The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1917-01-03

oack uOWn from 1t. We use il
frequently, perhaps fifty days
each year, and don't know it.
and hence do not properly ap.
pretiate il.
If it could be make to hold
It's full capacity it might he
enough to last the town five Or
six weeks, perhaps longer, if
not wasted; and while some
people still have faith that it
can DC made to hold, confess
TO serious doubts about it. In
my opinion it will continue to
be used for an emergency sup.
ply just as it is now.
Another storage scheme that
has received considerable at
tention involves a series OF con
crete dams across our supply
stream some distance above the
intake. An engineers report
on this project put tho cost at
no, 600 TO 10000 Purchase of
the land would be necessary
and suitable sites for the pur-
pose are almost inaccessible
owing to the roughness of the
country there. While the
scheme appears feasible the
cost is apparently prohibitive
at this time.
The cost of an eight inch
well 800 to 700 feet deep is not
believed to be beyond our rcnch
but there is some risk to run
about the volume of water it
may develop Having this
risk in mind wrote the Dirrc
tor of The U. s. Geological
Survey aud also DIR. Watson.
State Geologist. After appar-
emily careful consideration
their replies agree that the
underlying strata in Powell
Valley to the north east are
such ns 10 warrant the expendi
ture of a sum sufficient to drill
down To n depth of several hun.
dred feet if necessary. Mr.. j.
NJ. Hodge, who has bored up
ward of thirty core wells. sew.
eral of them in this county,
states that while there is no
absolute certainty Of Il strong
well until IL is tried out the uu-
DERIVING conditions are suni
ciently favorable To tile north
east of East Stone Gap to justi.
fy the expense of trying it out.
Abundant wnter. is found al
most everywhere in the coal
fields to the north of us where
the strata are more porous, but
TO the south of Stone Mountain
but one deep well has been sunk
so far us | know and this one il,
ut the tannery hore. This one
is six inch we'll 275 feet deep
and has been pumped hard
without noticeable effect for 81
hours during which time Mr..
Iepp, superintendent of the
rannery plant, estimates that
one hundred thousand gallons
were taken from it. This water
contains considerable iron aud
sulphur but no doubt would be
welcomed by consumers with
empty fixtures until better
water could be had.
This tannery well is at the
foot of Stone Mountain and our
water line runs along the foot
of the same mountain, and evi-
IDENTITY over the same kind
of strata, from above the fur
mace on To the V. & S. w. Depot
where it bears away toward
town. Therefore for distance
of over "a mile along the line
there should be reasonable hope
of striking it as good as tie
Tannery did.
But the geologists seem to
favor the locality beyond
Butchers Ridge and the pipe
line is as accessible there as
anywhere. Expert opinion,
while not infaiIible, is worth
serious consideration. The
question is should we do any
thing and If SO what? Any
thing we do will cost some
money, ami while deep we'll
looks best to me under all the
circumstances it must not be
forgotten that there is some
risk to run. 1t requires some
fortitude to smile down II dry
hole in the ground where 5000