 

waters in a strip of the plain extending from New York to Florida, 

about 800 miles in an air line, with a width gradually increasing from 

20 miles at Sandy Hook to 63 miles at Cape May, 72 miles at Cape 

Charles, 175 miles at Cape Hatteras, and 135 miles at Charleston. 

Geology.-The Coastal 1j>Iain is underlain by a great succession of 

sedimentary deposits, mo tly unconsolidated, consisting of gravels, 

sands, clays, marls, and loams. In places the sands and clays are 

indurated enough to form sail.dstones and sh~les. In places also the 

marl beds are so full of s ells and calcareous debris that they form 

lime rocks. No solid lim stones (limy be as compact enough to be 

used as building stone) o cur north of the Virginia-North Cavolina 

line, but south of it, inN rth Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, 

some of wide extent are fo nd. All the members of the great succession of deposits have age eral east or southeast dip, the inclination 

being measured in feet pe mile rather than in degrees) and all overlie a floor of crystalline r ck that dips seaward at a slightly greater 

angl:. This flopr was on e a peneplain, a rock surface reduced by 

the action of streams thr ugh thousands of years to an almost uniform slope. A general s bsidence carried it below the level of the 

ocean and the Coastal Pia n sediments were gradually d~posited upon 

it. This peneplain, howe er, was not perfectly flat, but had within 

distances of a few miles ifferences of elevation of 100 or 200 feet, 

many of which were not bliterated by the advancing sea. Neither 

was the sedimentation c ntinuous. At times the land rose, the sea 

retreated, and the sedime ts that had accumulated were eroded. In 

75 
76 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

the course of alternate depressions and elevations of the land the bed 

rock was gently bowed or warped, so that some places were more 

deeply eroded in retreats of the sea and more thickly covered in 

advances than others. Because they lie on such a lumpy, irregularly 

warped floor the total thickness of the deposits at points equally distant from the western margin varies decidedly. 

Few wells near the coast have been sunk to this crystalline floor, 

but the deep drilling that has been done indicates that the Coastal 

Plain sediments at Atlantic City, N.J., are probably 3,000 feet thick; 

at Ocean City, Md., and near Franklin City, Va., possibly 3,500 feet; 

and at Charleston, S. C., perhaps 2,500 feet. At Fort Monroe, V a., 

the total thickness is known to be 2,250 .feet and at Fort Caswell, 

N. C., 1,540 feet. 

ARTESIAN WATERS. 

Occurrence.-As the deposits of the Coastal Plain are largely unconsolidated and include many sandy beds outcropping in a region of 

copious rainfall and having a general seaward dip, they contain great 

stores of artesian water, which are, possibly, the most valuable undergrou~d resource of the area under consideration. This resource has 

been extensively developed in the last twenty years and hundreds of 

wells are sunk annually. Though all the water-bearing beds have 

not been found, enough work has been done in New Jersey to demonstrate the existence in that State of potable water at fully twelve 

horizons of wide extent. At least six water-bearing sands occur in 

Maryland and Virginia, and there are probably as many in North 

Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. 

Quality.-In Virginia and the States to the north the beds yield 

water that is prevailingly soft-that is, water that contains only small 

amounts of lime and magnesia. In North Carolina and South Carolina, though soft waters probably predominate in deep-lying beds, 

hard waters are of wide occurrence, particularly at depths of less than 

300 feet. Whether hard or soft, however, the true artesian waters, 

those which rise notably in the well when a water bed is pierced, are 

as a rule derived from sources that are beyond the possibility of contamination by surface impurities, and, being germ free, they are usually better for drinking than the easily polluted supplies obtained from 

dug wells. They have been used chiefly for domestic purposes at 

individual dwellings, but also for public-supply systems and by railroad companies and many manufacturing concerns. 

Development.-Most of the wells drilled are of small diameter, 1 inch 

to 2 inches, and cost from $10 to $100, but many of larger diameter, 

costing from $500 to over $5,000~ have been put down, and the number of these is increasing. It is safe to say that fully 10,000 artesian 

wells costing from $10 to $38,000 have been sunk in the Coastal Plain, 

and that the total investment in such wells exceeds $1,000,000. 
SALINE ARTESIAN WATERS OF ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN. 7 7 

SALINE WATERS. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

Though most of the Coastal Plain flows are adapted for household 

use and some make excellent boiler-water, at a number of places flows 

have been tapped, mostly at depths of several hundred feet, which 

are called brackish or salt. Most of these are poor boiler waters and 

some are not suited for drinking, except for their medicinal value. 

Owing to a widely held 'opinion that where salt water has been struck 

fresh water can be obtained by sinking to some particular underlying 

formation, or by drilling deep enough, an attempt is made in this 

paper to summarize the essential data collected by· the Geological 

Survey on the occUJTence of saline flows and the position and extent 

of beds yielding salt water. 

Many thousands of dollars have been spent in fruitless exploration 

for fresh water in salty areas, one deep well at Fort Monroe having 

cost the Government nearly $35,000; and the growing interest in 

artesian supplies and the r~id 4I.crease in the number of wells indicates that much time and oney may be wasted in similar attempts 

in the immediate future. ence it is desirable that well drillers and 

persons contemplating drill" g should be informed of doubtful localities and the probabilities i such places. 

DEFINI ION OF SALT WATER. 

The question what is a alt water can be variously answered, but 

here it is assumed to be a w ter having a salt or brackish taste·. Estimates of the amount of com on salt (sodium chloride) that in solution 

will give such a taste vary · dely, different chemists stating the proportion at 500 to 1,200 arts per million of water. A factor of 

importance in natural waf: 1 ers is the effect of other substances in 

solution. A water high · sodium chloride but containing much 

sodium bicarbonate (a sub tance that is present in large amount in 

many deep flows in the Coa tal Plain), is much pleasanter to the taste 

than a water which contain an equal amount of sodium chloride, but 

in which the sodium bicar onate is replaced by calcium bicarbonate, 

· the predominating minera substance in many shallow flows. The 

standard, therefore, must e more or less arbitrary. The. accom panying table includes data rom (1) all localities where artesian water 

has been called salt and w ere no analyses have been made, and (2) 

all places where analysis h s shown the waters to contain more than 

800 parts per million of so ium chloride (equivalent to 500 parts of 

chlorine). The summarize data relate to one or more wells in every 

area where salt water has . en reported at a depth of more than 100 

feet. Wells less than 100 fet deep are not included, because shallow 

brackish waters resulting ~rom the direct entrance of sea water to 

the beds do not have anJt necessary relation to the deeper waters 

under consideration. I 
Locality. Date.! (Dfepth eet). 

Depth 

main 

saltwater 

horizon 

(feet). 

Yield 

(gallons per minute). 

Salinity 

(parts 

:r.er million 

of chlorine). 

Saline wells in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. 

Age of saline beds. Waters above main salt-water 

horizon. 

Waters below main salt- water horizon. 

-------1 1---1----1---------------------------~----

NEW JERSEY. 

Cape May County: Cape May 1879 224 

Point. 

Wildwood ...... 1900 326 

Do ......... 1894 1,244 

DELAWARE. 

Sussex County: 

Lewes •••••.•. I 1898 I 1, 080 

MARYLAND. 

Anne Arundel 

County: 

Thompsons I 1908! 300 

Point. 

Worcester County: Pocomoke •••.. .I 1900 I 496 

Do •........ 1 1907 I 1,500 

VIRGINIA. 

Accomac County: Onancock ...... 1894 480 

Tan~er Island. 1904 250 · Elizabet County: 

Fort Monroe ... 1902 2,250 

Hotel Cham- 1896 945 

berlin. 

Gloucester County: Achilles ........ I 1902 I 610 I 

224 

10 to 

260 

1,185 

1,080 

150 

225 

480 

140 

140 

1,320 

945 

610 

........ Salt ..... Miocen.e ... 

Strong ... do ..... Quaternary; Mio-1 Fresh water at 75 and 101-

flow. cene (?). 106 feet; salt water at 215 

feet. . .. do .....• do..... Eocene................ Fresh water at 75, 625, 845, 

and 930 feet. 

38 ..... I Verysalt.j Pamunkey ............ 1 Salt water at 891 and 950 feet; 

fresh water at 400, 625, and 

750 feet. 

Potomac .............. 1 Fresh water at 25-100 feet ... . 

Salty .... j Chesapeake ........... . 

a 25 ... 11,180 .... I ..... do ... 

. .. do ... J ... do ..... l ••••. do. 

Very salt 

25 ..... I b 4,978 ... 

al.. .. ".i b1,400 ... 1 Pamunkey ............ l Waterat450feet ............. . 

Salty water at 290 feet; salt 

sulphur water at 485 and 

495 feet. 

Fresher water at 1,200 feet 

and below. 

Remark~.;: 

Abandoned; other wells get good water at 320-360 feet. 

Water from 290 feet used. 

Fresh water from 930 feet 

used. 

Abandoned. 

Water below 100 feet too salt 

for use. 

Water used from 195-225 and 

247-290 feet. 

Water from 1,200 feet and below used occasionally. 

Abandoned. 

Water from 85 feet used. 

Never used. 

Used for flushing. 

Domestic use. 

-:r 

00 

c:j 

~ 

t:l 

l:?=j 

~ 

~ 0 

c:j 

~ 

t:l 

~ H 

l:?=j 

~ 

~ 1-tJ 

l:?=j 

1:0 

.... oo 

~ 
Do.: ....... l1904 

Roanes..... . . . . 1898 Do ......... 1894 Severn •........ 1902 

Mathews County: Fitchetts .••... .I 1904 

Norfolk County: Lambert Point.l 1890 

570 

716 

850 

610 

1W 

616 

Northampton 

County: 

Bone Island ... ·I· .... ·I 169 C h e r r y stone 1899 240 Island. 

570 

716 

850 

575 

110 

610 

Princess Anne 

County: Moores Bridges. I 1898 I 1, 760 J1, 072 

NORTH CAROLINA. 

a! ..... a 52 •... 

ab····· 

a.g ••••• 

a-65 • •• I b 292 .•.. I Marine Cretaceous ..... 

a 150 •• I b 1,700 ... I Potomac .. 

Beaufort County: 

WMhillgton ... r····~ 360+

1

300+ 1 ...••... 1 Salt(?). .Brunswick County: 

Q u a r a n tine 1896 400 400 Station. 

Wilmington .... 1899 1,330 1,019 

Columbus County: Cronly......... ...... 278 278(?)1 a747 ................ . Craven County: 

Newbern....... . . . . . . 353 I 300 Hyde County: Fairfield. • • . . . . . . . . . . . ....... 220-280 Swanquarter... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260+ New Hanover 

County: Castle Hayne ... ! 1906 370 340 

Fort Caswell ... ,190711,542 11,440 

Do......... 1902 8.36 836 

::::::::I.~~~~~~:: :l.~~~d~~~: 

Large 

flow. 

Very salt! Marine Cretaceous ..... 

2 ..... J ~~~~:::1:::: :~~:~:~::: :::::::: :· 

a Flow at surface. 

Hard, fresh water at 10 and 93 feet; salt water at 270 and 338 feet. 

Water at 100 feet ............. . Salt water at 365, 719, and 800 feet. 

b Analyzed in 1906. 

Do. 

Used for washing. 

Little used. 

Water from 50 feet used in 

boiler. 

Used for drinking and washing. 

Domestic use. Boiler supply. 

Well dynamited; present flow salt sulphur water from unknown depth. 

Abandoned . 

Lowest chlorine after pump- ing one hour. 

Little used. 

Not used. 

Abandoned. 

Do. 

Do. 

Not used. 

Do. 

[/1 

E:; 

~ 

z 

tzj 

~ ~ ~ 

l> 

z 

~ l> 

1-3 

tzj 

!:d 

[/1 

0 

bj 

l> 

1-3 

~ 

l> 

z 

1-3 

~-

a 

a 

0 

l> 

[/1 

1-3 

~ 

1-t! 

~ 

l> 

~ 

~ 

-:] 

~ 
Locality. Date 1 Depth · (feet). 

Depth Yield 

main (gal- salt- Ions per water minhorizon ute). (feet). 

Saline wells in the Atlantic Coastal Plain-Continued. 

Salinity 

(parts 

r.er million 

of chlorine). 

Age of saline beds. Waters above main salt-water 

horizon. 

Waters below main salt- water horizon. Remarks. 

1--1--1---1---1-------------------------------------

NORTH CAROLINAcontJnued. 

Pasquotank 

County: 

Canaan ......... ! 1903 615 300 

Elizabetb. City .1 ...... I 300+1 300+ 

•r y r r e II County: Columbia ...... I ...... I ........ I 348 

SOU'tH CAROLINA. 

Beaufort County: Beaufort •...... 

1 

...... 

1 

....... . 

Folly Island ................ . Port Royal ............. . Island. 

St. H e I e n a , ...... , ....... . Island. 

Charleston County: 

Charleston. ····la186811,260 11,250 Do ......... al879 1, 970 1, 950 

salt. 260 feet. Very I Verys<l Miocene ............... , Hard water at 14, 36, 60, and I Salt water below 300 feet .... , Abandoned. 

....................... do................. Hard water at 250-300 feet ..... I Salt water somewhere below Do. 300 feet. 

......... Salt (?). Do. 

Domestic use. 

Do ......... ,a1880 

Do ......... a1877 425 380 425(?)1··· .. ···11,486 •• ·I· .... do ................ . 380 ........ b 2,300 ••.. Eocene(?) 

a Date of analysis. b Estimated. 

00 

0 

q 

~ 

t:::l 

tzj 

::0 

~ d 

~ 

t:::l 

1-3 

~ tzj 

~ 

tzj 

~ ::0 

... m 

1-" 

~ 

? 
SALINE ARTESIAN WATERS OF ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN. 81 

SALT-WATER AREAS. 

As the table shows, no deep salt waters have been recorded in the 

Coastal Plain in New Jersey,except at Cape May Point and Wildwood, 

in the extreme southern part of the State. There is no mention of 

salt water in the log of the 2,306-foot well at Atlantic City, although, 

except for the 2,350-foot well at Key West, Fla., that well is the deepest 

in the entire Atlantic Coastal Plain. Salt water has been reported at 

Lewes, Del.; Pocomoke, Md.; in Accomac and Northampton counties, 

on the eastern shore of Virginia; aijd in :Mathews, Gloucester, Elizabeth City, Norfolk, and Princess Anne counties, on the western shore. 

In North Carolina salt water is known to have been found by deep 

wells in Hyde, New Hanover, Columbus, and Brunswick counties, and 

was presumably found in Pasquotank, Tyrrell, Beaufort, and Craven 

counties. In South Carolina it was found in Beaufort and Charleston 

counties. In Georgia, though it is altogether likely that salt water 

has been struck, the wells have not been reported. 

RELATIONS OF SALT-WATER BEDS. 

It is noteworthy that except in North Carolina all the salt-water 

areas are near the sea or in low land bordering the seacoast. The 

North Carolina wells are in a stretch of country that is nowhere 50 

feet above ~ide; much of it has an elevation of less than 20 feet. The 

salt-water wells of Virginia, ·Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey are 

in areas having elevations of less than 25 feet. 

Although at probably all the wells some fresh water was found above 

the salt, at but four localities-Wildwood, N. J., Pocomoke, Mel., 

Chisholm Island, S.C., and Charleston, S. C.-has-fresher or decidedly 

less saline water been found below salt; at Crisfield, Md., waters containing but 136 parts of chlorine per million lie 770 feet below waters 

containing 291 parts, but neither of these is a "salt" water according 

to the definition on page 77. At one locality, Wildwood, N. J., 

flows of fresh and salt water were found to alternate to a depth of 

nearly 1,200 feet, but at five localities where wens· have been sunk 

with care and different flows tested-Lewes, Del., Fort Monroe and 

Norfolk (Moores Bridges), Va., and Wilmington and Fort Caswell, 

N.C.-no fresh water has been found with increase in depth, though 

at the well in Hilton Park, Wilmington, the flow at 1,020 feet is a 

little less salty than the one above. From the Elizabeth City County 

wells it is safe to assume that the deep wells in eastern Gloucester 

County, Va., would not find fresh water at greater depth. 

A comparison of the data ,in the table ~hows that salinity bears no 

apparent relation to the depth of beds below surface or to their age, 

and it is doubtful if the saline areas bear any relation to the very 

64198°-WSP 258-11--6 
82 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

slight folds that exist in the Coastal Plain. Not one of the areas is 

like those reported from Alabama, where natural gas in associated 

with the flows. At some of the Atlantic Coastal Plain areas enough 

sulphureted hydrogen is given off to cause a decided "sulphur" odor, 

but at others no such odor is perceptible. The Coastal Plain wells 

have but one feature in common-location near a large body of salt 

water or in low land. 

CAUSES OF SALINITY. 

Sea water.-The first suggestion that occurs to anyone seeking a 

reason for salt flows is that the beds yielding them were marine 

deposits and that the sea water jmprisoned within the sediments has 

never been replaced by fresh water. One objection to this view is 

that though most of the flows cited in the table come from marine 

beds, the Potomac group, presumably of fresh-water origin, yielded 

salt water at Fort Monroe throughout a section of over 800 feet. 

Another objection is that the salt artesian waters do not resemble 

- sea .water in composition, as the following analyses show: 

Analyses of sea water and water from salt wells. 

[Parts per million.] 

Sea water.a Severn, Va.b Fort Caswell, Charleston, N. C.c S. C.a 

Total solids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35, 000 

Silica (Si02) ................................................ . Iron (Fe) ........................... : ....................... . 

5,008 17,634 3,679 39 5.6 45 4.9 8.4 ........................ Calcium (Ca)..................................... 419 46 598 21 Magnesium (Mg). ... . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 1,304 

~~~~u~(:fi).·.·.·-~:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 10,~~ } 

Carbonate radicle (C<>a)........................... 72 

26 40 33 

1,826 { 6,440 1,157 9 71 0 0 299 Bicarbonate radicle (HCOa) ................................. . 628 868 .......................... Sulphate radicle (S04)........................... 2,693 

Chlorine......................................... 19,352 216 26 175 2,500 10,400 1,489 

a Dittmar. cJ. R. Evans, analyst. b R. B. Dole, analyst. a Shepard Laboratory, analyst. 

Too much weight may be given to the differences shown above 

between sea water and the water of the salt wells if the possibility 

of chemical reactions which might result in the precipitation o.f lime 

and magnesium salts from the buried sea water is disregarded, but 

at least they indicate that the present flows are not unchanged sea 

water. In fact, it w~mld be strange if they were. Successive elevations and depressions of the land are recorded in the geology of the 

Coastal Plain. In periods of elevation underground circulation has 

been quickened and fresh water has gradually leached marine deposits 

and forced out any original sea water. In periods of depression the 

outcrops of fresh.:..water bearing beds have been saturated by sea 

water and blanketed by marine deposits. Another period of elevation has started fresh water down the dip, displacing sea water, 
SALINE ABTESIAN WATERS OF ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN. 83 

leaching marine deposits, and forcing the salt but freshening solutions into the underlying beds. Thus, a bed that originally was a 

fresh-water deposit may have been repeatedly invaded by salt water 

from above and the present salinity of the water in a particular area 

is to be regarded as connected with the last invasion of salt water 

rather than with any sea water in1prisoned in the beds at the time 

of deposition. 

Slow circulation.-Differences in mineralization due to differences 

in the origin or the composition of a particular bed, or of underlying 

beds, may be modified by differences in the ease of circulation of 

water through them. As the members of the Coastal Plain formations 

tend to lenticular form and varied texture, water that enters an 

artesian bed does not progress seaward along a straight line down 

the dip, but may cut across beds through joint cracks, rising or 

sinking on the way, may follow a zigzag course through connecting 

lenses of sand, and conceivably may flow up the dip for short stretches. 

As the inclination of most of the formations is slight, and as most 

of the waters do not run th:r:ough open channels for any great distance but more through capillary spaces between grains of sand, 

their passage is slow and they constantly lose head. In their journey 

they dissolve various mineral substances, the work of solution at any 

particular point being determined by temperature, pressure, and 

substances already in solution. An increase in the proportion of clay 

in a certain sand bed may check the seaward movement, or the bed 

may pinch out altogether, ponding the water landward. This ponded 

water, already more or less mineralized, may dissolve the minerals 

of the bed in which it lies and thus become more mineralized than 

water at an equal distance from the outcrop but having a freer 

passage toward the sea. On the other hand, the fineness of a bed 

at the precise spot at which it is tapped by a well is not necessarily 

significant, for the outlet from coarse beds may be obstructed as 

readily as that from fine beds. Some of the most saline flows in 

Virginia come from gravels or coarse sands. 

To recapitulate, the salinity of a flow -inay be derived from sea 

water or from water that has leached marine deposits and sunk down 

the dip, following an elevation of the land. The location of saltwater- areas is determined by original or imposed salinity and subsequent imperfect circulation. Salt-water beds freshen as circulation 

down the dip is establishe~; they are found near the coast chiefly 

because the percolating meteoric waters have not been able to complete their work farther since the last invasion of the· sea. However, 

wells less than 200 feet deep, situated on islands or on the shores of a 

wide body of salt water, may be subject to a slight but effective 

seepage of sea water through the beds overlying the sand, particularly if they are heavily pumped. 
84 UNDERGROUND-WATER. PAPERS, 1910. 

In comparing places miles apart account must be taken of differences in initial head caused by differing elevation of the outcrops 

of the porous· beds. 

LATERAL CHANGE IN SALINITY. 

Freshening of areas.-Owing to the tendency to lenticular form 

and the varying textu:re of the beds of the Coastal Plain, it is sometimes impossible to trace a particular water horizon more than a 

few miles or to determine the exact correspondence of a salt-water 

bed with a bed some miles distant yielding fresh water. The measure 

of freshening from a salt-water area in a series of beds can, however, 

be determined. At some places there is notable variation in saltness 

within a few miles. At others the change is more gradual. At 

Charleston, S. C., as shown by C. W. Shepard,· jr.,a th~ salt-water 

area is rather sharply defined landward. The water from a 425-foot 

well at Chisholm's Mill, three-fourths of a mile from the city hall, 

contained 1,489 parts of chlorine per million and that from a 37 5-foot 

well of the Edisto Phosphate Company, 4 miles away, contained only 

849 parts. . 

A similar instance of westward freshening is furnished by wells 

near Norfolk, Va. A bed at 738 feet in the Norfolk waterworks 

well yielded water containing 1,165 parts of chlorine per million; 

the 616-foot Norfolk and Western Railway well at Lambert Point, 

6 miles farther west, yielded water containing only -3.51 parts. In 

Gloucester County, Va., the flow of a 594-foot well at Gloucester 

Point contains 300 parts per million of chlorine; the flow of a 610-foot 

well 4! miles to the northeast contains 1,400 parts, and that of a 

585-foot well 6! miles to the northeast contains 2,500 parts. At 

Wilmington, N. C., the deep well at Hilton Park flows, presumably 

from a depth of 1,020 feet, water containing 7,400 parts of chlorine 

per million; and the deep well at Fort Caswell at the mouth of Cape 

Fear River, 25 miles farther south, flows from a depth of 1,440 feet 

water carrying 10,400 parts. All the above comparisons are weakened 

by the differences between the time of drilling and thftt of making 

analyses-that is, they take no account of possible freshening through 

flowing. -

Freshening of individual wells.-The quickening of circulation that 

follows the tapping of a water bed by a well must ultimately result in·· 

freshening a salt flow. Fuller,b who suggests that such salt wells 

be allowed- to flow freely in the hope of their finally yielding fresh 

water, mentions instances of improvement near Wilmington, two 

permanent and two temporary. The tern porarily bettered wells 

aArtesian wells, Municipal report of the city of Charleston, 1881. . 

, b Fuller, M. L., Instances oftheimprovementofwater in wells: Water-Supply Paper U.s. Geol. Survey 

No. 160, 1906, p. 96, 
SALINE ARTESIAN WATERS OF ATLANTIC COASTAL PLAIN. 85 

became fresh after heavy pumping for half an hour to an hour, and 

become salty again when disused. They seem to be in a distinct 

class, and their peculiar behavior may perhaps be accounted for by 

imperfect casing and by the drill having struck two flows, one fresh 

and the other salt. 

No analyses of the permanently improved flows were made just 

after the completion of the wells, so the exact amount and rate of 

freshening can not be determined. Analyses are the only safe 

guides in comparison, taste being too uncertain, and analyses of 

Coastal Plain flows for a term of years are few. They are available, 

however, fo:r the Norfolk and Western Railway well at Lambert 

Point and the 1 ,250-foot well on Wentworth street, Charleston. 

In the Lambert Point well the water contains less than 500 parts 

of chlorine per million and is therefore not a salt water, as previously 

defined. The analyses are as follows: 

Analyses of water from well of Norfolk and Western Railway, Lambert Point, Va. 

[Parts per million.] 

1. 2. 3. 4. 

---------------------1------------

Total solids ...... __ ......... ____ ._ ....... ___ ... _ ..... _. ___ ......... 1, 093 Silica (Si02) ......... ___ .. __ ....... ___ ............. __ •. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10. 0 

Oxides of iron and aluminum (Fe20s+Ah03). .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Calcium (Ca) ...... _ ...... ________ .... _. __ .. __ ... __ ..... __ . __ ...... 5.0 Magnesium (Mg) ..... _ . _ ....... ___ ............ ______ ....... ___ . _ . . 1. 7 Sodium (Na) ............ __ ........ ____ .............. _____ ....... __ 415.0 } Potassium (K) .•... __ ....... ____ ... __ .... __ . _ ..... __ ..... _. ___ .... 21.0 

1,094 11.4 

1.37 

5.4 

2.8 

439.0 

Sulphate radicle (S04) .......... ___ .... __ .... ____ . ___ .. _ ... __ . _____ . 43.0 44.0 

Carbonate radicle (COa) ........... ___ ............... _. __ .......... 245.0 314.0 

~~~~~en(tH·~~-i~~~ _ :~~~~)_._ ·_ ·_ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~:: ~:: ~:: ~ ~: ~ ~: ~ ~::::: ~:::::::: · · · 35i: o · · · · · 29o: o ·· 

1. Shepard Laboratory, analyst, 1891. 2. Norfolk and Western Railway Company, analyst, 1899. 3. Dearborn Drug and Chemical Company, analyst, 1907. 4. Norfolk and Western Railway C'..ompany, analyst, 1909. 

11.0 1,128 6.0 2.6 1.9 4.8 5.1 2. 7 3.3 

434.0 437.0 

43.0 45.0 

312.0 -617.0 

293.0 290.0 

Allowance being made for differences in analytical methods, the 

rate of freshening shown is indefinite and is so slight that it would 

not pay to sink a well near by in the hope of ultimately getting fresh 

water from it . .. Comparis9ns can be made of the Charleston waters in but one well, 

the 1 ,250-foot well on Wentworth street. An average of analyses 

made in 1868 shows 776 parts of chlorine per million. A field test 

made in 1907 showed over 900 parts. If there is no break in the 

casing, the salinity has increased. 

SUMMARY. 

Areas in which salt water may be found by deep drilling are more 

numerous than has been supposed. 

These areas are in low ground and the greater part are near the 

ocean or some large body of salt water. 
86 U:ND:ERGROUND-WA'rER PAPERS, 1910. 

There is no foundation for the opinion that fresh water can always 

be found below salt or can be found in a particular formation where 

salt water has been found in an overlying formation. The probability of finding fresh water below salt is a problem for each area, 

and inferences based on work in one area may be utterly misleading 

in another. 

As salt-water beds freshen up the dip and as the seaward limits of 

most of them are unknown, the prospect of finding fresh water is 

better to the west rather than to the east of any particular salt-water 

well. 

Salt flows are not peculiar to any one horizon and have no known 

relation to the geologic age of a deposit. 

Salt flows,are due to various causes; chiefly (I) to the leaching of 

marine deposits and (2) to the penetration of sea water or the leaching of marine beds into underlying deposits. Differences in r~te of 

circulation cause9. by differences in initial heads, loss of porosity, or 

pinching out of water-bearing beds will account for some differences 

in mineralization. 

Although a renewal of active circulation through a well must 

result ultimately in freshening the flow, so little is known of the rate 

of freshening that drilling wells in a salt area in the hope of getting 

fresh water is not advisable unless rapid freshening in a particular 

locality has been proved. 
MAGNETIC WELLS. 

By MYRON L. FULLER. 

INTRODUCTION. 

It is a fact well known to deep-well drillers that the casings of many 

deep borings are more or less magnetic and will attract and hold to 

the pipe small iron or steel objects coming within their sphere of 

influence. Furthermore, many newspapers and occasionally engineering and other magazines have printed statements ascribing 

magnetic properties to the water itself, and it is not unusual for 

spring waters to be exploited as "magnetic." A large number of 

these waters were investigated, and in most of them no magnetism 

whatever was found; in others the only magnetism was that shown 

by the well casings. The object of the present paper is to put on 

record some observations on magnetic wells and so-called :m,agnetic 

spring waters, and to suggest certain lines of experiment· which will 

afford more reliable data as to the phenomena observed. 

PHENOMENA. 

MAGNETISM OF CASINGS. 

Occurrence.-During or after the drilling of wells it is frequently 

found that the casing has become magnetized. This discovery is 

usually made through the adherence to the pipe of nails or other 

small objects brought near it. The phenomenon is exhibited principally in the attraction of small objects to the pipe, the clinging of 

steel tapes and wires to the casing when measuring the depth of wells, 

the attraction of steel cables to the casing in drilling, and the attraction of the magnetic needle when in the vicinity of the casing. 

As a rule, the magnetism of the casing is only sufficient to hold 

. small nails or similar objects, but occasionally it is much stronger, 

and will hold nuts, bolts, and spikes against the pipe, and it is reported 

that even metal dippers and other large objects have been likewise 

held. The casing of a well at Wheeling, W. V a., tested by Prof. 

William Hallock for the United States Geological Survey, was 4,500 

feet in length and is said to have had sufficient magnetism to hold a 

wrench. 

In the measurement of· certain wells the magnetism of the casing 

presents an important obstacle. A. C. Lane has found that the cling 

87 
88 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

of the steel line Used in lowering thermometers into deep wells is 

very considerable. He says a that in the well at Grayling, Mich., it 

required a man's full strength to start 2,600 feet of steel tape, although 

the weight of the tape itself was not over 25 pounds. Again, he 

reports that in a well at Cheboygan the magnetic drag on the tape 

used in measuring was so great, according to Mr. Rust, the driller, 

that it was impossible to tell when the 20-pound weight had reached 

the bott01n. 

As would naturally be expected, the needle of a compass is strongly 

attracted by a magnetic casing, being deflected toward the well in all 

positions for distances varying with the strength of the magnetism. 

Relation to depth of well.-The relation between the length of the 

casing and the strength of the magnetism is not constant. According 

to Lane, b however, the larger and deeper holes are in general more 

magnetic than the shallower ones. This would probably always be 

true if all other conditions were uniform, which is generally not the 

case. In reality the magnetism of the casings in many of the deeper 

wells isfeeble, whereas in some. shallow wells, as in the 90-foot drift 

well of the Moline Plow Company at Madison, Wis., examined by 

A. R. Schultz, of the Geological Survey, the magnetic force was suffi~ 

cient to hold a hammer and a heavy wrench against the pipe. 

Relation to location.-The data bearing ·on the distribution of 

magnetic wells are too few to permit other than broad generalizations. Only one such well has come to the attention of the writer in 

the coastal plain regions of the Atlantic or Gulf States, and only a few 

have been reported frow the Central States. In Pennsylvania, 

however, the drillers report that magnetic casings aTe common, the 

. , development occasionally being rather strong. Magnetic wells are 

especially numerous in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. About 

a dozen came to the attention of Mr. Schultz in a season's investiga-

. tion in Wisconsin, and it is probable that there are hundreds of others 

in which the magnetism exists but has not been noticed. 

Relation to materials penetrated.-Information regarding the relation of the magnetism of casings to the materials in which the well is 

drilled is very fragmentary. Wells in Carboniferous sandstones, 

shales, and limestones and in Upper Devonian shales are magnetic in 

Pennsylvania, Michigan, and elsewhere, and wells in drift are not 

uncommonly magnetic in the north-central States. No reliable 

reports of magnetic wells in granite have been received, but it is 

believed that they would be as common or even more common than 

those· in the rocks just mentioned were it not that their c~sing is 

carried only a few feet into the rock. One magnetic well is known in 

the Coastal Plain, and ther~ is no reason why others should not be 

found. For the reasons outlined in the ·paragraphs on the causes of 

a Fourth Report Michigan Acad. Sci., 1904, pp. 166-167. b Loc.cit. 
MAGNETIC WELLS. 89 

the phenomena, magnetic wells are most numerous and powerful in 

the harder rocks, in which the casings are carried to the bottom, and 

least common in soft, unconsolidated deposits. Wells in drift or other 

deposits carrying magnetic sands or bowlders, however, would be 

exceptions to this rule. Theoretically the magnetism should· be 

greatest in wells in granites and quartzites, and should decrease more 

or less progressively through schists and other soft crystalline rocks, 

limestones, sandstones, slates, shales, clays, etc. 

Loss of magnetism.-The testimony of drillers seems to be unanimous that the magnetism decreases with the lapse of time and in 

many wells disappears in a few years. One of the best examples is 

afforded by a well sunk near Grand Valley, Pa., in 1905. At that 

time it was found by the driller, Josiah G. Winger, to be strongly 

magnetic. ·on repeating the test. a few months later, at the Survey's 

request, he found that the magnetism had entirely disappeared. A 

considerable number of so-called magnetic wells have been tested by 

the writer and other members of the Survey, but the magnetism was 

not detected, apparently having disappeared since the completion 

of the wells. 

MAGNETISM OF DRILLS. 

Magnetism of the drill is less commonly reported than magnetism 

of the casings, although well drillers in the Pennsylvania oil and gas 

fields say that it is very common. Mr. Schultz found that in the well of 

the Moline Plow Company at Madison, Wis., the drill, though strongly 

magnetic, was much less so than the casing, which held a hammer 

and iron wrench, the largest objects held by the drill being nails. It 

will probably be found on testing that magnetic drills are very 

common, but that the magnetism is as a rule not so strongly developed as in casings. 

MAGNETISM OF WATER. 

In the course of his field work the writer has visited a number of 

wells whose water is alleged to produce magnetism in iron objects 

immersed in them, and waters from several "magnetic~' spiings (in 

reality deep wells) are on the market. So persistent have been the 

reports of such waters that, notwithstanding their apparent inherent 

improbability, the writer has taken every occasion to make careful 

tests in the field. 

The waters of most of the so-called magnetic springs emerge from 

pipes, and are thus artesian wells rather than true springs. In these, 

as well as in natural springs, the waters are generally strongly chalybeate and deposit considerable amounts of iron oxide, which doubtless 

suggested the tests for magnetism. The phenomena reported consist 

in the magnetization of needles, knife blades, nails, etc., immersed in 

the water, both at the source and at a distance, and in the deflection 

of the magnetic needle in its vicinity. 
90 trNDEJRGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1010. 

To test the matter, two members of the United States Geological 

Survey visited one of these springs (the Cartersburg Spring (well) 

near Indianapolis, Ind.) at different times and carefully tested the 

steel (I) before approaching the "spring," (2) immediately before . 

placing the knife in the water held in the glass jar, and (3) after 

allowing the knife to stand in water for five minutes at various 

distances from 5 to 150 feet from "spring." No magnetism whatever was produced by the water and even the casing was found to be 

nonmagnetic. 

The waters of this ''spring" or well are strongly chalybeate and, 

according to J. N. Hurty, chemist for the Big Four Railroad, deposit 

magnetic oxide of iron. 

Similar tests made by the writer and others on alleged magnetic 

wells in Ohio and Minnesota gave the same negative results. 

Objects were reported to have been magnetized by the water in 

the Moline well at Madison, Wis., but investigation brought out the 

fact that the water had been collected in a metallic dipper which 

possibly came into contact with the magnetized casing and was 

magnetized by it, and which in turn magnetized the iron placed in it. 

Tests by Mr. Schultz showed that unmagnetized steel or iron left far 

an hour in the water in nonmagnetic vessels showed no magnetic 

properties, nor did iron held in the water in the well when carefully 

shielded from the casing. J. G. Winger made a careful test of the 

well near. Grand Valley, Pa., and found that although the casing was 

strongly magnetic the water showed no magnetic phenomena. In 

fact, there is at present no evidence that magnetism can be imparted 

by water to objects of iron or steel. 

It is believed that the errors in the observations of those who 

suppose they discover magnetism in water arise mainly from three 

causes~ Although relatively few people are aware of it, many pocketknives are more or less magnetized, and it is not safe to assume 

without testing that a particular knife is nonmagnetic before it is 

placed ip. the water. Another cause of misinterpretation arises 

from the fact, also not generally known, that many well casings 

are magnetized, and that the magnetism attributed to the water is 

really due to the presence of this magnetic body in the vicinity of 

the knife tested. Still another cause of error lies in the fact that 

the knife is not wiped after being taken from the water and that 

the surface tension of the film of water on the damp blade may pick 

up a needle. 

The following simple procedure, requiring no instruments, would 

go far toward settling the question of n1agnetism in natural waters. 

Take several pieces of steel and a number of needles '\vhich have been 

tested and found to be unmagnetized to a point 200 or 300 feet from 

the well or spring to be investigated, and after again testing steel and 
91 

needles leave them, together with any other iron or steel articles about 

the person, at this point. Proceed to the well or spring and fill a 

large glass vessel with the water, and return with it to the steel and 

needles. Test these again and then place one of the pieces in the 

water in the glass vessel, leaving it there for five minutes. On removing the steel dry it and test it with a needle for magnetism. The 

experiment, if the magnetism is in any way connected with chemical 

changes in the water such as those depending on the passing off of 

the C02, should be made as quickly as possible. If found magnetic 

, the steel and needle should be laid aside, care being taken that they 

do not come near the remaining pieces. If the water taken from the 

spring in a glass vessel shows no magnetism it may be desirable ·to 

test the spring itself for magnetism. To do this a previously tested 

piece of steel should be taken to the spring and left in the water for 

five minutes or more, after which it should be removed, dried, carried 

back to the base of operations, and again tested. If found magnetic 

th~ experiment should be repeated \\--ith a steel object left just outside 

the water limit at the spring. By a number of such tests the source 

of the magnetism, if any is present, can probably be located. 

Of instrumental tests, that with the common compass is the easiest 

to make and consists in determining the distance from the well at 

which the needle is first found to be affected, and the distance at which 

it will point directly toward the well from the east or the west. 

CAUSES OF MAGNETISM OF CASINGS. 

The magnetism of well casings has been attributed to a number of 

causes, which include (1) the striking of magnetic bowlders, (2) the 

penetration of magnetite-bearing sands or rocks, (3) electric currents 

in the water, (4) magnetic material in suspension in the water, (5) 

chemical action of the water, (6) the interception of the magnetic 

lines of force in the earth, and (7) the production of induced magnetism· by the motion of a magnetized drill. 

jfagnetic bowlders.-If magnetic bowlders were encountered by a 

drill or casing it is conceivable that they might impart magnetism, 

but although magnetite is common in bowlders of the glacial drift 

and is capable of being attracted by a magnet, it does not itself possess 

the property of magnetism, and it is difficult to see how a casing or 

drill striking such materials could become magnetic. 

Magnetite sands or rock.-Many varieties of the crystalline rocks 

contain magnetite in fine particles, and when reduced by disintegration and decay, or by wave action, yield sands that abound in mag-. 

netite grains. These grains may be scattered through the drift or 

concentrated into thin beds or layers in stratified rocks. A well 

drilled in crystalline rocks, especially in the basic types, '\Viii generally encounter more or less crystalline magnetite, and even wells in 
92 tJN:b:rnRGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

drift and in stratified materials, both consolidated and unconsolidated, may encounter the included magnetite particles. The objection to this explanation of the derivation of magnetism is the same 

as to that of the magnetic bowlders, namely, that though the magnetite is attracted by a magnet it does not itself exhibit polarity and 

it probably can not induce magnetism in iron coming into contact 

'\\-ith it. 

Electric currents in water.-It is a matter of frequent observation 

that in cities electric currents entering the ground from trolley rails 

and other sources seek the water conduits, the iron casings being 

gradually destroyed by the process of electrolysis. Similarly it has 

been assumed that earth currents of electricity tend to follow the 

underground water conduits, and, although relatively w.eak, may 

impart magnetism to the casings through which the water is flowing. 

If magnetic wells were always flowing wells this might explain the 

phenomena, but in reality many magnetic wells, especially in the oil 

regions, including some even several thousand feet in depth, contain 

no water at all and contain oil only at the bottom. . 

Jfagnetic material in suspension in water.-Magnetic material held 

in suspension in water might be thought competent to magnetize iron 

or steel, but in reality particles in suspension lack the orientation 

necessary to induce magnetism. Moreover, there is no known source 

of such particles. 1fagnetite sand might be drawn in, but, as previously stated, can not induce magnetism. One chemist has asserted 

that the "magnetic" oxide may be precipitated in natural waters on 

standing, but even if this is tru~ the precipitate does not possess 

magnetic properties. 

Chemical action of water.-In chalybeate waters galvanic action is 

set up between brass or zinc well strainers and the iron casing, but · 

there is no known means of producing the phenomena of magnetism 

in the iron by such a process. Besides, magnetism is found in wells 

not provided with strainers and independently of the quality of the 

water. 

Induced magnetism from magnetic force of the earth.-As is well 

known, a steel body that remains for some time in one position may 

become distinctly magnetic owing to the polarization of its particles by the earth's magnetism. The strength of this action in wells 

should be proportional to the length of the casing, and as a matter of 

fact has been so found by William Richards, who has drilled many 

wells in Pennsylvania. On the other hand, some of the strongest 

magnetic wells yet noted are less than 100 feet in depth. The strongest arguments against such induced magnetism of the casings are (1) 

that the magnetism decreases rapidly after the completion of the well, 

and (2) that, according to Mr. Richards, pump tubes of equal length 

or longer than the casings do not become magnetic even when inclosed 
MAGNETIC WELLS. 93 

within an outer magnetized tube. Moreover, as will be pointed out 

in the next paragraph, the relation of length of casing tostrength of 

magnetism can be explained otherwise than by direct induction. 

Induced magnetism from drill.-That casings are not commonly 

magnetized by direct induction is probably due to the immobility of 

their particles. With the drill, however, these conditions are differ-

·ent. Through its rise and fall sharp vibrations are produced which 

tend to facilitate the readjustment of its molecules and their orientation according to the direction of the earth magnetism at that point. 

In some wells the drill when inserted was known not to be magnetic, but became so after being used a short time, even where no 

casing had been introduced. As this occurs in rocks where the other 

enumerated possible causes are out of the question, it seems certain 

that the magnetism of the drill has resulted in some such way as is 

here outlined. When, after the drill is magnetized, it is repeatedly 

passed in the process of drilling up and down through the casing in the 

same position and direction of movement it gradually imparts its 

magnetism to the casing. The larger the casing and the deeper the 

hole the more pronounced is the phenomenon. 

In driving wells the casing itself may become directly magnetized, 

as in some materials the casing is forced downward only with great 

difficulty and by means of heavy driving weights, which set up vibrations much the same as those of the drill, an~ which possibly induce 

m<Jre or less magnetism. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

The magnetism exhibited by well casings is independent of depth, 

many shallow wells showing it as strongly as the deeper ones; it is not 

a question of material, for it is found in wells in all classes of materials. It is not due to electric currents nor to magnetic particles in 

water, as it is shown in wells without water as well as those filled with 

it, and it is not due to induction by earth magnetism, as it soon disappears after the completion of the well and is not found in· the pump 

tubes. The casing is usually magnetized only when the drill is 

worked inside of it, a fact which explains the general absence of the 

phenomenon in granite and other rock wells in which the casing is 

carried only to the rock. This also explains why'it is most common 

in deep cased wells, such as those of the Pennsylvania oil fields. 

Observation seems to indicate that the drill. is the first to become 

magnetized, the casing showing magnetization later. The strength 

of the magnetization seems to be proportional, other things being equal; 

to the hardness of the rock. The facts briefly stated lead the writer to 

the conc~usion that the phenomena are induced by ea~th magnetism· 

aided by the vibration of the drill or of the casing when it is sunk by 

percussion, which permits the readjustment of the polarized particles 

of the steel. 
UNDERGROUND WATERS NEAR MANASSAS, VIRGINIA. 

By FREDERICK G. CLAPP. 

LOCATION AND GEOLOGIC ENVIRONMENT. 

Manassas lies within and about 1-! miles west of the eastern border 

of the belt of Triassic sandstones which crosses northern Virginia. 

East of this belt the rocks are metamorphic and schistose in nature, 

with much contorted dips, generally at a high angle. The line of 

demarcation between the two areas crosses Bull Run at the mouth of 

Russia Branch, on the line of the Southern Railway, and extends in a 

direction slightly west of south along the west slop.e of Signal Hill. 

West of Manassas the Triassic basin extends nearly 20 miles to the 

Bull Run Mountains. 

In the vicinity of Manassas the Triassic rocks consist ·of red sandstones of varying degrees of coarseness, lying nearly flat, with dips 

where measured of about 12°. The rock is well exposed in a quarry 

about half a mile northeast of town, where it is being worked for 

building stone, and in several small excavations along a public road a · 

short distance east of the quarry. Where the direction of the dip 

could be seen it was about due north. In general the stone is massive 

and consists of beds 1 foot to 8 feet thick, being thinnest near the 

surface. The owner of the quarry reports that water is not found 

in the bedding or joints. The beds are cut by fine joint cracks, but 

where noticed these generally extend across one or two beds only. 

No trap dikes are known in the vicinity of Manassas, but some are 

reported a few miles away. 

WELLS. 

Owing to the considerable number of drilled wells at Manassas, 

fair opportunity exists for obtaining information regarding the occurrence of water in these rocks. Probably the best-known well is 

that drilled in the summer of 1905 for a public water supply. This 

well is situated close to the Southern Railway on the eastern 

outskirts of · the town, in a slight depression, around which the 

hills rise 15 or 20 feet higher. Data supplied by members of the 

94 
UNDERGROUND WATERS NEAR MANASSAS, VIRGINIA. 95 

corporation of Manassas show that the well was drilled to a depth 

of 531 feet 8 inches, all but the last 6 or 7 f~et. through Triassic 

sandstone. At 525 feet a hard gray rock was struck, which continued 

to the bottom of the well and is supposed to be the metamorphic or 

crystalline rock that underlies the Triassic area. This well has a 

diameter of 8 inches to a depth of 200 feet from the surface, below 

which it is only 6 inches. It is reported to be cased to a depth of 180 

feet. Two water-bearing beds are reported at depths of 210 and 487 

feet, the deeper one supplying the greater amount of water. When 

the well was cmnpleted the water stood 58 feet from the surface. A 

12 by 36 inch steam head pump was installed and a· test of the well 

made, variously reported as lasting frmn six to ten hours, during 

which the well was pumped continuously. It is said to have yielded 

at least 120 gallons of water a minute, that being the full capacity of 

the pump. On account of lack of funds this well has never been 

used, but it is protected by a cement curb and housed over. Some 

persons have supposed that as this well is situated in a depression the 

water is liable to contamination, but if the casing extends to 180 feet, 

as reported, there is probably little danger. 

On the Portner estate, on the northern edge of town, are 

half a dozen or more drilled wells, the deepest of which is 333 feet 

deep. The prineipal water is reported to occur in a coarse sandstone 

220 feet from the surface. When this bed was reached the water, 

which had previously stood 24 feet from the surfaee, fell to 70 feet 

below the surface, where it remained, being unaffected by subsequent pumping. This well is pumped by a windmill and supplies 

enough water to maintain: two fish ponds covering half an aere or 

more and to supply a bathing tank. 

A few hundred feet to the north, near Mr. Portner's house, are two 

more wells about 100 feet apart .. They are reported as bei;ng 215 feet 

and abo~t 300 feet deep. They were connected by exploding a heavy. 

charge of nitroglycerine in the bottom of one of them, establishing 

free communication for the water and pennitting both wells to be 

pumped from one. A steam pump raises the water to a tank about 

50 feet above the ground. · These wells supply plenty of water for 

use of the house and stables. The water in the 215-fe>ot well is said 

to have stood 60 feet from the surface and the principal supply to 

have come from a depth of about 200 feet. 

A quarter of a mile or more still farther north, at Mr. ,Portner's 

stock farm, are two more wells. Both are said to be over 200 feet in 

depth and are pumped by a windmill. The water supplies 135 head 

of cattle, 20 horses, and 15 men, besides beingused for cooling n1ilk. 

These wells seem to show that there is plenty of water in the sandstones, if favorable localities happen to be found. 
96 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

Mr. Prescott has ~-well said by him to be 200 feet in depth, in which 

the water stood 68 feet from the surface. The capacity of this well 

was only 8! gallons a minute, but this is considered a good. amount 

in that region, as it is sufficient for all domestic and ordinary farm 

purposes. Generally wells of moderate yield are tested with the 

sand pump. 

A few hundred feet west of the Portner estate, on the road to Sodby 

Spring, are 3 deep wells, on the G. C. Round, Taylor, and Lipscomb 

properties. They are 145, 115, and 140 feet deep, respectively, and 

all yield water enough for domestic purposes. Mr. Taylor reports 10 

gallons a minute from his well and 20 gallons a minute from the . 

Lipscomb well. The following is a record of the Taylor well, as 

reported by the owner: 

Record of Taylor's well, Manassas, Va. 

Thickness. Depth. 

Feet. Feet. 

Soil, etc............................................................................. 8 8 

Slate................................................................................ 2 10 

Brownstone.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 40 

~~~f~~~~: -~~~::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 8f+ ~+ Sandstone, gray ........................................................................................ . 

The water is reported to occur in a coarse sandstone 1 or 2 feet 

thick at the bottom of the well, and the same stratum is supposed to 

furnish the water in the Lipscomb well, on the lot next to the north. 

This water has been analyzed by the Bureau of Chemistry of the 

United States Department of Agriculture. 

South of Manassas, about half a mile from the railroad station, is 

a well102 feet deep on theW. H. Morann place. This well procures 

water from a coarse bed 100 feet from the surface and is piped to 

supply four houses in the vicinity. In dry weather this well has 

been utilized to the full capacity of the pump and has never given out. 

According to reports of the drillers and owners no well drilled in 

the Triassic area in the vicinity of Manassas has failed to find water 

within a depth of 100 to 200 feet, although some of them yield only 

a few gallons. So far as can be judged by reports, the water occurs 

at no particular horizon, although some wells near together seem to 

have a water horizon in common. The water generally occurs in a 

coarse bed of sandstone. In many wells near town the drillers 

report a" grindstone rock," which is said to average 20 feet in thickness and to be irregular in occurrence. It may be a dike, but this is 

very doubtful. "Flint rock," perhaps a hard limestone, is frequently reported. In quality the water varies considerably, both 

hard and soft water being found. It is· commonly believed that the 

water is harder in the lower strata than in the upper, and ~ofter at the 
UNDERGROUND WATERS NEAR MANASSAS, VIRGINIA. 97 

east end of town than at the west end; for this reason the corporation 

well was located at the east end. 

A rather interesting well is that of Libeau Brothers, situated on 

the southern border of Manassas. This is a dug well 75 feet deep 

and 5 feet in diameter at the surface, but increasing downward to 19 

feet at the bottom. A large supply of water, which filled the well 

within 6 or 7 feet of the surface, was found in a bed of very soft sandstone near the bottom. As the well stands on rather low ground, it 

is probable that some of this is surface water. 

Few data are available regarding water in the rocks outside the 

Triassic area. All the information at hand is derived from observations on Signal Hill, just east of the contact. This hill is about 2 

miles long and is surrounded by numerous springs, which some 

persons have supposed ttf be of deep-seated origin, but their volume 

is so small that they are probably all derived from the-rainfall on the 

hill. Mr. Dickens has a well 62 feet in depth, in which water stands 

20 feet from the surface. It is reported to have a capacity of 6 

gallons a minute. 

WATER SUPPLY OF MANASSAS. 

At present practically all the well-to-do families in Manassas have 

satisfactory deep wells of their own, but for those who have not and 

for use in case of fire a public supply is needed. 

The population of Manassas in 1900 was 817, but since that time it 

has increased slightly. If the present population is 1,000, and 60 

gallons a day per capita is the maximum amount of water which 

would probably be consumed, 60,000 gallons ought· to be sufficient 

for domestic purposes alone. The quantity of water necessary for 

fire protection must, of course, be added to the 60,000 gallons. Of 

course it is important to consider the need resulting from probable 

increase in population, but this will probably be offset for some time 

by the number of persons who have deep-well supplies of their own. 

To· provide the necessary water the corporation well, mentioned 

above, was drilled in 1905. If the test of this well is reliable, it will 

yield at least 120 gallons a minute, or 172,800 gallons a day, nearly 

three times the amount necessary for a population of 1,000. It seems 

very probable, however, that this capacity will not continue indefinitely, and if the supply is found inadequate another well will have 

to be drilled. Certain persons in the town have urged going to 

Signal Hill, or even to the Blue Ridge, for the town supply, but such 

an expense seems unnecessary. A well at a given spot is not certain 

to obtain water in quantity, as some wells furnish only a few gallons 

each, but if one well does not succeed another should be tried near ~Y· 

64198°--~SP258--ll----7 
UTILIZATION OF THE UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, 

KANSAS. 

By HENRY C. WoLFF. 

INTRODUCTION. 

In August and September, 1908, investigttions were carried on in 

the valley of South Fork of Republican River, near St. Francis, 

Cheyenne County, Kans., to determine the quantity of the underflow 

water and the possibility of recovering it for use in irrigation. This 

report embodies the chief facts obtained in the field work, together 

with suggestions for installing small pumping plants to recover the 

ground water. 

Only a few years ago a large part of this valley formed one big 

cattle ranch, but at present it is divided into a number of ranches of 

moderate size, and increasing attention is being given to agriculture. 

About sixteen small irrigation ditches now take water from the river 

within 10 miles of St. Francis. 

The soil of the bottom lands differs in quality from place to place. 

Certain areas are too sandy or too moist for cultivation and are better 

suited for pasture and hay lands, but the soil of a large part of the 

bottoms is excellent and is well suited to alfalfa and other crops. 

The best tracts of land lie between poorer sandy strips, an arrangement which is of great benefit in the development of the' valley by 

irrigation, for it tends to make it practicable to irrigate all the better 

lands without overdrawing the sources of supply. 

During times of light precipitation, high evaporation, and large 

draft on the ground water by growing vegetation the water plane 

often drops below the bed of the river and the stream runs dry. Thus 

the lack of river water for irrigation when it is most needed has led the 

farmers of the valley to co~sider the possibility of installing pumping 

plants. 

The field work on which this report is based consisted of putting 

down test holes in the bottom lands through the alluvial deposit to 

shale, of making underflow velocity measurements, of collecting 

samples of sand and water for analyses, and of determining the slope 

of the water plane. 

98 
UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 99 

Acknowledgment Inust be made of the interest manifested and the 

assistance given by the people of St. Francis and vicinity. Not only 

did they aid the writer in every possible way, but through the Commercial Club of St. Francis. they supplied all the necessary common 

labor required for the investigation. 

THE UNDERFLOW. 

WATER-BEARING MATERIAL. 

South Fork of Republican River crosses the northwest corner of 

Kansas, flowing in a northeasterly direction. The river has cut down 

several hundred feet through the loess and Tertiary deposits of the 

high plains into the Pierre shale. In the bottoms this shale is covered 

to a depth of 15 to 20 feet with water-bearing sand and gravel derived 

from the disintegrated Tertiary deposits. The river flows for the 

most part upon this sand and gravel through a natural meandering 

channel formed by cutting away the upper portion of the deposit. 

Because of the shallowness of the gravels and the presence of the 

underlying impervious shale the stream has an unusually strong tendency to survive throughout the summer Inonths. At places where 

the shale comes near the surface the strean1 bed is rarely quite dry, 

presenting a marked contrast to most of the streams in western Kansas, 

which disappear entirely at times during the sutnmer. The river has 

many western tributaries that flow through canyon-like valleys, and 

these tributaries also show a strong tendency to maintain a summer 

flow. Similar draws entering the valley from the east are usually dry 

in summer and are not important feeders of the river. 

Although the great part of the work was done near St. Francis, a 

few test holes were .sunk along the valley for a distance of 10 miles 

above to 14 miles below that city. Within this distance the bottom 

lands range in width from half a mile to about 3 miles, this being 

also the approximate width of the alluvial deposits. The waterbearing material ranges in thickness fron1 10 to 25 feet and in most 

places consists of gravel that is adapted to well construction, containing enough coarse material to warrant the use of a well strainer 

having perforations as large as 1 t inches long by three-sixteenths 

inch wide. Near the center of the valley the gravel is very 

clean and contains but little very fine material. Toward the edges 

of the valley the percentage of fine sand markedly increases and 

earthy material, probably washed down from the banks and uplands, 

becomes noticeable. 
100 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

WATER PLANE. 

Figure 23 shows the location of most of the test wells put down at 

St. Francis and of three private wells concerning which data were 

collected. The downward slope of the water plane at this pointwas found, from measurements of its elevation at stations Nos. 5, 4, 

and 12, to be 10.7 feet a mile to the northeast, as indicated by the 

arrow in the drawing. 

Plate II shows a cross section of the river valley along the east 

and west line of test wells at St. Francis. The vertical scale in this 

drawing is very greatly magnified, being 50 times that of the horizontal. The surface of the ground, the upper surface of the Pierre 

shale, the true water plane, and what is called the corrected water 

plane are all represented. The true water plane, shown by a full 

line, was determined by running levels to the test holes~ and private 

wells, and proved to have a decided downward slope from west' to 

east. This slope was to be expected, for by referring to figure 23, 

the line of test wells from west to east is seen to be not normal to 

the channel, but to extend at an angle of about 45° to the general 

direction of the valley. Thus the wells at the east end of the line 

are farther down the river, and the water in them should stand 

lower than in the wells farther west. By correcting the measured 

elevations of the ground water along tllis line the dotted line in Plate 

II, marked "corrected water plane," is obtained. This line shows 

the position of the water plane along a line drawn at right angles to 

the direction of the valley, a position that is, in general, nearly level. 

At all points the movement of the underflow is down the valley, 

with no lateral components. 

The upper part of figure 2.4 shows the location of a line of test 

wells 10 miles above St. Francis. The lower part is a cross section 

along the line of wells, showing the position of the shale and of the 

water plane. At this point the river has cut down nearly to the 

shale and has drained the water from the neighboring sands and 

gravel. 

VELOCITY. 

In figure 23 the arrows drawn from stations Nos. 1 to 7 represent 

in magnitude and direction the velocity of the underflow at these 

seven points. The numbers ~t the ends of the arrows represent the 

velocity in feet per twenty-four hours. The direction of the underflow follows very closely that of the river valley, which at this point 

is approximately 45° east of north. 

In the lower part of Plate II the ground-water velocities are 

again represented graphically and may be read by the scale at the 

left, on . which the vertical distance represents velocity in feet per 

twenty-four hours. The horizontal elements represent distances 

between test holes, as marked at the top of the drawing. From this 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

I 

I 

I 

I I I 

I I I I I I I 

I 

I 

1 

I 

I 

I 

56 

SECTION 21 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

SEC~ION 

I 

I 

I 

I 

1.1.1 

z 

:J 

z 

0 

~ u 

w 

(f) 

: 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I 

I : 

WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 258 PLATE II 

0 

Q) SECTION 22 

3: 

Vertical scale 

Horizontal scale 

:z 

0 

i= 

0 

WILl 

tl)z 

0::-

w..J 

1-

0:: 

< 

::> 

a 

25 Feet 

0 500 1000 Feet 

0~--J_~---------L----~L-----~----~------~------~----~------~------------~-

200 

100 

0 

CROSS SECTION OF THE ARKANSAS VALLEY NORTH OF ST. FRANCIS, KANS. 
UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 

SECTION LINE 

SECTION LINE 

0 

Q 

0 

0 

0 Station No.8 

------~z 

FIGURE 23.-Map showing location of test wells at St. Francis, Kans. 

101 
102 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, i9io. 

it will be seen that the velocity of the ground w~ter drops from 56 

feet per twenty-four hours near the center of the valley to about 4 

feet per twenty-four hours at the edges of the bottom lands. This 

decrease is due principally to an increase of fine silt and claylike 

material in the water-bearing gravel from the center of the valley 

toward the edges of the bottom lands. Observations of the gravels 

taken from test holes sunk in the valley show that a similar variation 

occurs in any cross section of the bottom lands below St. Francis. 

This ground-water velocity curve represents in a general way the 

relative capacity of wells sunk along the line of the section. Therefore, other things being equal, a well sunk to obtain water for irrigation should be placed as near the center of the valley as practicable. 

The average velocity of the underflow is 17 feet per twenty-four 

hours. If this rate of flow be divided by the slope of the water plane, 

expressed in feet per mile, the quotient is 1.6. This is the average 

velocity of the ground water that might be expected if the water 

plane had a slope of 1 foot to the mile. The corresponding factor 

for the underflow of the Arkansas River valley at Garden, Kans., 

is 1.1, which indicates that wells in the Republican River valley 

would have a somewhat greater capacity than those at Garden. 

The same indication is given by the general appearance of the waterbearing gravel, although no mechanical analyses have been made 

of the samples taken. 

The area of the cross section of the water-bearing gravel at St. 

Francis, as shown in figure 24 and Plate II, is 71,500 square feet. 

This area, with an average normal underflow velocity of 12 fe~t per 

twenty-four hours and a porosity of one-third for the water-bearing 

material, would give a total flow of 3.3 cubic feet per second, or 

1,485 gallons a minute, about the equivalent capacity of four 4-inch 

centrifugal pumps. These figures are given as an answer to the 

question often asked, "Would it not be feasible to construct a subsurface dam across the river to intercept the underflow and bring 

it to the surface?" Even if the cost of such a dam were neglected, 

a cost which alone puts it out of consideration, it would result in an 

inelastic system, yielding only 3.3 cubic feet per second continuously, 

and this yield could not be increased without using pumps. 

REPLENISHMENT. 

It is often asked (1) how·it is possible for a well to yield any appreciable amount of water with so s1nall an underflow, and (2) wh13ther a 

large nu1nber of pun1ping plants simultaneously operating during the 

dry season would not exhaust the underflow in a few seasons. 

In considering the first question it n1ust be remembered that for 

slow velocities the flow is directly proportional to the hydraulic gradient, and that in the neighborhood of a pumped well this gradient 

is increased when the pump is in operation from a few feet per mile 
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FIGURE 24.-Location of test holes 10 miles above St. Francis and cross section showing position of the shale and of the water plane. 
104 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

to perhaps the same number of feet per yard. Figure 25 represents 

the depressions of the water plane in the neighborhood ·of a 15-inch 

well in the Arkansas River valley nea.r Deerfield, Kans. Each curve 

represents the position of the ·water plane after seven hours continuous pumping, the pump being so gaged as to hold the drawdown 

of the water in the well pumped at 2.2, 4, 6.4, 8.6, and 11.7 feet 

below its normal position. The curves are replotted on logarithmic 

paper in figure 26, and here become straight lines, whose equation 

may be detennined. This well was provided with an 8-foot strainer 

and under the heads named furnished, respectively, 31, 59, 94, 121, 

and 152 gallons a minute. These relations between yield and draw 

are plotted in figure 27, from which it will be seen that for drawdown of less than 7 feet the yield was directly proportional to the 

distance the water was lowered. Beyond this point the increase in 

yield for each additional foot of pressure grew smaller, as shown by• 

O NORMAL WATER PLANE 

1 

2 

3 

1-4 

Ul 

Ul 11..5 

~ 

zs 

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. ~ 8 

9 

10 

11 

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---.. r--ra.... /.,.. 1--. 

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- C::: 

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EAST 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

1 0 

1 

1 2 20 30 

FIGURE 25.-Curves showing position of water plane near a 15-inch pumped well in the Arkansas River 

valley near Deerfield, Kans. 

the bending of the curve above the straight line. The yield is therefore plentiful. 

There need be no fear that the ground water will be exhausted in 

any number of seasons. Suppose that on ea9h section or square 

mile of the bottom lands there are a number of plants pumping con--

stantly night and day at the combined total rate of 1,000 gallons a 

minute for one hundred consecutive days; and suppose also that during this time there is no precipitation, that the river is perfectly dry, 

and that none of the water used for irrigation finds its way back to 

the underflow, so that there is no replenishment of the ground water; 

then the ground-water plane would be lowered about 2 feet. The 
UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 105 

p, 

10 

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DISTANCE, IN FEET 

FIGURE 26.-Logarithmic representation of data in figure 25. 

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o 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 

YIELD OF WELLtiN GALLONS PER MINUTE 

FIGURE 27.-Curve showing relation between yield and drawdown in a 15-inch well in the Arkansas 

River valley near Deerfield, Kans. 
106 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

water thus recovered would irrigate two-thirds of each section to a 

depth of 1 foot. If the water plane were thus drawn clown below the bed. 

of the river, part, if not all, of the overflow passing St. Francis would 

not reach Benkelman but would join the underflow by sinking into 

the loose sandy bed of the river. The farther the ground water is lowered the faster will this transfer from overflow to underflow take place. 

TABLE I.-Estimated discharge of South Fork of Republican River at Benkelman, Nebr., 

1903-1906.a 

Discharge in second-feet. 

Month. Total 

(acre-feet). 

Maximum. Minimum. Mean. 

1903. May (20-31) ............................................... . June ...................................................... . 57 36 48 1,140 65 7 37 2,200 

July ...................................................... . 36 7 15 922 August .................................................... . September (1-5 and 14--30) ................................. . October ................................................... . 

79 7 25 1,540 22 7 15 655 50 7 39 2,400 

November (1-20) .......................................... . 65 50 57 2,260 

1904. March ..................................................... . 102 31 60 3,690 

April. ..................................................... . 66 6 21 1,260 

May ...................................................... . June ...................................................... . July ...................................................... . August ..............................................•...... September .......................................... : ..... . October ................................................... . 255 47 92 5,680 397 47 132 7,850 115 5 39 2,420 89 11 24 1,480 47 5 13 774 115 31 57 3,540 

November ................................................ . 66 47 59 3,530 

1905. March (17-31) ............................................. . 249 96 159 4, 730 April. ..................................................... . May ...................................................... . June ...................................................... . July ...................................................... . August (1-13) ••............................................ 

300 52 141 8,390 137 52 100 6,150 283 21 68.6 4,080 152 5 35.4 2,180 96 21 47.7 1,230 

1906. April. ..................................................... . May ...................................................... . June ...................................................... . July ...................................................... . August .................................................... . September ................................................ . October ................................................... . November ................................................ . 

317 73 129 7,680 215 52 99.3 6,110 52 0 90.3 5,370 183 0 10.9 670 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 61 0 21.8 1,340 61 36 48 2,86Q 

a Water Supply Papers U.S. Geol. Survey Nos. 99, 130, 172, and 208. 

TABLE 2.-Average monthly discharge of South Fork of Republ-ican Ri'IJer at Benkelman, 

Nebr. 

Discharge. 

Number 

Month. of obser- Acre-feet "Sectionvations. (on sur- feet" of 

ground face). water. 

April ................................................................ . May ................................................................. . June ................................................................. . July ................................................................. . August ............ , ................................................. . September ........................................................... . October ........................... : ................................. . November ........................................................... . 

3 5, 770 27.0 2 5,840 27.4 4 4,880 22.9 4 1,530 7.0 3 1,480 6.9 2 390 1.8 3 2,400 11.2 2 3,180 14.9 

25,470 119.1 
UtiLIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 107 

A United States Geological Survey stream-gaging station is located 

on South Fork of Republican River near Benkelman, Nebr., where 

gagings were taken during a part of each year from 1903 to 1906 . 

. The estimated discharge of the river at this point.is shown in Table 1. 

By averaging the monthly discharges in acre-feet for the four years 

the figures given in Table 2 were found. The third column of this 

table gives the average estimated discharge by months in acre-feetthat is, the number of acres the water would cover to a depth of 1 foot. 

The fourth column gives the same discharge in "section-feet"-that 

is, the number of sections of 640 acres each on which the ground water 

would be raised 1 foot if all of the water went to replenish the underflow, 

the gravels having a porosity of one-third. The data in this table 

are also presented graphically in figure 28. During the four months 

in which the river was not gaged-December, January, February, and 

March-as much if not ACRE-FEET 

more water flows away .. to ""' 01 01 0 0 0 0 0 

from valley of the 0 0 0 0 0 0 the 0 0 0 0 0 

South Fork. Altogether APR. to 

the supply would suffiee 

to raise the ground water MAY "' 

1 foot on 240 sections-- JUNE 

that is, it would be 50 per JULY 

cent more than would be 

necessary to replenish 80 AUG. 

seetions if lowered 2 feet SEPT. 

by pumping. This estimate IS believed to be OCT. 

moderate, for, first, the Nov.~~~~~~~~ 

time will probably never 0 01 "' 

come when 80 sections of 0 01 01 

SECTION-FEET OF UNDERGROUND WATER 

bottom land will be irri- FIGURE 28.-Average monthly discharge (estimated) of South 

gated by pumping from Fork of Republican River at Benkelman, Nebr. 

the underflow; second, a portion of the water used for irrigation 

(probably more than 20 per cent) will find its way back to the groundwater supply; third, the local preeipitation will increase the supply 

not only by the amount that falls directly upon the bottom lands 

but by the amount that drains into the va1ley from the hills on either 

side; and fourth, it is probable that the total discharge of 51,000 

acre-feet per year for South Fork of Republiean River is too small 

rather than too large. 

The amount of water that escapes over the surfaee during the 

winter and spring floods is large in proportion to the size of the valley; 

the alluvial deposits afford about the only means of storing these 

flood waters,. and their ability to perform this service is increased by 

pumping. 
108 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

SPECIFIC CAPACITY. 

At the time of the ground-water investigations only one pumping 

plant was recovering water for irrigation along South Fork of Republican River. This plant is in theSE. i SW. t sec. 9, T. 1 S., R. 38 W. 

It consists of an 8-horsepower gasoline engine, a centrifugal pump, and 

a 15.,;,inch well. The well casing is made of 20-gage galvanized sheet 

iron, the lower 10 feet perforated to admit water. The perforations 

are vertical slits, perhaps 1 inch by one-fourth inch, 1 inch· apart, 

placed in vertical rows about 1 inch apart. The casing extends down 

to shale, 24 feet below the surface of the ground, or 14 feet below the 

normal water level. 

On September 16, 1908, after the plant had been in operation day 

and night for several days, the yield of the well was determined by 

pun1ping continuously for three hours into a reservoir. During these 

three hours of pumping the water rose in the reservoir 1.54 feet, to 

which must be added 0.24 feet for loss by seepage. The area of the 

water surface at the beginning of the test was 2,266 square feet and 

·at the end 2,497 ~?quare feet. This gives a yield of 176 gallons a 

minute. 

During the test the water in the well stood 12.5 feet below its 

normal level. Dividing the 176 gallons by 12.5 gives 14.1 gallons a 

minute for each foot of draw down of the water. This quantity is 

termed the specific capacity of the well. Dividing the specific 

capacity (14.1 gallons a minute) by 39.24, the total percolating area 

of the well casing in square feet, gives what is termed the specific 

capacity of the gravels; in this case 0.36 gallon a minute. The 

specific capacity is a factor expressing the readiness with which the 

gravel yields water to a well. In other words, it is the yield in gallons 

a minute of a well having 1 square foot of strainer surface when the 

water in the well is lowered 1 foot· below· its normal position. The 

specific capacity of this well would probably have been very greatly 

increased if the strainer end of the casing had been more closely 

perforated, so as to admit the water into the well more freely. 

The specific capacity of the gravels in Arkansas River valley, near 

Garden City, Kans., runs from 0.11 to 1.3, the average of 12 tests 

.being 0.41.a The specific capacity of the Richardson well compares 

favorably with these capacities, and a comparison of the water-bearing material in the two valleys indicates that the specific capacity of 

wells in the South Fork of Republican Valley may be greater than 

those in the Arkansas Valley. 

a Stichter, C. S., The underflow in Arkansas Valley in western Kansas; Water-Supply Paper U. S. Geol. 

Survey No. 153, 1906, p. 56. 
UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 109 

QUALITY. 

Samples of ground-water taken from various wells in the valley 

were tested for chlorine with tenth-: normal silver nitrate, for alkalinity 

with tenth-normal hydrochloric acid, for hardness with a standardized 

soap solution, and for total solids in solution by means of a Whitney . 

electrolitic bridge. The results of these tests are given in Table 3 

and are represented graphically in the lower part of Plate II. At 

St. Francis the total solids in solution run as high as 1,350 parts per 

million, whereas 600 is about the ordinary limit allowable for water to 

be used for irrigation. Nevertheless, with the exception, perhaps, 

of some of the water found along the northwest edge of the valley, 

these amounts are not large enough to be injurious to plant life, for 

the soil of the valley is of loose texture and lies upon a sandy subsoil, 

and the salts in solution are not the kind most injurious to plant life. 

TABLE 3.-Data concerning wells at stations at St. Francis, Kans., and 10 miles above 

St. Francis. 

Station. 

EleV3tion 

of water Depth Depth Velocity 1-----,--~--,-------,------lplantN•bove 

to to of under- assumed 

shale. water. flow. Total sol- Chlorine. Alkalinity. Hardness. datum 

ids. plane. 

Chemical analyses of ground water. 

CaCOa CaCOa 

Feet p~ Parts per Parts per (parts per (parts per At St. Francis: Feet. Jleet. 24 hours. million. miUion. million). million). Feet. 

1.. . . . . . . . . . . . 19. 5 2. 0 56. 0 320 9 200 251 92. 01 2.. . . . . . . . . . . . 18. 5 2. 0 29. 0 290 9 225 220 90. 69 

3............. 22.0 2. 5 6. 0 420 12 315 283 !IJ. 7U 4..... .. . .. . . . 21.0 3. 5 4. 7 420 30 275 283 89.17 5............. 20. 0 1. 4 11. 2 1, 300 99 410 662 92. 10 6............. 20. 0 1. 7 8. 4 1, 350 . 43 430 514 93. 12 

7 •.•.......... 13.5 1.4 4.1 ·············································· 94.12 8............. ll.Q .5 .......... 1,050 37 396 4{11 •••••••••••• 

11. ....................................................................... ············ 87.80 

12............ 20.5 5.5 .......... ············ ...................... ············ 94.18 

13.. . . . . . . . . . . 20. 0 3. 0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115. 28 River .•............ :. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 9 220 216 91. 69 Finley........... . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . 1,250 43 265 508 94.70 

Ten miles above 

St. Francis: a 

23 •••••••••••• 

24 ••.•.••••••. 

26 ....••••.•.. 

27 .•.••••••••. 

28 .•••.•••.•.. 

29 ........... . 

7.5 

13.0 

17.5 

18.0 

22.5 

22.0 

2,5 .......... ············ ................................. . 5. 4 . . . . . . . . . . 360 10 265 280 6. 8 380 12 262 255 5. 0 . • • • • • • • • . 340 10 260 299 9. 6 . . . . . . . . . . 290 9 205 292 

8.2 .......... ········· ... ····-····· ....................... . 

95.0 

94.2 

95.3 

96.1 

100.4 

99.3 

a The elevations of water plane for stations 10 miles above St. Francis are referred to a second arbitrary datum plane. 

PUMPING PLANTS. 

GENERAL STATEMENT. 

The investigations made in the valley of the South Fork of Republican River indicate that in almost any part of the bottom lands 

between St. Francis and Benkelman an ample supply of ground 
110 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

water can be had for small pumping plants. The water-bearing 

gravels have an average thickness of 15 to 20 feet and contain enough 

coarse material to render it unnecessary to use fine-mesh strainers in 

the wells. In a large part of the bottom lands the depth to water 

ranges from 2 to 10 feet, so that the water may be pumped to the 

surface econon1ically. The cost of pumping at any place will be 

controlled primarily by the cost of fuel and the distance the water 

1nust be lifted; and the answer to the question whether a pumping 

plant may be profitably installed must depend largely on the crops 

that can be grown and the prices at which they can be marketed. 

CHARACTER OF WELLS. 

The cheapest well for procuring ground water in the large quantities 

needed for irrigation is one that is from 12 to 15 inches in diameter 

and that extends through the water-bearing gravels to the Pierre 

shale, and, if practicable, for 2 or 3 feet into the shale. A strainer 

for such a well can be made by punching sheets of heavy galvanized 

iron with slots about one-eighth by 1 inch in size and then riveting 

the sheets into cylinders. The cylinders should be so rolled that the 

burr made by the punch will be inside the cylinder and the long diameter of the slots will be vertical in the well. A much better strainer 

can be made of metal purchased in sheets already perforated. Steel 

sheets 48 by 60 inches, perforated with hit-and-miss slots threesixteenths by 1 inch and then galvanized, make ideal strainers. 

When rolled into cylinders these sheets form sections of a casing 

about 15 inches in diameter. In constructing the well these perforated 

sections should be put in place, one above another, to a point about 

8 feet below the water level; from this point upward the casing 

should not be perforated. 

AMOUNT OF WATER OBTAINABLE. 

Wells constructed as just described will furnish at least one-third 

gallon of water a minute for each square foot of strainer surface in 

the well when the water in the well is lowered 1 foot by pumping. 

If the water in the well is lowered 10 feet by pumping, the quantity 

of water recovered should amount to about ten times as much, or 3.3 

gallons per square foot of strainer. If a 15-inch well, the lower 10 

feet of which is strainer surface, is placed in good water-bearing 

gravel, and if the pump lowers the water in the well10 feet, the amount 

of water supplied by the well should amount to about 133 gallons 

a minute. 
UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 111 

A 15-inch well in the Arkansas River valley (see fig. 27) has a 

capacity of 136 gallons a minute with 10 feet of drawdown. The 

gravel in which this well was sunk was not so good a water-bearer as 

some of that in the valley of Republican River. 

A 9-inch well with an 8-foot strainer in the Cimarron River valley, 

Beaver County, Okla., sunk in ordinary clean gravel, such as is found 

near the center of the valley at St. Francis, had a capacity of 265 

gallons a minute when the water plane was lowered 8 feet by pumping. Wells of this capacity could probably be sunk at two or more 

places where test holes were put down near St. Francis. 

In the Republican River valley the yield of wells differs greatly. 

One well only a few hundred yards from another may furnish two or 

three times as much water. A sn1all amount of the fine earthy 

material mixed with the sand and gravel will greatly cut down the 

yield. This fine material, usually loess washed down from the uplands, 

is found .near the edge of the valley, especially where a draw or creek 

comes down from the uplands. As a general rule, the nearer a well 

stands to the center of the valley the greater is its capacity. In 

locating a pumping plant it is desirable first to put down a series of 

test holes in order to find good water-bearing material, especially if the 

plant is to be located near the edge of the valley or near the mouth of 

the creek. 

METHOD OF SINKING WELLS. 

Wells of diameters of 12 or 15 inches may be best sunk with an 

8-inch or 10-inch sand bucket. As the sand is pumped out the 

casing is weighted at the upper end with sacks of sand and allowed 

to settle. 

A pit should be dug to the water plane, or as deep as possible. 

Within this a larger temporary blank casing should be sunk 8 to 10 

feet below the water plane. Within this temporary casing the permanent well casing and strainer should be placed and pumped down 

with the sand bucket. By this method the strainer part of the well 

will be sand-pumped down through the gravel from which water is 

to be drawn, and by the churning of the sand pump the gravel for 

several feet around the well will be washed free from a large part 

of the fine material which it contains. This is one reason why a 

strainer with large openings should be used. It will take more time 

and patience to sink a well in this way than to sink the unperforated 

temporary casing to shale and place the permanent casing inside, 

but if the velocity of the entering water is great there is a compensating gain in the removal of the fine material around the casing. 

Care should be taken that the lower end of the permanent casing 

is well within the shale, so that there will be no possibility that 
112 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

sand will be drawn into the well when the pump is started.· After 

the final casing is in place the outer temporary casing should be 

slowly pulled out, and as it is withdrawn coarse gravel should be 

fed in, a little at a time, between the temporary and final casings. 

Care must be taken that the inner portion does ~ot bind to the outer, 

so that both casings will be lifted. Mter the outer casing has been 

drawn it will probably be found that the well has filled up several 

feet with sand. This sand should be pumped out with the sand 

bucket. The end of the suction pipe should be placed as near the 

bottom of the well as possible, in order to remove any additional 

fine sand that might find its way in~o the well, which should be very 

little if the well is put down as described above. The object of 

digging the pit to ground water and inserting a temporary casing 

is to shut off the fine sand which is generally found above and for a 

short distance below the water plane, and to make it necessary to 

raise the sand bucket but little, if any, above the surface of the 

ground. 

ARRANGEMENT OF WELLS. 

At no place in the valley will it be possible to supply a 4-inch 

centrifugal pump from a single well. Three or four wells that yield 

UJ 

1-

:::> 

z 

450 

400 

~ 350 

c:: 

UJ 

a. 

(/) 

~ 300 _l 

_l 

<{ 

0 

~ 250 

ci 

_l 

UJ 

>= 200 

----- !" 

I 

----

I 

140 gallons a minute 

each should be connected with a single 

pump. The more 

wells used the .less 

will the water plane 

be lowered and consequently the less the 

work that will be req uired of the engine 

and the less the fuel 

consumed. Not all 

of the reduction in 

the lift of the water I 150o 10 20 3o 4o 5o 60 70 is gain, however, be- DISTANCE BETWEEN WELLS, IN FEET CaUse power Will be FIGURE 29.-Relations of three wells in the Arkansas Valley. lost in overcoining 

the friction due to the additional length of piping connecting the 

wells. 

Since it is necessarv to construct several wells in order to obtain 

the quantity of wat~r required for an irrigation plant it becomes 

important to consider the best and most economical arrangement of 

the wells. In the Republican River valley perhaps the best method 
UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 113 

is to sink a battery of three or four wells and connect them by suction 

pipes to the pump. These wells should be arranged in a line and 

placed 20 to 30 feet apart, with the pump near the middle of the 

line. Figure 29 represents in~ a rough way the interference of three 

wells with different spacing and shows why the wells should not be 

placed nearer together than 20 to 30 feet. If the water plane is 

lowered the same amount at all times, say 10 feet below the normal 

position, and the three wells are placed so far apart that there is no 

interference, their total yield will be 450 gallons a minute. If the 

wells are 40 feet apart, the yield will drop down to 425 gallons; if 

30 feet apart to 420 gallons; if 20 feet apart to 415 gallons; and for 

a nearer spacing . than 20 feet the yield would be considerably lessened. The .construction of a plant having four wells is given in 

figure 30. 

SELECTION AND INSTALLATION OF PUMPS. 

It does not pay to purchase any but the best machinery for pumping, as poorly designed and poorly constructed plants eventually 

prove very expensive. 

Probably the most satisfactory pump for use in irrigation is the 

centrifugal pump.· It should be remembered, however, that there 

are on the market a great many kinds of small centrifugal pumps, 

which are designed for a great many purposes. The centrifugal pump 

used by the irrigator should be of the inclosed-runner type, provided 

with self-oiling bearings of the oil-ring type. Several pumP.s of this 

type can be had, and any of them will do good work if its ; size and 

design are adapted to the conditions under which it must work. The 

maker of the pump should have full information of all the conditions, 

including the distance that the pump must discharge the water above 

its outlet and the amount of suction or distance the wa~er must 

be lifted below the pump inlet. 

The efficiency of the centrifugal pump under actual working conditions is higher for large pumps than for small ones.~ Pumps 

having a discharge pipe less than 3 inches in diameter will ~how low 

efficiency. A centrifugal pump will work better and be more efficient if the suction pipe is made as short as possible, and on this 

account the pump should be placed as near the level of the water as 

may be consistent with the securing of a good foundation. 

If the pump is to be driven by a belt it should be provided with a 

large pulley. The pulley usually supplied with a pump is so small 

that the belt slips on the pulley, so that the efficiency of the plant is 

greatly decreased. Of course, it is necessary to maintain a· proper 

64198°-WSP 258-11-8 
a: 

Q) 

l. 

l. 

Q) 

.FJGURE 30.-Su_g_gested arran_gement of wells .and _pump designed to r.ecover 400 _gallons oi wat~ a minute. 
UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 115 

proportion between the sizes of driving and driven pulleys, but both 

should be larger than those usually furnished with pumps and 

engines, say not less than a 12-inch pulley on a No. 4 pump .. 

The suction pipe on the pump and the discharge pipe should be 

large. A No. 4 centrifugal pump that draws water from a single 

well should have at least a 6-inch suction pipe, and the diameter of 

the discharge pipe should gradually increase from 4 inches ·at the 

discharge opening of the pump to 8 inches at a point 3 feet beyond 

the discharge opening and continue in this size to the flume or discharge conduit. Both the discharge and suction pipe should be 

galvanized spiral riveted No. 18 iron for 4-inch pipe and No. 16 iron 

for 6-inch pipe. The ends of the pipe should be provided with standard flanges for bolting together or for pipe fitting. Reducers of any 

size and length can be had or made to order. If three or 1nore wells 

are connected to a No. 4 centrifugal pump the diameter of the part 

of the ·suction pipe that carries· the water from ~single well·may be 

redoced to 4 inches. 

A centrifugal pump loses its efficiency at once if it leaks air around 

the stuffing box or if there is an air leak at any place in the suction 

pipe. Many centrifugal pumps are now provided with a water seal 

around the stuffing gland that prevents leakage at that point. 

A good centrifug-al pump with inclosed impeller or runner should 

show an effieiency of about 60 per cent on a 30-foot lift. Singlestage centrifugal pumps, constructed with-bronze hnpeller(S, made in 

two pieces so that the interior could be machined and smoothed, have 

shown an efficiency of about 80 per cent. 

A large number of pumping plants are installed with foot valves at 

the bottom of the suction pipe. When these are provided a centrifugal pump is always ready to start after it is primed. The foot 

valves usually interfere very materially with the flow of water into 

the pipe, and it is undoubtedly more economical to omit them and 

place a flap valve at the upper end of the discharge pipe,· which can 

be lowered when it is desired to start the pump. The foot valve is 

also undesirable in cold weather if the pump. and suction pipe are 

above the frost line, as the pump and pipe may freeze if they are 

kept full of water. An ordinary cast-iron cistern pump connected to 

the top of the casing of the centrifugal pump can be used to prime 

the pump before starting. 

The suction pipe usually installed by constructors of pumping 

plants is not only too small for the best results, but the elbows and 

tees used are very poorly adapted to the purpose intended. It is a 

common practice to use steam-pipe fittings for this purpo"8e. In 

consequence the water is required to turn at sharp angles at the tees 
116 UNDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

and elbows and the best results can not be obtained. In order to 

avoid this difficulty "long-sweep" fittings should be purchased. 

These are standard trade goods and can be obtained from any of the 

large dealers in pipe fittings. If an elbow or tee is used next to the 

pump, it should be of the flanged 

type and bolted directly to the pump. 

Figure 31 shows the difference in the 

two kinds of fittings. 

ECONOMICAL LIFT. 

It is very unlikely that it will pay 

to lift water under present conditions in the Republican Valley for a 

total distance of more than 30 feet, FIGURE 31.-Relative shape of standard and including the suction lift of the pump. "long-sweep'' pipe fittings. 

If the pump lowers the water in the 

wells 10 feet, if the distance to water is 10 feet below the surface, if 

the discharge pipe is brought into a reservoir or flume 5 feet above 

the surface, and if 5 feet be added to cover loss of head due to friction 

in suction and discharge pipes, the total lift will be 30 feet. It will 

probably not pay to pun1p water to a greater height at any place 

in the valley, except for the irrigation of garden products and other 

high-priced crops. 

ENGINES AND COST OF PUMPING. 

If the total lift is 30 feet, if 450 gallons are pumped per minute, 

if the pump has an efficiency of 50 per cent, and if there is a loss of 

10 per cent in the belt connecting t~e pump and engine, then it 

would require 7.6 horsepower to raise the water; that is, an 8-horse 

power engine would be large enough. 

If possible the engine should be housed, or at least provided with agood canvas cover when not in use. Cotton waste should not be 

spared in keeping an engine clean, for a large amount of dust will be 

caught by accumulated grease, even when the engine is housed, and 

this will soon prove very injurious to the wearing parts. 

A favorite engine for small pumping plants is the gasoline engine. 

Where the price of gasoline is high, it is very easy to make the cost of 

water prohibitive by the use of such power. Whether or not it pays 

to pump water by gasoline depends very largely not only on the distance the water must be lifted, but also on the kind of crop that is to 

be irrigated. Gasoline, even at a high price, is usually a cheaper fuel 

than coal in an ordinary steam engine of small horsepower. For 

plants requiring from 20 to 30 horsepower producer-gas generators 
UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 117 

can be installed, which will keep the cost of pumping down to. a 

mrrumum. A suction gas producer, using anthracite pea coal for 

fuel, should furnish power at the rate of 1 horsepower per hour for 

each pound and a half of coal consumed. At $8 per ton the cost of 

coal should be equivalent to gasoline at 4 to 6 cents a gallon. 

In large plants, requiring from 50 to 100 horsepower or more, a 

condensing Corliss engine is sufficiently economical where the cost of 

coal does not exceed $3.50 to $4 per ton. 

The cost of recovering ground water fron1 wells is made up of four 

principal items-(1) cost of fuel and supplies, (2) cost of labor, (3) 

charge for depreciation and repairs, and (4) interest on the first cost 

o( the plant or the capital invested. The first and third of these 

items are partly under the control of the owner of the plant. If the 

plant is carefully designed and well proportioned and if all its parts 

are good, the cost of fuel can be kept at a rninimun1 and the charge for 

repairs and depreciation will be low. The depreciation will be at 

least as great when the plant is idle as when it is running, especially if 

the machinery is then neglected and carelessly exposed. The charge 

for repairs and depreciation will be not less than 10 per cent of the 

first cost of the plant. 

A small pumping plant will recover not n10re than 50 per cent of the 

power delivered to the belt by the engine. The loss in the belt 

amounts to 5 to 10 per cent, the loss in the pump amounts to about30 

per cent, and the friction losses in the suction and discharge pipes 

range from 5 to 20 per cent. In order to secure economy in running 

it is important that the engine should be large enough to do the work, 

but not too large. The use of gasoline engines whose capacity is 

largely in excess of the requirements of the work involves great loss. 

Tests of several pumping plants in the Rio. 'Grande valley are 

reported by Slichter, who publishes a it table giving cost of fuel, 

interest, -and cost of labor estimated for each acre-foot of water 

recovered. Slichter also gives similar facts concerning the cost of 

pumping water by small pumping plants in the Arkansas River 

valley in western Kansas,b and describes a test of a producer-gas 

pumping plant at Rockyford, Colo.c 

At almost any point in the river valleys of the western plains complete pumping plants, including wells, rnachinery, and buildings can 

be ~onstructed for about $100 per horsepower required, and exceptionally the cost may be as low as $60 per horsepower. 

• Slichter, C. S., Observations on ground waters of Rio Grande valley: Water-Supply Paper U.S. Geol. 

Survey No. 141, 1905, p. 34. 

b The underflow in Arkansas Valley in western Kansas: Water-Supply Paper U.S. Geol. Survey No. 

153, 1906, p. 55. 

c Idem, p. 82. 
118 "£!NDERGROUND-WATER PAPERS, 1910. 

STORAGE RESERVOIRS. 

In order to irrigate economically fron1 a pumping plant it is usually 

,. desirable to pump the water into a reservoir having a capacity equal 

to the amount of water the plant can furnish in six to eight hours. 

Such a reservoir is absolutely necessary for the best results with small 

pumping plants. If the supply of water exceeds 500 gallons a minute 

it is possible to dispense with the reservoir. Plants furnishing over 

1,000 gallons a minute can generally be best operated without a 

reservoir. 

A reservoir should be well puddled to prevent leaking. The reservoir at the Riehardson plant loses by seepage 1 inch in water depth 

every hour. If the area of a reservoir is 2,500 square feet, this seepage 

amounts to 15,000 cubie feet a day, or enough to cover an aere 4 

inches deep. 

LOSS BY EVAPORATION. 

Water should be pumped as ne,ar as possible to the place at which it 

is to be u.sed. Although it is cheaper to construct and operate a 

1100~----~=----4------+------r----~~~~~----o+~~~ 

c:. 

~ 90~--~,_--~~------+---~-r--~_,------T------r-----4 

LL 

12 

M. 

6 

P.M. 

6 

A.M. 

FIGURE 32.-Diagram showing loss by evaporation and vegetation on ditch 8,000 feet long near Ogalalla 

Nebr., August 27-28, 1905. 

plant pumping 2,000 gallons than five sinaller plants of the same 

combined capacity, the loss by evaporation and supplying plant 

growth along the diteh bank is eonsiderable. In ·a ditch a mile long, 

earrying 4 cubic feet of water per second, this loss may be as great as 

10 or 12 per cent during the warm hours of the day. Figure 32 shows 

the loss through evaporation and vegetation growing along the edges 

of a ditch 8,000 feet long. Each day there was a sudden drop in the 

cliseharge, beginning at about 9 a. In~ and continuing until 4 p. In., 

after which the flow would inerease very rapidly until 7 or 8 p. n1. and 

remain comparatively constant during the night. 
UTILIZATION OF UNDERFLOW NEAR ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. 119 

CONCLUSIONS. 

The principal conclusions reached as a result of the investigation 

may be summarized as follows: 

1. The source of the underflow is the precipitation in the drainage 

basin of the river. 

2. The water-bearing gravel in the valley averages about 15 feet in 

thickness. 

3. The water plane at St. Francis, Kans., slopes down the valley at 

the rate of 10.7 feet per mile. 

4. The underflow of South Fork of Republican River moves at an 

average rate of 17 feet a day. 

5. The rate of moven1ent is, in general, much faster near the center 

of the valley than near its edges. · 

6. Better wells for irrigation can, in general, be sunk near the 

center of the valley than near its edges. 

7. There is no danger that the underground water in the valley will 

be exham~ted by pumping. · 

8. The water-bearing gravel contains enough large material to 

permit the use of a well strainer having openings as large as 1 inch 

long by three-sixteenths inch wide. 

9. Except perhaps in a few localities along the northwestern side 

of the valley the quantity of dissolved salts in the ground water is not 

large enough to be injurious to plant life. 

INDEX. 

A. Page. 

Analyses, statement of, methods of. ........ 69-70 

Atlantic coast. See Coastal Plain. 

B. 

Barometric pressure, influence of, on wells. 25-26 

Basins, impervious, description of.......... 9 

figure showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Benkelman, Nebr., flow at ................ 106-107 

chart showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 

Blowing wells, description of ............ 24-25,2 

Breathing wells, description of ............. 25, 26 

c. 

Casings; well, magnetism of .......... 87-88,91-93 

Caverns, deposits in ........................ 52-53 

origin of. .......•.................... 49,50-51 

figure showing ............. ~..... . . . 50 

Cellars, drainage of. ..........••............ 20,22 

Clapp, F. G., on well freezing.............. 24 

paper by, on composition of mineral 

springs in Maine. __ ............. 66-74 

on underground waters near Manassas, Va ..•....................... 94-97 

on well waters in Maine .......... __ 32-47 

Clay, absorptive power of .......... _........ 10 

Coastal Plain, Atlantic, artesian waters in. 76 

extent of ............. __ . __ ........ _ _ _ _ _ 75 

geology of ..................... _ .. ~ . _... 75-76 

saline waters of. ................ _... . . . . 77-86 

analyses of ......... _......... . . . . . . 82, 85 

areas of ......................... _ ... 77,81 

beds derived from .............. _ ... 81-82 

causes of ....................... _. ___ 82-84 

lateral change in ............ _ . . . . . . 84 

saline wells in, freshening of._ ... _.. 84-85, 86 

list of ............................... 78-80 

Conglomerate, absorptive power of........ 11 

D. 

Deerfield, Kans., water level near, relation 

to yield of well................. 104 

water level near, relation to yield of 

well, charts showing_ .. _.. . . . . 104, 105 

Ditching, drainage by...................... 6-'l 

Dole, R. B., work of. .. _._ ........ _......... 70 

Drainage, methods of .... ___ ... _ .... _...... 6-7 

necessity for __ . _ ............. ___ ... _ . . . . 6 

Drainage wells, areas drained by .... _ ..... 15-16 

capacity of. ............................. 13-16 

clogging of ............................. 17-18 

cost of.................................. 16 

construction of ......................... 12-13 

figures showing ................. ~ . . . 13, 14 

efficiency of, conditions governing..... 9-11 

Page. 

Drainage wells, failure of, causes of........ 16-18 

locating of ...... _..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 

pollution of ground water by .......... 21-22 

uses of............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19-21, 22 

Drills, magnetism of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89, 93 

F. 

Filtration, processes of.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62-64 

Flood waters, ponding of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

Flowing wells, discharge of ......... _ .. _ ... 25-26 

Freezing of wells. See Wells. 

Fuller, M. L., paper by, on drainage by 

wells ............ __ ............ _. 6-22 

paper by, on freezing of wells .......... 23-31 

on magnetic wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87-93 

on protection of wells . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57-65 

G. 

Granites of Maine, sheet joints in, plate 

showing ..... _ ............ _. _... 40 

wells ,in ................................. 42-43 

wells in, conditions in, figures showing. 42 

cost of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

water of _........ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-45, 47 

composition of .......... _ ....... 45-46 

depth to ........................ 43-44 

Gravel, absorptive power of._.............. 10 

Ground water, level of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9 

level of, fluctuations in ................. 25,27 

relation of, to marshes and lakes....... 8 

figures showing.......... . . . . . . . . . . . 8, 9 

movement of ........•.................. 61-62 

figures showing •••• ·-... . . . . . . . . 58, 59, 62 

pollution of. See Pollution. 

rise of................................... 17 

failure of drainage well due to, 

figure showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

H. 

Head, loss of, by friction{. . .. • . . . . . . . . .. . . . 62 

loss of, by friction, figures showing.... 61 

relation of, to capacity of drainage 

wells ........................ 14,16-17 

Horton, R. G., on siphonage in· drainage 

wells........................... 15 

I. 

Industrial wastes, disposal of, by drainage 

wells .................. _ . . . . . . . . 20, 22 

L. 

Lakes. See Ponds. 

Limestone, absorptive power of............ 11 

waters of, occurrence of ........ _ .. __ ... 48-50 

pollution of ......................... 53-56 

purification of...................... 55 

121 
122 INDEX. 

M. Page. 

Magnetic wells, cause of ................... 91-93 

loss of magnetism in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 

phenomena of.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87-91 

tests of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90-91 

Maine, granites of, character of. ........... 40-41 

granites of, sheet joints in, plate showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 

water in ..........•................. 40-46 

mineral springs in, composition of ..... 66-74 

See also Mineral springs. 

slates of, character of................... 32 

water in ............................ 32-40 

wells in .......................... 32-34,42-43 

cost of. .......................... 38-39,47 

water in ................ 34-36,39, 40-45, 47 

compositon of ......... 36-38, 39,45-46 

depth to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35--36, 39, 43-44 

Manassas, Va., location of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 

water supply of.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 

wells at ................................. 94-97 

record of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 

Marshes. See Swamps. 

Matson, G. C., paper by, on pollution of 

waters in limestone ............ 48-57 

Mechanical filtration, description of. ...... 62-63 

Mendenhall, W. C., preface by............. 5 

Michigan, areas drained in, by wells ....... 15--16 

Mineral springs in Maine, composition of, 

paper on ........................ 66-74 

list of........... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67-69 

water of, analysis of.................... 74 

origin of. ........................... 68-69 

quality of.. ......................... 69-74 

P. 

Perched water table, description of........ 8-9 

drainage of, figure showing........ . . . . 8 

Pollution, by cesspools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58-61 

by cesspools, figures showing........ 58, 59, 61 

by drainage wells, sink holes, etc. 21-22,53-56 

figures showing .................. 40, 53,55 

extent of ......................... 59-60,64-65 

Ponds, drainage of ....•.................. 7, 20,22 

relation of, to ground-water level...... 8-9 

figures showing.................... 8-9 

Pumps, economical lift of, in Kansas . . . . . . 116 

engines for ........................... 116-117 

fittings for, figures showing .......... ; . 116 

selection and installation of ......... 113-116 

R. 

Reelfoot Lake, Tenn., drainage of ... ..,.. . . . . 20 

Republican River, South Fork, discharge 

of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106-107 

See also St. Francis. 

Reservoirs, need for, in Kansas ........... . 

Robinson, F. C., analyses by .............. . 

s. 

St. Francis, Kans., economical lift of water 

118 

69 

near.................................. 116 

evaporation near....................... 118 

chart showing...................... 118 

pumping plants near ................. 109-117 

cost of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 

figures showing.................... 114 

Page. 

St. Francis, Kans., pumps used near ..... 113-118 

section near, figure showing . . . . . . . . . . . 100 

storage reservoirs near .... _ . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 

underflow near ........................ 99-109 

level of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 

figures showing .............. 100-103 

replenishment of ................. 102-109 

velocity of ........................ 100-192 

valley near1 conditions in...... . . . . . . . . 98-99 

map of. ....................• ,....... 101 

test holes in, location of, maps showing ........................... 101-103 

water-bearing material under.......... 99 

yield of ........................... 102-109 

wells near, arrangement of. .......... 112-113 

arrangement of, figure showing..... 114 

character of........................ 110 

relations of, chart showing. . . . . . . . . 112 

sinking of, methodof ............. 111-112 

specific capacity of.. . . . . . . . . . . 108, 110-111 

water of, quality of................. 109 

Saline waters, definition of...... . . . . . . . . . . . 77 

See also Coastal Plain. 

Sand, ttbsorptive power of.................. 10 

pollution of. ..................... : ...... 58-61 

figures showing.......... . . . . . . . . 58, 60, 61 

shallow wells-in, protection of . . . . . . . . . 57-65 

Sandstone, absorptiv~ power of............. 11 

Sanford, Samuel, paper by, on saline artesian waters ..................... 75-86 

Sediment, presence of, in underground 

water ........................... 53-54 

presence of, figures showing........ . . . . 53 

Sewage, disposal of, by drainage wells .. 20-21, 22 

Shale, absorptive power of.................. 11 

Sink holes, origin of. ....................... 49-50 

pollution by ....••••.... _, ....... , ...... 54-56 

figures showing . • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 53, 55 

Siphonage in drainage wells, effect of . . . . . 15 

Skinner, W. W., analyses by................ 69 

Slate, absorptive power of .................. 11, 32 

Slates of Maine, charact"er of. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

wells in ............••.................. 32-34 

cost of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38-39 

water in ............................ 34-36 

composition of.......... . . . . . . . . 36-38 

depth to . • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35--36 

Slichter, C. S., on pumping ; ..... ; . . . . . . . . . 117 

Springs, magnetism of. See Magnetic wells. 

Sucking wells, description of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25, 26 

Swamps, drainage of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 19-20, 22 

relation of, to ground-water level...... 8-9 

figures showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9 

T. 

Tiling, drainage by ........................ . 

Till, absorptive power of .................. . 

u. 

6 

11 

Underground streams, description of . . . . . . 50-53 

figures showing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40, 50, 53 

tracing of ...................•........... 51-52 

Underground waters, investigations of..... 5 

See also Underground streams; Ground 

waters. 
INDEX. 

W. Page. 

Water, magnetism of ....................... 89-91 

Water, underground. See Underground 

water. 

Well casings, magnetism of. ......... 87-88, 91-93 

Well pumps, freezing of.................... 24 

Well water, change in character of. ..... _.. 26 

change in character of, cause of........ 27-28 

cause of, figure showing............ 28 

Wells, depth of, relation to magnetism..... 88 

drainage by. See Drainage wells. 

freezing of, causes of.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 

conditions of ....................... 23-24 

0 

Page. 

Wells, freezing of, remedies for ............ 28-31 

figures showing.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29, 30 

protection of, against pollution ........ 57-£5 

pumping of. See Pumps. 

yield of, relation to drawdown ..... _.. 104 

charts showing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104, 105 

See also Slate, wells in; Flowing wells; 

• Breathing wells; Blowing wells; 

Sucking wells; Drainage wells; 

Magnetic wells. 

Wolff, H. C., paper by, on underflow near 

St. Francis, Kans .............. 98-119