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Show OCCURRENCE OE UNDERGROUND WATER. 51 dug a third well only 60 feet deep, near the second, which afforded about 3 feet of water in winter and 20 in summer. a Flowing wells can not be obtained on the bench because of its elevation, though several attempts have been made, without success. In 1887 and 1888 two deep wells were driven in the same section as those just referred to. The Colorado Fish Company put down a 3- inch well 250 feet deep and obtained water which rose to wTithin 80 feet of the surface. This was pumped for several years. In 1888 Mr. Knight drove a 2- inch well 300 feet deep in which water rose to within 90 feet of the surface. Both of these wells are now abandoned. From Provo to Pleasant Grove along the narrow belt of lowland lying between Provo bench and Utah Lake there is an abundance of underground water. The line that separates flowing and nonflowing wells coincides approximately with the San Pedro Railway, which also marks roughly the upper limit of the area in which ground water lies within 10 feet of the surface. Between the railroad and the base of the bench few wells have been driven and little is known of the conditions, but it is thought that water can be obtained at depths of 10 to 50 feet. Contiguous to the railroad a number of feeble seep springs occur along the base of a low bluff between which and the lake the ground is almost flat. Water occurs on the surface in many places, rendering the land unfit for use. Before irrigation was so extensively practiced it is reported that this lowland belt was fertile farming land, but in late years, due to the rise of the ground- water level, the land has materially decreased in value. Considerable areas of available land, however, are yet to be found in this area, and flowing wells are used to irrigate several hundred acres. Conditions can be much improved by drainage. The map and list of wells show the general conditions. The deep wells in this belt average slightly over 100 feet and generally are 2 inches in diameter. North of Provo River the yield is inconsiderable, averaging, possibly, less than 15 gallons a minute per well; but in the vicinity of Geneva, a resort on the lake below Pleasant Grove, the effect of Battle Creek drainage is experienced, and some of the strongest wells of the entire area covered by this report occur. Harry Gammon's wells, in sec. 7, T. 6 S., R. 2 E., are among the best. One of these is 3 inches in diameter, 110 feet deep, and yields a flow of about 266 gallons a minute, the water rising in a pipe to approximately 28 feet above the surface. The section in this vicinity is shown on PI. V, the water occurring in gravel in the bottom of the well, PROVO AND VICINITY. Provo derives its water supply from Provo River. A number of canals tap the river ( as shown on the map, PI. VIII), and distribute a good supply to the town; and water for household purposes is delivered through city mains from a direct source in the river near the mouth of the canyon. The quality is unsatisfactory, however, and a new system is being installed whereby a better supply is obtained from a number of springs that issue from unconsolidated debris along the base of the canyon for several miles above its mouth. Well records show fairly uniform stratigraphic conditions about Provo. Gravel usually underlies the surface to a depth of from 10 to 20 feet, and is succeeded by 20 to 30 feet of sand, below which is a considerable thickness of clay, averaging possibly 100 feet, the upper 20 or 30 feet of which is yellowish and the lower part blue. Underlying the clay a bed of gravel occurs, which is said to be underlain by clay, though about Provo it has seldom been penetrated. With minor variations this section appears to hold good over a large part of the territory adjacent to the east shore of Utah Lake. Northwest from Provo the surface gravel disappears, but clay, light above and dark below and underlain by sand and gravel, is reported in the vicinity of Geneva, American Fork, and Lehi. South of Provo, in the vicinity of Springville, similar conditions prevail. ( PI. V.) a These facts were obtained from Mr. Caleb Tanner, to whom the writer is indebted for many-courtesies. |