ABOUT THIS LOCATION
Your quest for this Earthcache will take you to private
property. Jerome and Susie Washicheck have welcomed visitors to
this Spring for many years so please be respectful. You are asked
to park on the side of the road and to approach off the gravel
pathway created just for visitors. Please stay
within the designated areas and do not trespass further onto their
land. Please restrict your visit to daylight hours only. Sorry, the
landowner has requested and has posted that children should not be
near this Spring. The water here is tested on a regular
basis and the owners post the actual results. It is not uncommon to
find the local residents filling up bottles of this water. Please
follow the posted signs stating children are not welcome near the
actual spring and please do your best not to disturb the rocks and
area.
GEOLOGICAL INFORMATION
There were four major stages of Ice Age Glaciations that left
their mark on the topography and soils of Wisconsin. The last
stage, called the Wisconsin stage, ended approximately 10,000 years
ago. The outwash plains left stratified deposits consisting of
gravel, sand, silt and clay, laid down by water from the melting
ice fronts.
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 which 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 (or dug) from a 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.
Technical data...
Pascal's law predicts the theoretical hydrostatic pressure
P:
where p (rho) is the density of the fluid, g the acceleration
due to gravity, and z is the elevation. In practical terms the
pressure is expressed as metres water column (zr - zw).
HISTORICAL INFORMATION ABOUT THIS SITE
The Springs Era in Waukesha ran from 1868-1918. It all started
when suffering from incurable diabetes, Col. Richard Dunbar drank
12 glasses of water from a spring at Bethesda in 1868 and declared
himself cured. Dunbar's "miracle" led to the rise of Waukesha's
tourist and resort industry, earning a reputation as the "Saratoga
of the West."
The first of the famous World’s Fairs brought visitors from all
across the globe to Chicago in 1893. Expectations in Waukesha were
high that a great many of those visitors would take a small detour
and visit the “Saratoga of the West”. In the year preceding the
World’s Fair, an interesting incident occurred in the then Village
of Waukesha. A conflict of interests nearly reached the point of
rioting.
James E. McElroy was never one to pass up an opportunity. Upon
learning of the healing waters of Waukesha, he came upon an idea of
purchasing one of the springs, and piping the water down to
Chicago. He laid out all his plans, bought Hygena Spring on the
corner of Wisconsin and West Avenues, and prepared to lay the
pipelines, only to be stopped when the village council denied
permission. The city residents wanted visitors of the World Fair to
come to Waukesha for the water rather than have Waukesha water go
to the Fair.
It was on Saturday, May 12, 1892 and rumors concerning a
forthcoming ‘invasion’ began to spread through the village. Sure
enough, that night, a carload of horses, two flatcars overflowing
with pipes and a mob of laborers arrived by railroad.
Tensions eased as the men were served lunch and hot coffee
before returning to the train. The locomotive departed only to
return an hour later and unload it’s passengers once more. This
time the villagers toted the famous ‘rail splitter’ canon to the
spring, and once again the ‘invaders’ were expelled from
Waukesha.
James McElroy did not give up his attempt to pump water from
Waukesha to the World's Fair. Eventually, he bought this very
spring property outside of the village limits and named it Hygena
II. He did then obtain permission and laid his pipes. Unfortunately
the water, after so many miles of travel, had become stale. Source:
http://www.ci.waukesha.wi.us/History/great_water_fight.html
To log this earthcache, you must complete
TWO tasks.
1) BRING YOUR CAMERA. We would like a photo of your team
with your GPSr at the Spring. However, if you are solo caching, a
photo of your GPSr with enough of the Spring in the background that
can be identified, will also be accepted. Please upload your
photo(s) with your “found it" log.
2) BRING a container of known volume and a timing device.
The Artesian Spring here bubbles up from the ground. A small stream
of water flows constantly from a spigot Washicheck connected to one
of the original underground pipes that led to Chicago. Estimate the
rate at which the water flows out of this spigot expressed in
gallons per minute.
Email your answers to the respective tasks and upload your photo
when posting your “found it” log.
Please be advised, failure to complete the
TWO tasks listed above (emailing the answers and posting your photo
will result in log deletion without notice.
You do NOT have to wait for comfirmation from me before logging
your find. Please do not make any reference to these answers in
your log.
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