Wells, Sump Pumps and Septic Sewage Systems - artesian spring

I have an artesian spring that I and other people in the area (different locations, but almost all springs are in a straight line with each other). I am interested in getting more water out of my spring. One thing that I need to do is to get my storage tank below the spring. I just stacked some 4 ft concrete rounds on top of the spring that was running out of the side of a hill and 25 years ago, the pressure made it run over the top. It has slowed down in the past. It still runs now even though we are in a drought situation now. First I realize that I need to put my collection tank BELOW the spring. The question that I have is--- I have one of those homeowner well drillers. Would it be a good idea to drill down through the rock to get more water? It is coming out of a crack in the rock.---Jack

Digging down may not do you any good.
Like you said(spring that was running out of the side of a hill).
It may be just that, coming out the side.
Most springs like yours, the water is running in a crack in the rock. In some cases the crack is small, and the amount of water flowing through it, is all there is.
It may not make any difference how big you dig a hole in it, you wont get any more water.

Putting a storage tank below the flow, is a good idea.
The bigger the tank, the more water you will have on hand.
What do you plan on doing with this water?


Travis

I am going to drink it as I have for 25 years. I have had it tested in the past(20 years ago) should I have it tested again and for what? I have always wondered about metals in the water, can they test for that? As far as where the crack is. I dug in the side of the hill to make a flat area and it ended up as a vertical crack coming up, not a horizontal one coming out the side. Is it possible for an underground stream to be close to the surface as all of the springs at my neighbors houses are about the same elevation. What I was thinking is to drill a couple of feet away from the crack straight down to see if I can get some more water. What I am looking for is someone that has had some experience on this. Some people without any experience say that I could collapse the crack and totally kill the spring, I have water seeping in other areas 10 ft around the place that I collect the water. I really appreciate the input.---Jack

I doubt you will collapse the spring by drilling but I don't think you will help the production rate either. I'd suggest more storage. Do you know how fast it's currently producing water in gallons per minute? Even a very slow production rate can be more than adequate if you store enough. I work in the private water industry and engineer storage systems all the time. Need to know production rate first though and I'd be happy to recommend storage options.