Dublin's Historic Watersource
It was in this area that Peter and Benjamin Sell settled which was later named Dublin. The Sell brothers were drawn to this location because the Scioto River was a trade route at the time. This area was excellent for farming and had plenty of stone for architecture. They stopped just west of the southern end of the current bridge over the Scioto River. This area had a smaller chance at flooding due to the elevation they could get above the river. If the Sells brothers needed to get water they would just have to walk down a small hill to the spring. The area was then made a trading post from the river. It is believed that Indians traveling the Scioto would stop here to get water and other supplies. The settlement spread and more settlers came to Dublin. As time went on, the natural spring was used by more than just the Sells brothers. In 1991, a set of wooden stairs were constructed to allow the public to see this piece of history. Improvements over the years have also included a paved path leading down to the river.
Today, the spring still looks like it used to when the Sells Brother's came to Dublin. The spring is only about 2 feet deep and no more than 7 feet wide in places. Water still flows here today as it did a very long time ago. In September 2011, the city of Dublin constructed a project in which diverted the spring water, down a small waterfall and into the Scioto River. The ground around the spring is mainly a limestone mix of rock. There is likely shale under the surface where water is discharging.
A natural spring is an area where water flows onto the surface from below ground which usually is clean. In many cases, water is surfaced due to pressure below the ground. Such natural springs are from groundwater seeping into the ground. In the case of this earthcache, the actual spring is at the bottom of a steep hill which could be a reason for water surfacing and a river is extremely close. Spring water is usually used for drinking water, bathing water, and cooking.
Types of springs:
- Filtration Springs have small flow rates of water surfacing, but the water has been filtered by the earth.
- Fracture Springs typically discharge from faults or fissures in the earth, which follow voids in rock.
- Tubular Springs are formed by groundwater forming underground caves.
Spring Discharge:
Springs are also measured by discharge rates, which are called Magnitudes. This is how much water is surfacing from the spring. Smaller springs usually have smaller discharge rates, while large springs vary from little to very large amounts.
Magnitude Classifications
| Magnitude |
Flow (feet/sec, US gal/min, oz/min) |
Flow (Liter/sec) |
| 1st |
Greater than 100ft/s |
2800 L/s |
| 2nd |
10 to 100 ft/s |
280 to 2800 L/s |
| 3rd |
1 to 10 ft/s |
28 to 280 L/s |
| 4th |
100 US gal/min to 1 ft/s (448 US gal/min) |
6.3 to 28 L/s |
| 5th |
10 to 100 gal/min |
0.63 to 6.3 L/s |
| 6th |
1 to 10 gal/min |
63 to 630 mL/s |
| 7th |
16oz to 1 gal/min (128 US oz/min) |
8 to 63 mL/s |
| 8th |
Less than 16 oz/min |
8 mL/s |
| 0 |
No flow (usually sites of defunct springs) |
0 mL/s |
To Log this EarthCache you must send me a message containing answers to the following:
- Take a picture with the spring in the background and upload it in your log (optional).
- Why do you think this water is now unsafe to drink? Consider environmental factors.
- Using the types of springs above, tell me what kind of spring you think this is.
- Using the discharge table above, make an estimate what magnitude the spring is flowing at during your visit. Please judge this by the amount of water coming out in front of the "unsafe water sign".
Please email me the answers (do not post in log!) to the questions and upload the photo in your log. If you post answers in your log or do not email them at all, your log will be deleted. If you do not receive a reply to my email, you did it right.
Sources:
US Department of Agriculture
Dublin Historical Society
Wikipedia