THE SPRAGUE
WELL
This is one of many Artesian
Wells that grace the shores of Chequamegon Bay on Lake
Superior between Ashland and Washburn. This well is believed
to be the first drilled artesian well in Bayfield County and
was completed at a depth of 119 feet 8 inches in April of
1903 by Monroe H. Sprague of the Akeley-Sprague Lumber Co.
that once graced this very site which is now Thompson’s West
End Park.
An aquifer
provides the water source for this artesian well. Porous stone is sandwiched
between a top and bottom layer of an impermeable substance like
clay or rock. The artesian water pressure is kept high due to
porous stone being
crushed between
impermeable rocks along with the
water’s density, and elevation of recharge zone (gravity).
When you get to a point below the entryway of the flow, there
is enough pressure (artesian pressure) to bring the water
up. The water in the aquifer is
also under enough pressure that, when the aquifer is tapped by
a well such as this, the water rises up the well bore to a
level that is above the top of the aquifer called the
potentiometric surface.
Flow from the
original 4 inch casing was rated at 224 gal. min. – “So free of minerals it was piped
directly to the saw mill boilers.” In 1956 the flow was
measured at 54 gal. min. from a 1 inch pipe and tested 104 PPM
total mineral content.
Long a freshwater
treat for Washburn residents, it remains a landmark of early
lumbering days on Chequamegon Bay.
** Artesian Well and Confined Aquifer
Animation**
TO LOG THIS CACHE:
1)
Determine the output of the well in gallons per
minute (gpm) and compare that to the original and 1956 flow
measurements.
E-mail
me the answer(s)
HERE.
Links: