The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1899-06-06
1T IS THE BEST.
What Prof. OrtOn Has to Say of
BellefOntaine' Water Supply.

We are indebted to Prof. Edward
Orton for copy of neat report issued
by the Department of the Interior at
Washington, on ''The Rock Waters of
Ohio" 1t is a report to the Depart
ment by Prof. Orton, and is very inter-
esting, instructive and reliable. We
give an extract relating to the water
supply of Bellefontaine, which our
readers will find very interesting:
BELLEFONTAINE.
This town furnishes another excellent
example of missing the direct object of
its search and of finding instead what is
worth infinitely more. 1t sought for
Findlay gas or Lima oil in the Trenton
and would have counted
itself supremely fortunate if it had
found either. If it had been success
full short-lived excitement would
probably have resulted, giving rise to
great expectations impossible of reali-
zation, and accompanied by an extrav-
bhU ttuN dhSO LII OllC pI lCO Vi ICdl
estate. After few years the gas would
have been exhausted, the factories
established on it would have been dis
mantled, and the fictitious values of
real estate would have gone through
a painful readjustment. Thus the
entire community would have slowly
recovered from the effects of the specu-
lative debauch called "boom." If oil
had been found the experience of the
town would have been less unfavorable, |
but in any case this underground
wealth would soon have been exhausted
without necessarily leaving any great
permanent advantage to the town.
All this Bellefontaine missed, but
found instead an invaluable supply of
pure water, unnotlced at the time, and
forced upon its attention only by the
failure of other sources of water supply,
but bound to continue, now that it is
through generations and
centuries, and, indeed, as long as the
general conditions of the Mississippi
Valley remain essentially undisturbed.
In 1886 while drilling the trial well
for gas, known as the Carter well from
the name of the owner of the lot on
which it was located, the drift deposits
were found to be about 80 feet thick.
At 16O feet great volume of delight
fully cool and clear water was struck,
which carried, however,a small quantity
OF sulphureted hydrogen. 1t rose with
great force and showed head of pres
sure of at least II feet above the sur
face. The water was allowed to flow
for several months. An
of the record of the well
shows that the water was found in the
Onondaga limestone, the great stratum
in which so much of the water supply
of central Ohio is now being found.
The town had recognized the neces-
sity of public supply some years before
this discovery was made. In 1883 work
was begun under a board of trustees
elected for this purpose. They called
to their aid hydraulic engineer from
northern Ohio. Under his advice their
first reliance for a supply was on springs
rising in the high ground to the east
ward, and also on impounded water
from small stream which flowed
through the town, also from the east
ward. A reservoir was constructed
and the town was piped. The pressure
from the reservoir was 80 pounds to the
square inch at the public square, and,
SO far as this element is concerned, it
furnished ample protection against fire
for the highest buildings of the town.
But the supply proved far from salts
factory. 1t was inadequate much of
the time, and in summer what there
was of it was warm and offensive to
both taste and smell. In short, the
works proved failure both as to
quantity and quality. Consequently
the sight of such noble fountain from
the underlying rocks as the so-called
gas well yielded was highly appreciated
and the attempt was at once made by
the waterworks trustees to reach the
same source by drilling on the high
ground near the reservoir to the horizon
struck in the well. This well was
carried down 1926 feet, but water was
not found in Important amount. The
pressure of summer drought was
upon the board, and the decision was
soon reached to come down to the
source of rock water already described.
The gas well, so-called, was purchased
by the trustees and a pumping station
was established. A second well was
drilled forthwith to depth of 100 feet.
The water vein struck in the first well
was found also in the second, which
was distant but so feet from the first.
Analysis of the water was made in
June, 1885, by Prof. C. C. Howard, of
Columbus, giving the following results:
Analysis of water from well at Bellefon-
taine, Ohio.
Grains per
gallon.
Carbonate of lime. northumberland. $50
Sulphate OF lime. 3.62
Carbonate of magnesia. Observation-Disclosures. 5.19
Sulphate OF alumina.. a.....-................. 2.92
do ~ Al