SOUL-DRIFTER
Life Long Researcher
I really am not positive, it could be. He lived on a farm just on the edge of the town of Amery, so it may have been Clear Lake, Balsam Lake area as well.
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
Thank you.....I'll look around at those places. I'm just curious.....besides the drilling technology was not very good at that time, just like the knowledge of the groundwater contours in rural areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin.
SOUL-DRIFTER
Life Long Researcher
I am sure it was not.
What impressed me is that 1 bob always meant 10 feet and it often turns out that the depth was accurate.
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
I helped a couple friends by placing their water supply well locations.....I didn't use any divining rods. I've seen quite a few people using them......but after one of them told me its safe to drill in one particular location between two underground storage tanks I lost what little faith I had in people using them. I told him I wouldn't drill there and so did the drillers.
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
It looks like the groundwater in Clear Lake is approximately 20 feet or so......the Bedrock geology around Balsam Creek looks a little strange if the lake elevations are accurate. If not it looks to shallow there too.
SOUL-DRIFTER
Life Long Researcher
Well, well drillers do make goofs as do some diviners. I haven't lost faith in either.
Interesting.
Is this map online?
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
I really didn't have much faith in diviners by that time anyway.....once I realized all you had to do was drill down to find water.
I was looking at the towns on google earth. The two lakes to the southwest according to google earth have an elevation difference of 35 feet but are only about a mile apart. If that is true there is likely a big bedrock drop off in between. I'll see if I can find a bedrock map for hat area. This could also cause a large variance in the depth to the water table.
SOUL-DRIFTER
Life Long Researcher
You do know that much of the expense of a well comes in the depth. The deeper one must go the more expensive. Many so called experts may insist water can be found only at a certain depth say for example 300 feet and a diviner known for accuracy says 100 feet, if you were on a limited budget who would you go with?...HONESTLY...
This is where often a diviner gets his job and most diviners like my grandfather worked for nothing. A free service he did.
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
The water supply well drilling jobs were usually deep bedrock wells and since some went to 900 feet no doubt it was costly. However, with those rigs there is a limited conditions they can be used due to their size and weight. Using the rigs isn't for someone with a limited budget.
Honestly if it was in the 1950s and I didn't know about geology and a diviner told me that yes I would go with it. However, in my neighborhood all the water wells are set in bedrock at a depth of 400 feet. There is no water in the overburden and if a diviner told me there was water enough for my home in the overburden I wouldn't believe them.
Also, since I placed a water supply well for a friend for her horse stables that supplied more than enough water and my depth to water was accurate and I didn't use any divining rods I'd say I'll stick with knowing the geology.
I'll see if I can find some bedrock and overburden geology maps of Wisconsin and find areas where it would be best to put water supply wells in these areas. I'd say the groundwater in much of Wild Rose is fairly shallow.
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
Just so you know you live on some of the younger bedrock in Wisconsin.....about 500 million years old. There does look to be a contact between two rock types in the area of Balsam Lake where one is more resistant....(basalt)....and one that is less resistant....(sandstone).....could account for the different levels of the two lakes. I've seen depth to bedrock vary by 150 feet in an acre of land so 35 feet is quite possible. It also looks like there might be some hard drilling/digging just to the west of Wild Rose.
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
It looks like the groundwater at Coles express would be around 3 meters below grade.
August
Metanoia
You mean below ground ? Coles Express is a servo.
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
Yes I mean under ground.....yes I know its a gas/petrol station
August
Metanoia
We call it a petrol station. Gas is what you use on your BBQ.
SOUL-DRIFTER
Life Long Researcher
My well here is about 140 feet down. The old well was driven by hand from back in the early 1900s and it had water in it at 70 foot depth, but when we first moved into this old farm site the water level was at the 40 foot mark...I measured it.
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
I put gasoline in my car....and use propane in my gas grill. It is a petroleum derived liquid.....the British likely derive "petrol" from petroleum. They are both the same thing.
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
What year did you move to the farm?
Castle-Yankee54
Celestial
Personally I prefer a campfire.....best steak I ever had.
SOUL-DRIFTER
Life Long Researcher
1993
Our water level changed about 5 years later.
To the west there are huge potato fields and they installed bigger wells. We also had a nitrate problem back then...we do not now.