Rocky Ford enterprise., 1895-07-11
OUR ARfESIAN WELL!
It is a Regular Bonanza
for the Valley.
NONE BETTER IN
THE STATE.
Discharges 81 Gallons
per Minute of the Pur-
est and Best of
Water.
AN IMMENSE FOUNTAIN.
Rises 100 Feet Above the Surface
Making q Magnificent Water
Power.
[Reprintcd from last week.l


Power.
Reprinted from last week.l
Last Friday the Rocky Ford artesian
we'll was completed. For the. last so OF
the 100 feet the drill went through the
Dakota sandstone, that ever reliable
source Of artesian water. The how from
the top OF the casing continued to in
crease during Thursday and Friday un-
til it reached the point at which it has
stood ever since-s1 gallons per minute.
The water has very slight mineral taste
but is perfectly soft-delightful for the
bath.
Saturday afternoon Contractor McVay
made test to see to what height the
water would flow. The hose belonging
to the fire company was attached to the
casing and fastened to the top of the der
rick. Although the connection with the
casing was very poor, allowing perhaps
half the water to escape, the water rose
to the top of the derrick and poured over,
being fountain rs feet in the air. Mr..
Mcyay says that the source Of the water
supply is the foothills OF the mountains
and that the water will rise to height
Of 1000 feet above the town as readily as
it does rs. With such an outflow, under
such pressure, we have water power,
the value of which we do not compre-
hend. With suitable reservoirs to hold
the water, and it used by the latest and
best water motors, power is at hand
which can be..utilized to very great profit.
This experiment will prove great
blessing to the valley outside of Rocky
Ford 1t has demonstrated that this Sec
ton is in an artesian belt, and that the
supply is sufficient for the purpose OF ir-
rigation. There are many thousands of
acres Of rich land on both sides of the
river which are above all present or pos
sible future bitches. The Rocky Ford
well proves that these arid lands may be
irrigated by artesian wells, and thus a
new era opened up in tho development Of
the Arkansas valley.
Various methods of utilizing the mag
niflcent flow are suggested. The water
might be run directly into the mains Of
the towns present gravity works. The
connection conld be made at the we'll and
when the pipes throughout the town were
fillel the excess would be forced up into
the present reservoir by the natural
pressure OF the artesian well. The use
of power to run an electric Light plant is
talkedoof. The scheme is feasible and
would give Rocky Ford the benefit of
electric lighting at minimum Of ex-
pense.
Monday morning the drill was again
put in operation to ascertain if any caving
of the wall had occurred since Friday.
It was found that the walls had not stood
so firm as to make casing unnecessary.
No serious inconvenience might result,
but to be.on the safe side and perma-
nently secure the flow Of water beyond
all question, it was decided by the COM
mittee to case the well for the full depth
OF 100 feet. The well will be finished
with the most approved appliances for
securing an uninterrupted flow OF the
water now being discharged. and thus
completed will continue to send forth
for many years the present bountiful
supply.
The Dakota sandstone, in which arte-
sian water is always found in this por-
ton OF the west, crops out in the foot
hills all along the eastern slope of the
Rocky Mountains. All of the rivers
which flow eastward from the mountains
cut through this Dakota sandstone. The
rivers in running through the canons
have this formation on either side of their
banks and on the bottoms. The Dakota
sandstone is very porus, absorbing water
like sponge. From this explanation OF
the source Of the supply OF artesian water
it will be seen that the flow may be ex-
pected as long as the rivers run down the
eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains.
At meeting of the committee on Sat-
urdsy Senator Swink, Messrs. H. F. Ha-
gan, G. M. Hall and H. I. Maxwell were
appointed committee to interview the
town council in regard to the utilization
ent system of water works. It is the al
most unanimous opinion that individuals
having borne all the hazsrd OF the exper-
iment and secured the water, that the
town authorities should step in and lib
orally aid in the expense Of casing and
the cost Of the appliances needed to get
the most possible good out of the liquid
bonanza.
At the same meeting of the committee
Senator Swink was appointed to confer
with the officers of the Santa Fe in re-
gard TO the use of the water for their en-
gines. The water which the Santa Fe is
using in this part of the state is detri-
mental to the boilers, and the artesian
we'll sunk at La Junta has not solved the
problem as the supply there is totally
to the demands, and second
well is in progress.
That the water contains iron is proven
by the discoloration OF the earth over