GROUND WATER IN NORTH-CENTRAL TENNESSEE

150 GROUND WATER IN NORTH-CENTRAL TENNESSEE
Probably the most reliable sources of ground water in the county
are the tubular springs that issue from solution channels of the lime-1
stone at many points in the lower parts of the area. The discharge
of such a spring, however, is likely to vary widely from season to
season and must be determined periodically over a term of several
years to establish the minimum discharge and probable safe draft.
Moreover, all such springs are liable to permanent or intermittent
pollution.by organic waste (pp. 108-109), so that the water should be
adequately sterilized if it is to be used for municipal supply.
The conditions under which ground water occurs in limestone are
discussed on pages 69-89. Typical wells and springs of Houston
County are described by the tabulated data on pages 151-152. The
chemical character of the ground water from certain of these typical
wells and springs is shown by the analyses on pages 112-113.
MUNICIPAL GROUND-WATER SUPPLIES
Erin. The one community ground-water supply in Houston County is that at
Erin, which supplies about 50 residences and a 10-ton artificial-ice plant from a
tubular spring in the St. Louis limestone (No. 143, p. 152) at the west edge of the
town. The water from this spring is raised to a small reservoir on a hilltop north
of the town and distributed by gravity. The spring and distribution system are
owned and operated by A. J. Mitchum, of Erin. The minimum discharge of the
spring is less than 10 gallons a minute, so that the capacity of the system is corre­
spondingly small, although adequate for the present demand. A reserve capacity
several times that of the present system is afforded by other springs of the vicinity.