Any ideas how to devolpe a Natural Spring...

   / Any ideas how to devolpe a Natural Spring... #11  
What's a tin horn?

I just completed a spring that a P/O had messed up. It was flowing out of some vertical limestone fissures so he built a block wall "tank" around it. All this did was cause it to blow out underneath. We dug it out with a backhoe and found where it was bubbling up vertically out of the rock. A local concrete place had some cull 4' in daimeter by 2' high concrete rings 4" thick. These things stack on each other, so we stacked 3 for a 6' tall tank, then backfilled around it with clay. The spring water came up inside about 2.5' before leaking thru the first joint. A overflow was drilled there to let the water flow on thru. I set a Harbor Freight $70 pump w/tank on a shelf inside the top ring, then built a insulated tin roof.
So far it is working fine, but anytime to attempt to "capture" a spring you need to only capture part of the flow. If you grab it all it usually finds a way around or under to escape. If you can clean it out and stick a 2-3" pipe with screen on the end into where the flow is exiting that usually lets enough escape around the pipe to let it continue to flow.
I did our own drinking water spring with a pipe jammed into a vertical fissure. I built a small dam around the pipe with hydraulic cement to back the flow up enough to flow down the pipe into a 55gal pickle barrel. Excess water will just flow over the low 4" dam & it has worked now for over 4 years. That flow is only a pencil width in size but always continuous. A tap at the bottom of the barrel with a short hose on it allows me to fill 5-6 5gal jugs at a time without running the barrel empty. A overflow pipe at the top of the barrel keeps water moving thru it so it does not stagnate.
 
   / Any ideas how to devolpe a Natural Spring...
  • Thread Starter
#12  
What's a tin horn?

I just completed a spring that a P/O had messed up. It was flowing out of some vertical limestone fissures so he built a block wall "tank" around it. All this did was cause it to blow out underneath. We dug it out with a backhoe and found where it was bubbling up vertically out of the rock. A local concrete place had some cull 4' in daimeter by 2' high concrete rings 4" thick. These things stack on each other, so we stacked 3 for a 6' tall tank, then backfilled around it with clay. The spring water came up inside about 2.5' before leaking thru the first joint. A overflow was drilled there to let the water flow on thru. I set a Harbor Freight $70 pump w/tank on a shelf inside the top ring, then built a insulated tin roof.
So far it is working fine, but anytime to attempt to "capture" a spring you need to only capture part of the flow. If you grab it all it usually finds a way around or under to escape. If you can clean it out and stick a 2-3" pipe with screen on the end into where the flow is exiting that usually lets enough escape around the pipe to let it continue to flow.
I did our own drinking water spring with a pipe jammed into a vertical fissure. I built a small dam around the pipe with hydraulic cement to back the flow up enough to flow down the pipe into a 55gal pickle barrel. Excess water will just flow over the low 4" dam & it has worked now for over 4 years. That flow is only a pencil width in size but always continuous. A tap at the bottom of the barrel with a short hose on it allows me to fill 5-6 5gal jugs at a time without running the barrel empty. A overflow pipe at the top of the barrel keeps water moving thru it so it does not stagnate.

A tin horn is another name for a culvert ... I want to use that the same way you used the concrete.
 
   / Any ideas how to devolpe a Natural Spring... #15  
My experience with springs is that sometimes digging them out will improve the flow and sometimes it tends to seal them off. Water flowing to a spring will normally come to the surface through rock formations and may contain a lot of sand that has been brought to the surface by the water. In most instances, digging out the source to the main supply will increase the flow, but sometimes shifting the ground causes the opening to seal off and hydrostatic pressure goes to another opening. Sealing off one area can easily cause another area to increase its flow. You just never know. If the spring is on a slope, digging downhill from the opening can be a good thing. However, if you overshoot the opening on the uphill side, your digging can pull dirt/silt into the opening and seal it off. I would carefully dig and probe until the spring's source is located. From your description of the PVC pipe, it seems the previous owner did a lot of "chasing" the source and trying to direct its flow. I think a backhoe is the best tool to dig. I'd use the tractor and FEL to haul away/spread what the backhoe digs out.
 
   / Any ideas how to devolpe a Natural Spring...
  • Thread Starter
#16  
My experience with springs is that sometimes digging them out will improve the flow and sometimes it tends to seal them off. Water flowing to a spring will normally come to the surface through rock formations and may contain a lot of sand that has been brought to the surface by the water. In most instances, digging out the source to the main supply will increase the flow, but sometimes shifting the ground causes the opening to seal off and hydrostatic pressure goes to another opening. Sealing off one area can easily cause another area to increase its flow. You just never know. If the spring is on a slope, digging downhill from the opening can be a good thing. However, if you overshoot the opening on the uphill side, your digging can pull dirt/silt into the opening and seal it off. I would carefully dig and probe until the spring's source is located. From your description of the PVC pipe, it seems the previous owner did a lot of "chasing" the source and trying to direct its flow. I think a backhoe is the best tool to dig. I'd use the tractor and FEL to haul away/spread what the backhoe digs out.

Thanks Jim ... all good points. I have been "scraping" the surface a little at a time just removing the top layer inch by inch. I called the BIL of the fellow that had done this ... he said it had been 20 years ago that they worked on it. The head of the spring is at the end of the PVC and at that time they had dug out a large area filled it with the small rocks and laced the top with the PVC covered that with the small rocks ... so when I get the Backhoe in here ... I hope to accomplish my goal !!
 
   / Any ideas how to devolpe a Natural Spring...
  • Thread Starter
#17  
It appears to have slowed down .... I quess I just need to keep opening it up and keep moving dirt.

I quess in the drought conditions I should be glad that anything is flowing.
 

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   / Any ideas how to devolpe a Natural Spring... #18  
When I purchased this property they showed me where the owner (deceased) had started to devople a natural spring.

With the current heat and drought I thought I should go inspect it more ...

There appears to be a 4" PVC pipe dumping into a 1000 gallon septic tank ...

The other end looks as though it was dug into the bank ...

Even in these drought conditions the tank is half full of water and the creek bed has standing water trying to make its way to my pond ... over 500' total ... the water only makes it about 100' before it disappears.

One would think there would be a way to get this spring really flowing and the water to make it to my pond ... it does make it other years when we are not so dry.

Or could it just be that under these conditions that just the way it will be?

Here is a link on developing natural springs. It shows how to do it also.
http://www.acresusa.com/toolbox/reprints/Water From the Hills_Prehn Method.pdf
hugs, Brandi
 
   / Any ideas how to devolpe a Natural Spring...
  • Thread Starter
#19  
Thank you, thats a good article.
 
   / Any ideas how to devolpe a Natural Spring... #20  
Thank you, thats a good article.

Blueriver,:)
I have to agree.:thumbsup: When I found it, I saved it to a file.;) I plan on trying it on my Hill Country retirement property.:cool: After I find and buy it.:rolleyes:
hugs, Brandi
 

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