Everything about Spring Water totally explained
A
spring is a point where
groundwater flows out of the ground, and is thus where the
aquifer surface meets the ground surface.
Dependent upon the constancy of the water source (
rainfall or
snowmelt that infiltrates the earth), a spring may be
ephemeral (intermittent) or
perennial (continuous).
Formation
Water issuing from an artesian spring rises to a higher elevation than the top of the confined aquifer from which it issues. When water issues from the ground it may form into a pool or flow downhill, in surface streams. Sometimes a spring is termed a
seep.
Minerals become dissolved in the water as it moves through the underground
rocks. This may give the water flavor and even
carbon dioxide bubbles, depending upon the nature of the
geology through which it passes. This is why spring water is often bottled and sold as
mineral water, although the term is often the subject of
deceptive advertising. Springs that contain significant amounts of minerals are sometimes called 'mineral springs'. Springs that contain large amounts of dissolved
sodium salts, mostly
sodium carbonate, are called 'soda springs'. Many resorts have developed around mineral springs known as
spa towns.
Water emanating from
karst topography is another type of spring, often called a
resurgence as much of the water may come from one or more
sinkholes at a higher altitude. Karst springs generally are not subjected to as great a degree of ground filtering as spring water which may have continuously passed through soils or a porous aquifer.
Classification
Springs are often classified by the volume of the water they discharge. The largest springs are called "first-magnitude," defined as springs that discharge water at a rate of at least 2800 L/s. The scale for spring flow is as follows:
| Magnitude |
Flow (ft³/s, gal/min, pint/min) |
Flow (L/s) |
| 1st Magnitude |
> 100 ft³/s |
2800 L/s |
| 2nd Magnitude |
10 to 100 ft³/s |
280 to 2800 L/s |
| 3rd Magnitude |
1 to 10 ft³/s |
28 to 280 L/s |
| 4th Magnitude |
100 US gal/min to 1 ft³/s (448 US gal/min) |
6.3 to 28 L/s |
| 5th Magnitude |
10 to 100 gal/min |
0.63 to 6.3 L/s |
| 6th Magnitude |
1 to 10 gal/min |
63 to 630 mL/s |
| 7th Magnitude |
1 pint to 1 gal/min |
8 to 63 mL/s |
| 8th Magnitude |
Less than 1 pint/min |
8 mL/s |
| 0 Magnitude |
no flow (sites of past/historic flow) |
Further Information
Get more info on 'Spring Water'.
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