Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Natural springs.... Atesean well....

Just wondering,

My pond (1.25 acres) is spring fed, the damn runs the length on 3 sides and the forth is a natural elevation. Springs exist in several locations in the bottom of the pond , we also have seasonally running springs on the natural elevation above the pond, water can be seen running out from the hill several inches above the ponds water level.

So my question is:

Are my chances of getting a free flowing artesean well decent in these circumstances?

I don't need a well but the provincial goverment has started putting laws down to limit extraction and as the usual water source is not on my property putting the well in now before the legislation gets too heavy and as a supplemental/secondary water source might be good. Particularly if it's free flowing and my installation can be grandfathered/exempt from the upcomming legislation.

Also can someone tell me in gallons what (75 m3) is? This is the quantity of water that can be extrated daily without a permit but is it worth having?

Thank you all for comments and thoughs.

If I am not mistaken 75 cubic meters is about 19,812 gallons per day. which equate to a little over 1/2" of water over 1.25 acres.

Not sure about Canada but here in my area of the U.S. there are well logs and published material showing where artesian well potential is and data from wells in your area.

Do you have someone that is a local representative akin to the U.S. Geological Service?

Another alternative is to talk to local well drillers as they are usually very familiar with well potential. You can find them in the yellow pages.

Sounds like you have potential unless the springs you refer to are superficial surface springs which don't always yield lots of water and their flow depends on how deep the water table is and recent recharge.

Thanks for the responces Guys' It's a great thing to have this site to post questions and thoughs for others to comment on. I was out around the pond yesterday evening and I noticed something strange.

Why would algae grow on my springs? (By the looks I'm guessing it's what everyone calls filamentous algae, green looks like a cloud in the water and like a glob of slime out of the water) No stems, no leaves just slime.

Isnt ground water devoid of oxygen? Does this algae like such conditions or would the ground water be oxyginated somehow. In a month this stuff will have died off and Brook trout will be spawning in these locations, at least they did last year.

What explainations are possible for this
algea. Its not really a problem as it's small patches but my pond is not warm, nutrient rich or stagnant. None of the things that I've read here that cause algea so whats the explaination.

Thanks

This is a Texas reply. Here it would be because your pond water is hot and some algaes prefer cooler water. The water coming out of the ground would be cooler, hence more condusive to algae growth. Or maybe for you, it is warmer than your pond water; and the algae type prefers warm water. Or maybe I have no idea what the flip Im talking about. But temperature is a good guess.

Are you sure it's algae? I have iron bacteria growing in my discharge box from my well and it looks very similar to algae.

Some algaes do like cooler water. In fact, I have algae in the spring in my trout pond but it disapears into the summer and is replaced by chara which is another form of algae that may prefer warmer water.

Could be your well water also provides needed nutrients in various elements that are more conducive to algae's growth.

How big are your brook trout and how large have you grown them? Do you feed them? I have Lake Canadian Lake Nipigon strain brook trout in my pond right now. They are spooky devils and about 14 to 15 inches now. I have grown another strain of brook trout (domestic eastern) to 22 inches and over 5 lbs.

fozzybear:

To be exact, 75 cubic meters = 19,812.9038431 gallon [US, liquid]. This website is great for converting anything to anything else...
http://www.onlineconversion.com/

Pick volume, length, speed, weight/mass, etc. and plug in the amount, pick the what to what, and voila...it works extremely well.

Matt,
Very cool site, thanks for the link!

Cecil,

I don't know... I have Iron Bacteria in other places but the stuff on the springs is actually green. Unless it comes in different colors I don't think thats what it is. Iron bacteria is most obvious for me at the waters edge, it seems to seep out of the ground, it's a brown/orange color & looks oily.

Cecil, here's a thread about my pond you contributed to last spring URL=http://www.pondboss.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=7;t=000107]Naturally spawning brookies....[/URL]. My trout are "f7 Inbreads" . They were dumped in there some 12-15 years ago as the pond at the time was rented for production of trout (I'm guessing for the table). Anyway they harvested everything the could and what was left has been reproducing ever since. Last year I stocked some Kamloops Rainbows and this year I'm adding again some Rainbows and some browns as well as some big brookies (Eastern/domestic strain) that are ready to spawn (3/4 lbs each). And next year I'll be getting (Ruppert strain) brook trout to add truely fresh genes.

The rupert strain comes from James bay here in Quebec, was first caught wild in 1996 and has only been available to fish farms since 2000 or 2001 and available to the public since 2002. The main quality of the strain is fast growth and delayed maturity. Many or most don't spawn until 3 years of age, therefore bigger fish faster no energy wasted on reproductives. I give these details because I'm sure you'd have asked anyway (Cecil).

Never feed the fish, the biggest fish caught to date was a was a 12" brookie this spring.

So much for posting a brief message,