The Republican journal., 1907-11-21
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WATER IN GRANITE.

i WATER IN GRANITE.
The very general belief that wells
sunk in granite will get no water APP
pears not unreasonable when we con-
slider that granite is the hardest of
rocks and that Its surface OutcrOps are
as rule so free from pores or crevices
through which water might circulate
that the expectation of finding water
by drilling would seem absurd. Within
the last few years, however, the many
successful wells drilled in crystalline
rocks have effectively proved the erro-
neous character of the old opinion.
The conditions controlling occurrence
of water in crystalline rocks have re-
Gently been studied by E. E. Ellis in
| connection with an extensive investi-
CATION of the underground waters of
Connecticut, and by Frederick &.
Clapp, whose field of work has been
was published by the Z. S. Geological
Survey in Water Supply Paper No 160
Mr.. Clapp's detailed report is still i'll
manuscript, but will be published in d
few months. The following paragraphs
summarize his results SO far as they re-
late to waters in granite.
| The crystalline rocks, such as gran
ties, gneiSses, schists, etc, like the sed-
| lmentary ShaleS, llmeStOnes, and sand
| stones, carry water in their pOreS-the
microscopic spaces between the grains
of solid mineral matter; but while the
sedimentary rocks may absorb several
per cent of their volume in Water-Sand-
! stones about Is per cent llmeStoneS 5
per cent, and shales per cent-granites
and other crystalline rocks rarely all
| sorb water to more than one-half of l
per cent of their volume, and the water
in such rocks moves through the pores
| so slowly that 1t can never escape last
/ enough to be of value III wells. Fortu-
nately, however, the crystalline rocks
are sraversed i'll various directions 10y
many Joints and crevlces. An inyestl-
CATION of these joints shows two princi-
pal systems, one of which is nearly YER
! tical and the other horizontal. The
vertical joints, which may be hundreds
Of feet i'll length, while not at all regu-
Early spaced, are usually 10 to 20 feet
apart trend i'll all directions, and may
be inclined to the vertical at any angle
up to 30 degrees. The distance between
| the horizontal or sheet joints, which ap,
proxlmately parallel the surface, varies
| from a few inches near the surface to
many feet at depth of several hun
dred feet below.
The nearly vertical joints serve as
channels for the admission of water
i from the surface, While the sheet joints
form reservoirs for its storage. AS
| most of the joints are rather narrow,
| the amount OF contained water is likely
! to be moderate, and the yield of wells
in granite is seldom more than 10 gal
Ions Il minute, though some exceptional
10, ri NV cta m oil ad
as much as 80 gallons Il minute. Out
of Y successful wells in southern
Maine only 2 yielded more than so gal
Ions a minute.
The extreme irregularity of the joint
system makes the success of any well
III granite matter of chance. OF two
wells drilled within so feet of each
other, one may be a failure, the other a
marked success. Records collected in
southern Maine indicate that about 81
per cent of the wells drilled in granite
supply water enough for ordinary do
nestle uses.
The depth to which drilling should be
carried in granite, as Indicated by the
investigations made both in Maine and
Connecticut, has maximum limit of
about 200 feet, below which the chances
of success diminish rapidly. Mr..
Clapp's records show that out of Al
wells reporting the principal water
horizon, II, or more than one third,
found it within so feet of the surface;
16 more, or over one-half of the remain
der, reached it within 100 feet Of the
surface; 7, or exactly half of the wells
more than 100 feet deep, tapped their
principal supply between $50 and 200
feet; and only wells, or so per cent of
the entire number of recorded wells in
granite over 200 feet deep, obtained it
fromlower depths.
Granite water, where not contamina-
ted by surface drainage, is excellent for
drinking and is probably satisfactory
| for all other uses ordinarily made of
water
| AS to the cost, which is necessarily an
important factor in the sinking OF wells,
the price for drilling 6-inch wells in
granite on the<coast of Maine ranges
from 81 to Sc foot, the higher figure
/ being the more common. The cost of
drilling granite wells and blasting open
wells in the same rock is in some sec
lions of Maine the same for either type,
| S. a foot Its freedom from the great
danger of pollution, common to all
every case preferable.
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Then will ali the swelling and soreness be
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Street, New York.