SPRINGS - WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
A spring is defined as the natural emergence of groundwater from the subsurface onto the surface. There are many reasons groundwater, which is almost always in motion within the earth's crust, emerges at the land surface. Some of these reasons are:
- Intersection of the water table with the land surface.
- Rising geothermal water driven by recharge at a higher elevation than the discharge point
- Groundwater flow to the surface along deep geological faults.
- Groundwater flow in thick alluvium which thins thereby causing the ground water to appear at the surface.
Many companies are seeking springs for the purpose of bottling the water. They all have several requirements.
- The water must be of drinking water quality where drinking water standards are established by federal or other authorities.
- The spring must have sufficient flow for their bottling needs.
- If water must be trucked to a bottling plant, on-site storage facilities are usually necessary so that tanker trucks can be rinsed and filled quickly from the source.
- The hydrogeology of the spring system must be investigated including the geographic extent of the groundwater reservoir that feeds the spring.
- The geographical extent of the reservoir must not contain potential sources of contamination such as pastures, septic tanks, industrial facilities, and farms where fertilizers and pesticides have been used.
- Buyers of the water will want the reservoir area fenced to protect the quality of the water and any investment they may make.
- Buyers of the water will want a hydraulic analysis of the spring reservoir to determine the volume of water in storage that feeds the spring.
- Buyers of the water will want to know the maximum and minimum discharge rates if the spring has variable discharge and when during the year they occur.
- Buyers of the water will want to know if the spring system is strongly influenced by annual precipitation as this may effect sustained availability.
- The springs must be developed by the construction of spring boxes to ensure the quality of the water as it emerges from the ground.
These items will require some expense which may be considerable. The expense may be paid for by the Buyer but at some longer-term tradeoff in price paid to the Seller or Lessor. We at WaterBank® are experienced in negotiating these tradeoffs and striking sound bargains with bottled water companies. That is how we earn our fees.
Remember, your spring may not be the only source. Major bottled water companies are always searching for and cataloguing potential sources for future use and to provide redundancy in supply. One major bottler discovered soon after their purchase of a 3,000 gpm spring and bottling plant, that their spring water was contaminated. This sent them into a broad search for additional supplies to keep their plant in production.
Visitors since April 3, 2006
