The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-08-02
THE WELLS CONNECTED AGAIN.
The Result OF Shooting Them Not
Fully Determined Yet.


Artesian water is again being furnished
20 the city. and the water supply no longer
has the yellow color Of the Savannah river.
The artesian wells were connected with the
water works pumps Thursday morning. but
there was so much river water already in
the reser voir that the effect was scarcely
noticeable until yesterday.
TIE turning in of the river water could
not have occurred at a worse time. as the
turbid condition of the river. OccasiOned by
the continued rains, made it absolutely IN
At for use. Supt. Manning says that the
people would have been notified, but he did
not know when the artesian well expert
would arrive and was only notified by tele-
graph Of MS intention, and 1t was then too
late to announce the fact.
The work upon the old wells has been
finished, aud the foow appears TO be IN
creased though it is too early to judge de-
finltely yet The shooting Of the wells
was intended to increase the flow of water
by loosening the earth and rock at the
bottom. The way the work
was done was this: An i'm
mense cartridge or tin tube about four
feet long and about ten inches in diameter,
filed with a mixture Of dynamite and other
explosives, is lowered to the bottom OF the
well and Is exploded by electricity. 1t
OauocS COluul'lllOn O0lDna Aub
its effects are not felt on the surface. The
result of an explosion Of such power is to
tear rock aud earth into fragments for
many feet in every direction.
The matter spouted forth by the wells
after the explosion of one of these giant
cartridges was more of the consistency of
mortar than any liquid. For eighteen hours
after the explosion the wells continued to
vent forth fragments of limestone aud sedi-
and Of ~ would In 70
meet them with the water works until the
flow Of sediment ceased.
Elisha Gregory, an expert artesian well
borer Of New York, was employed for the
work. After the first explosion Mr..
Gregory expressed the opinion that ex-
ploslon would not greatly increase the flow
of the wells. The formation at the depth
of the artesian wells of this section is lime
stone, which is easily worn away by the
flow of the water. Explosions are required
when the formation is of granite or similar
hard substance. Mr.. Gregory said the in
crease in the flow from wells with granite
bottom is Immediately perceptible The
How OF the artesian wells here, he said,
would be greatly increased by cutting down
the pipes few feet and letting the water
how from the wells into a cistern.
Supt. Manning has advocated this plan
for some tune, but it has never | cen con-
wells are now being bored, one of which has
reached depth of 1870 feet and the other
147 feet. The superintendent expects to have
the new wells finished inside of
month. With the addition of the new
wells and the increased flow from the old
wells, the water works committee expects
to be relieved from the necessity of using
river water. Savannah will then be furn-
lshed with pure artesian water and can use
it without fear Of unpleasant results.
When the time comes to connect the next
wells with the water works it will necessi-
ate cutting off the flow from the wells and
the use Of river water again for day or so.
The people will be notified of the fact
beforehand, however, and will be given
small per cent. of river water is now
mingled with the supply. The appearance
OF tue water was greatly improved yes ter
day, aud so was the taste