A is for "Aquifer"

A respected Real Estate Colleague, in the beautiful State of Oregon Christin J Hunter , publishes a glossary of Real Estate terms, which I liked, so am adding to my weekly, "Land Man Weekly" newsletter, a glossary of Ranch, Farm and Land Development Terms. This week The Land Man, starts shortly after, Genesis 1:1, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"

A is for "Aquifer"

A huge amount of water exists in the ground below your feet, and people all over the world make great use of it. But it is only found in usable quantities in certain places underground?— aquifers. Read on to understand the concepts of aquifers and how water exists in the ground.

When a water-bearing rock readily transmits water to wells and?springs, it is called an aquifer.?Wells?can be drilled into the aquifers and water can be pumped out.?Precipitation?eventually adds water (recharge) into the porous rock of the aquifer. The rate of recharge is not the same for all aquifers, though, and that must be considered when pumping water from a well. Pumping too much water too fast draws down the water in the aquifer and eventually causes a well to yield less and less water and even?run dry. In fact, pumping your well too much can even cause your neighbor's well to run dry if you both are pumping from the same aquifer.

Water movement in aquifers is highly dependent of the permeability of the aquifer material. Permeable material contains interconnected cracks or spaces that are both numerous enough and large enough to allow water to move freely. In some permeable materials groundwater may move several meters in a day; in other places, it moves only a few centimeters in a century. Groundwater moves very slowly through relatively impermeable materials such as clay and shale. (Source:?Environment Canada)

After entering an aquifer, water moves slowly toward lower lying places and eventually is discharged from the aquifer from springs, seeps into streams, or is withdrawn from the ground by wells. Groundwater in aquifers between layers of poorly permeable rock, such as clay or shale, may be confined under pressure. If such a confined aquifer is tapped by a well, water will rise above the top of the aquifer and may even flow from the well onto the land surface. Water confined in this way is said to be under artesian pressure, and the aquifer is called an?artesian aquifer.

Land Man: True and amazing stories... So my friends, family and land enthusiasts, I have of course seen (being a man of the land, loving the outdoors and loving the unforgetable flavor and terroir..., of fresh spring waters), have seen, found, enjoyed and tasted many water sources, natural springs and wells.

One story, which I believe to be true and was personally accounted to me, is a tale of a Holywood legend and actor, of many, years ago, who purchased, after a crash landing, a grand lot of "unimproved acreage". Located in a semi-arid region of California (where Zinfandel vineyards & 100 degree days are the norm)..., where life giving and grape growing water had not yet sufficiently proven and been developed.

Upon commissioning a well driller of excellent reputation, the well drilling process started, and then, they went deeper. Deeper the drilling crew reached, day after day, with hope fading and the farm looking to be a possible box-office bomb. The actor and his most beautiful muse, returned from Hollywood, driving up the coast, on this fortuitous night...

At the very moment the drilling site was reached, a very significant artesian aquifer burst from the well driller's hole, under it's own pressure, and into the air. The rate was described to me at well over 1,000 gallons per minute. Wow!!! A vineyard and fine wines, would one day, soon follow...

Groundwater Basin Water Management is of course a fascinating and serious necessity, in this age of water storage scarcity...

The Land Man is hopeful and encouraged today! Sound water management policy coupled with advances in massive water storage projects will ultimately provide the water answers in which we seek. If we return to an opening line of my letter... and another part of Genesis 1:1, from the good book, a helpful, purposed (I think) reference... "darkness covered the deep waters".

I happen to be a man of faith, as many of my friends and family know, however, regardless of your personal opinion or (perhaps) differing beliefs, scientific evidence and current geologic history and evidence, is proving and will continue to provide, "paleo water storage caverns", of unimaginable capacity and modern day utility. Imagine, Water storage, carved beneath the surface of the earth, carved during pre-history, carved by the forces of the Ice Ages, carved by the hand of our creator.

A is for "Aquifer", Thank You and enjoy your next cool sip of life sustaining water. Cheers!

The Land Man