Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1922-08-23
RESERVOIR WILL
SAVE THOUSANDS

Mayor A E. Smith and Viroaua's
progressive council have enjoyed two
most gratifying and satisfying events
during the past week. The first came
last Thursday when the new well and
pumping apparatus was given its first
tryOut. As that massive airlift pump
was turned or, Mayor Smith, the Coun-
ell members and many other onlookers
stood IN amazed silence while that
wonderful flood of pure soft sparkling
water gushed out in a torrent. Fin
ally one person blurted out, 1t looks
like the Mississippi river" A pass
ing farmer watched it for a few mo-
ments, then exclaimed: They said
it wouldn't work, but the city of vi
roqua viii never grow big enough to
use all that river" For hours the
airlift ran without lowering the head
OF water a particle, and every minute
delivered more than it's rated maxi
mum capacity of 500 gallons per min
ute. Had Mayor Smith and the Coun-
Gil listened TO the advice of those who
eounseled economy they would have
installed common pump which could
not have pulled more than 220 gallons
at the most, but the airIift delivers
wv SSAAOAts-chhA4 " oil dQDEdA dLtEHS
the we'll could cough up double that
amount, due to the way the hole was
repeatedly shot with dynamite to get
maximum capacity.
The qualification of the Mayor and
Council over the highly successful
operation of the we'll can only be ap-
preeiated by those, like the Censor
editor, who have been closely in touch
with the matter and know the, dis
heartenlng obstacles the officials and
drillers have encountered before bring
ing it TO completion. There is a large
element of luck in well drilling. Some
wells go down without the slightest
trouble. Others are Hades and repeat
from start to finish-and our we'll was
of the latter variety. Stratum of stone
were encountered that proved the
most desperate kind of drilling, with
consequent breakage, wear and tear
and exasperating delay. We believe.
now that the well is completed, the
citizens of Viroqua and community
should also know that not all the de-
lay on the well was due to natural
causes. Over in Mayor Smiths desk
is handful of hard steel fragments,
a sample of many such steel pieces
that were found in the flushing of the
well after the drilling was completed.
They vary in size from small chips
up to the size of your thumb. All are
rounded and polished by the continu-
al pounding of the drilling tools. Their
presence explains the weeks of steady
pounding by the drillers to make a
few feet of Roadway; explains that big
groove worn in the side of Ire drill
ing tools; explains the unusual break
age of the drilling neutrality-suspicious.
several thousands of dollars of ex-
pense not anticipated when the well
was commenced. 1t seems unthink-
able that Viroqua harbors any man or
men who would deliberately spike the
well In order to put our city officials
IN a bad light, yet those veteran drill
ers, B. |. Bailey & Son, can account
for it in no other way, and their opin-
ion is shared equally with all who have
anxiously watched the drilling of the
well. If this be true, then the guilty
parties have the satisfaction of hav-
ing cost the city several thousand
dollars and many weeks of delay. But
it did not prevent the completion of
the well. Our fighting mayor and
council grow more determined in the
face of foolish and sometimes vicious
opposition. They are not cutters.