I know where the water is

21 years ago

Been real dry here all summer. Lots and lots of people are out of water. An old Aunt of ours says it hasn't been this dry here since 1930.

I've got water but I have to really be careful. Both neighbors on either side of me are dry and have been for months.

Up my little mountain about 200' from my property line is an old abandoned mica mine. The shaft is over 80 feet deep and entirely flooded. The mine was abandoned because they couldn't keep it clear of water. Just too much coming out of the hill.

I tried to open a trench and just let it run down hill but the rock and debris are just too much for me. The hill is typical wooded northern New England woods. If I could get a siphon going think the water would eventually reach us? This is the main source of the other little veins that feed our wells.

I do have the property owners address. Figured I'd ask first but I doubt he'd mind under the circumstances. He doesn't live around here and when it's been raining normally this the way the water is going anyway. The property is all wooded and only acessible through a right of way through another persons property. Totally unused.

My husband said it will never clear the woods. The trees will get it all long before it reaches the houses. He's not even remotely interested in trying. Kind of limits me on how much I can set up but a siphon could easily be started with only 50 feet of garden house. The water will head in the right direction on it's own. Steady downhill drop once I clear an 8 inch lip of rock.

Can it be done? Would I be just wasting my time like husband says?

Slowly driving me nuts because all the water we need is right there. The spring is still flowing but not enough to clear that lip on it's own.

Kind of a neat place. You can feel the cool moisture before you ever see the water. Still a lot of mica and white quartz laying around in piles where it was abandoned. The old man that used to live next door to me said it was being mined during WWII but even fairly modern pumps couldn't keep it clear of water. Lots and lots of water there and 3 houses below it are in need.

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Comments (4)

stimpy926
21 years ago
The location where it's siphoning to , needs to be lower than the water source. Water will seek the lowest point.
If it's not, then you'll have to pump.
I don't think it's a waste of time, if A owner/"other person's property" doesn't care, and B if you can find a way to direct it the areas you need watered, or find a way to store it, and C as long as it's not a part coal mine, which can leach toxic stuff.
If hubby doesn't want to help out, maybe the other 2 "houses in need" will- talk to them?
suenh
Original Author
21 years ago
Once I clear that 8 inch lip it's a pretty straight shot down hill. No coal in NH. It's in quartz, granite. Radon might be an issue but I don't think the shaft is deep enough.
I can start a siphon with an old hose easy enough but hubby doesn't think the water will ever make it out of the woods. Says I would need a 4 inch pipe or better running a good 150 feet to make it.
The woods is pretty thick. Hasn't been logged up there in 50+ years.

This is where the water we have is coming from anyway. Just not getting enough now to feed all 4 houses using the vein. My own home is directly on the vein of water which is why I have some and the others don't. The mountain sort of drains on this side directly onto my property. The other houses have their wells off to either side of the main vein of water. They get the excess that flows off the beaten path.

I have the means to store quit a bit. There is a small farm pond in my yard that isn't far from the well. Ditch lines and drain pipes direct a lot of the water towards it. The pond is generally around 7 feet deep. Doesn't flux much in a normal year. Until the last rain storm I had only about a foot of water in it. The last storm filled it to about a foot and half from the drain pipes. Pond is about 30 x 35 so it has room to fill a bunch more before the water continues down to the river. If my pond is full my well is full. If my pond is filling then one neighbor will be getting water before it hits the pond and the others should be getting it as it flows and or leaches out on down the hill.

anyway,
My thoughts are that the soil and thirsty trees will eventually get their fill of water and the water will come down the hill. Might take a few days to get there but gravity is going to win.
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lazy_gardens
21 years ago
Suenh -
Could you run 2" or larger PVC piping down to the stock tank, diverting some for domestic use?

The "woods" can soak it all up.
stimpy926
21 years ago
I'm just a little unclear... do you want the water to drain onto the soil surface , and have it trickle it's way down to the pond, or are you trying to bring it down to the pond direct, with piping, hose etc? You can only guess how much will be absorbed by the ground before it hits the pond. If it's packed hard as a rock, you'll get a lot of it I guess. But it will soften over time as the water moves over it, and then it'll be sinking in. So ...