The area surrounding Millbrook is predominantly steep hills of material deposited by the glaciers many years ago to form the Oak Ridges Morrain. Millbrook is situated in a valley amongst these ridges or hills and, as such this is one of the lowest areas for water flow from the Oak Ridges Morrain to exit the ground as the aquifer supplies the water that exits at this spring.
In the Cavan area, there are many spring fed streams and ponds, including the nearby Baxter Creek and the environmentally sensitive Cavan Bog. Many local wells and farm ponds are also fed by the aquifer. First hand experience has shown that creating a small hole in the right spot (depending upon your view of having an artesian spring in your yard) can result in an artesian spring exiting the ground.
Interesting to note Artesian wells have been on record since one was drilled in 1126 by a group of Monks in the French province of Artois. Artois gave the name Artesian.
The hills in the area and the weight of the water in the aquifer itself form a positive downward pressure upon the aquifer of underground water, so much in fact that when given the opportunity, the water seeks an escape and rises to the surface.
This is referred to as an ARTESIAN spring. An artesian well is created when an outlet is provided for the water to escape, such as a pipe bored into the aquifer. When the pressure is sufficient to bring the water without a pump, it is referred to as an artesian well. If too many artesian springs or wells are allowed to rise to the surface, the pressure may be reduced and pumps are needed to bring the water to the surface.
An aquifer is a large body of water or an underground stream. The aquifers usually receive their water by groundwater being filtered by the surface material above the aquifer. In the case of the Cavan and Millbrook area, the gravel and sand that make up the Oak Ridges Moraine provides the filter.
The class or magnitude of a spring is determined by the amount of water it discharges in a given period of time.
The scale is as follows:
Magnitude Flow (L/s)
1st Magnitude >2800 L/s
2nd Magnitude 280 to 2800 L/s
3rd Magnitude 28 to 280 L/s
4th Magnitude 6.3 to 28 L/s
5th Magnitude 0.63 to 6.3 L/s
6th Magnitude 63 to 630 mL/s
7th Magnitude 8 to 63 mL/s
8th Magnitude 8 mL/s
0 Magnitude no flow (sites of past/historic flow)
Logging Requirements
In order to log this Earthcache, e-mail me the answers to the following questions. Please do not post the answers to the questions in your log.:
1a. Determine the rate of flow, at the time of your visit, of the Millbrook Spring in litres / second (L/s).
a) Time how long it takes to fill your container in seconds.
b) Divide the volume of the container (Litres) by the time it took to fill the container.______L/s
b. Use your answer in L/s and the Magnitude/Flow chart to find the magnitude of the spring. _______ Magnitude
2. Calculate or estimate the flow, in Litres for a day.
(L/s X 60 X 60 X 24) = L/s X 86 400 = ______ L/day
If this is too strenuous, multiply the answer from “a” by 9 and add four zeroes for an estimate. _____L/s X 9 = ______ 0000 L/day
3. Have Fun. That’s what learning is all about.
Optional: You may include a photo with your log but it is not necessary or required in order to log this cache. Please do not send the photo to me.
Please note that the municipality has posted a sign stating that they do not assume the quality of the water, though you may see locals filling jugs. When I tested the water in MArch, the pH was 6.8,in the neutral range and the temperature was 8C degrees.
Additional Reading:
http://www.britannica.com/topic/artesian-well
Artesian well,
artesian well [Credit: © Gilles DeCruyenaere/Shutterstock.com]
well from which water flows under natural pressure without pumping. It is dug or drilled wherever a gently dipping, permeable rock layer (such as sandstone) receives water along its outcrop at a level higher than the level of the surface of the ground at the well site. At the outcrop the water moves down into the aquifer (water-bearing layer) but is prevented from leaving it, by impermeable rock layers (such as shale) above and below it. Pressure from the water’s weight (hydrostatic pressure) forces water to the surface of a well drilled down into the aquifer; the pressure for the steady upflow is maintained by the continuing penetration of water into the aquifer at the intake area.
In places where the overlying impermeable rocks are broken by joints or faults, water may escape through them to rise to the surface as artesian springs. In some areas, artesian wells and springs are a major source of water, especially in arid plains adjacent to mountain ranges that receive precipitation.
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http://www.daleswater.co.uk/what-is-an-artesian-well/
artesian groundwater is the same as any other type of groundwater the only difference is how it gets to the surface.
An artesian well is simply a well that doesn’t require a pump to bring water to the surface; this occurs when there is enough pressure in the aquifer. The pressure forces the water to the surface without any sort of assistance.
An aquifer is a geologic layer of permeable and porous rock such as sandstone or limestone and that provides the water source for the artesian well.
The aquifer absorbs and stores water and in an artesian well the porous stone is sandwiched between a top and bottom layer of impermeable rock such as shale or clay. This causes positive pressure.
When an artesian well is drilled the pressure is relieved and the water is able to find a path to open air, in many cases the pressure is high enough to bring the water all the way to the surface and that’s known as a flowing artesian well.
Natural springs also form in this exact same way when a gap is formed in the impermeable rock e.g. by an earthquake and releases the pressure, allowing the water to flow up. In some cases if the pressure is high it will form a fountain called a geyser.
The first Artesian well on record was drilled in 1126 by a group of Monks in the French province of Artois, hence the name Artesian well.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artesian_aquifer
An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. This causes the water level in a well to rise to a point where hydrostatic equilibrium has been reached.
A well drilled into such an aquifer is called an artesian well. If water reaches the ground surface under the natural pressure of the aquifer, the well is called a flowing artesian well.[1][2]
An aquifer is a geologic layer of porous and permeable material such as sand and gravel, limestone, or sandstone, through which water flows and is stored. An artesian aquifer is confined between impermeable rocks or clay which causes this positive pressure. Not all the aquifers are artesian, because the water table must reach the surface (not the case for underground groundwater such as, for example, the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System). The recharging of aquifers happens when the water table at its recharge zone is at a higher elevation than the head of the well.
Artesian wells were named after the former province of Artois in France, where many artesian wells were drilled by Carthusian monks from 1126.
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http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/artesian_well.aspx
artesian well, deep drilled well through which water is forced upward under pressure. The water in an artesian well flows from an aquifer, which is a layer of very porous rock or sediment, usually sandstone, capable of holding and transmitting large quantities of water. The geologic conditions necessary for an artesian well are an inclined aquifer sandwiched between impervious rock layers above and below that trap water in it. Water enters the exposed edge of the aquifer at a high elevation and percolates downward through interconnected pore spaces. The water held in these spaces is under pressure because of the weight of water in the portion of the aquifer above it. If a well is drilled from the land surface through the overlying impervious layer into the aquifer, this pressure will cause the water to rise in the well. In areas where the slope of the aquifer is great enough, pressure will drive the water above ground level in a spectacular, permanent fountain. Artesian springs can occur in similar fashion where faults or cracks in the overlying impervious layer allow water to flow upward. Water from an artesian well or spring is usually cold and free of organic contaminants, making it desirable for drinking. In North America, the Dakota sandstone provides aquifers for an artesian system that underlies parts of the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, and Saskatchewan and supplies great quantities of water to the dry Great Plains region. Many East Coast cities derive their water supplies from aquifers that are exposed along the edge of the Piedmont and dip downward toward the Atlantic coast. The largest artesian system in the world underlies nearly all of E and S Australia. Other important artesian systems serve London, Paris, and E Algeria.
"artesian well." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2015. Encyclopedia.com. 19 Feb. 2016 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
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http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-an-artesian-well.htm#didyouknowout
An artesian well is a pumpless water source that uses pipes to allow underground water that is under pressure to rise to the surface. This type of well seems to defy gravity because the pressure that builds up between layers of rock gets relieved when the water finds a path to the open air. In addition, the water has been naturally filtered because it passes through porous rock as it seeps into the Earth to reach the aquifer, which is the underground water source. For centuries, people have drilled artesian wells to drink filtered water that doesn't need to be manually or mechanically hauled up from the depths.
Pressurized Water
An aquifer provides the water source for an artesian well. This is the layer of permeable rock, such as limestone or sandstone, that absorbs water from an inlet path at high elevation, such as the top of a mountain. The water source might be fed by snowmelt or precipitation.
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Porous stone is sandwiched between a top and bottom layer of an impermeable substance, such as clay soil or shale rock. This keeps the water pressure high, so that at a point below the entryway of the flow, there is enough pressure to bring the water up when the pressure is released. Natural springs form in the same way when a gap in the impermeable rock — perhaps triggered by an earthquake — allows the water to rise to the surface. Sometimes, if the pressure is especially strong in the aquifer, the water might thrust up like a fountain and form a geyser.
Prevalence
Artesian wells are found all over the world. Entire cities have relied on giant underground aquifers to provide fresh, cold water when there are no above-ground rivers. Where modern plumbing is scarce or nonexistent, people often must rely on an artesian well for clean water. The Great Artesian Basin, which provides fresh water to inland Australia, is the largest such basin in the world. Thousands of artesian wells have tapped into this aquifer.
Origin
The first known artesian well was drilled in 1126 by a group of monks who used a rod with a sharp end, called a bore, to penetrate a layer of impermeable rock to reach an aquifer. Their percussive drilling — just hammering on the end of the bore — broke through the rock with sheer human force. The water that rose to the surface had seeped through the pores of the rock, so that many contaminants have been filtered out, and it proved to be safer to drink than standing water from the surface or river water.
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Diagrams from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artesian_aquifer
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http://www.oakridgesmoraine.org/aboutm.html
ABOUT THE MORAINE
The Oak Ridges Moraine's most important function is sustaining the health of the many watersheds and the diversity of species that live within them. Permeable sands and gravels, deposited in random patterns by glacial melt-waters between two lobes of ice, now collect precipitation which slowly recharges the deep aquifers below the ground. These same sands and gravels filter and release this groundwater to over 65 watercourses flowing north and south into Georgian Bay, Lakes Simcoe, Scugog, Rice and Ontario.
All along the ridge of this regional surface water divide are many tiny headwater streams bubbling out of the ground in seeps and swales and springs. These trickles of water join forces in delivering cold clean water to the rivers and streams that flow off the moraine touching many communities along the way to their final Great Lakes destination.
Field on the Oak Ridges Moraine
Some river valleys are well forested, providing living corridors along which animals travel. Wetlands, kettle lakes and prairie grasslands of the 160 kilometer long moraine are home to hundreds of species of plants, birds, mammals and amphibians - and people too!
We know now that clearing forests from these sandy, sloping areas was not a good decision. Decades of restoration efforts to reconnect the forest fragments are evident in the thousands of acres of pine plantations and the newly planted saplings put there by school children. Like long lost friends, the newly-planted roots hold the fine sands and silts in place as natural cover is restored.
We continue to impact the moraine's functions - hardening the surface with pavement, parking lots, housing developments and other uses that continue to put stress on the moraine's natural functions.
Minimizing these impacts to ensure sustainable use of the Moraine requires good planning, solid protection and active restoration of lands already damaged.
Protection is less expensive than restoration. Restoration is not as costly as recreating natural functions. The Oak Ridges Moraine Land Trust works to enhance and complement the protection and restoration efforts of many other organizations on the moraine.
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http://www.oakridgesmoraine.org/water.html
One of the Moraine's most important functions is as a water recharge/discharge area - sustaining the
health of the many watersheds, which originate in the Moraine and directly providing drinking water to over 250,000 people. It has been described as southern Ontario's rain barrel - its permeable sands and gravels absorb and collect precipitation, which slowly recharge the deep aquifers below the ground.
These sand and gravel aquifers store, filter and release this groundwater to over 65 watercourses flowing north and south into Georgian Bay, Lakes Simcoe, Scugog, Rice and Ontario. At the same time, unprecedented human exploitation of this groundwater places the Moraine in a precarious ecological position.
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