A Conversation with Elizabeth Anne: the Artesian Well
Buccachio | 22 January 2007
Elizabeth Anne is one of the coolest people I know in Asheville. Members of the community recognize her and enjoy her presence wherever she goes—she has a big heart and a great political acumen. I recently had the opportunity for a lengthy conversation with Elizabeth Anne over dinner at a local Indian restaurant. It began with a discussion of mountain geology, which is a favorite topic of mine. Several months back, a guest called the office and commented on the artesian well at Cozy Creek Cabin. We passed the word along, and wondered. Over dinner, I asked Elizabeth Anne to explain exactly what the artesian well is and how it functions. She replied with the following tale, which I have embellished with my own research:
Having constructed the Cozy Creek Cabin some years ago, Elizabeth Anne discovered that acquiring water service in rural Alexander, NC would be difficult and expensive. Searching for other options, she considered digging a wellshaft and pumping water upward to the cabin. Eventually she hired a dowser to visit and practice his art. Dowsers typically use either L-shaped copper “divining rods”, pendulums, or their hands to located subterranean sources of water. This ability is commonly attributed to the practitioner’s ability to perceive disturbances of telluric currents, magnetic channels naturally created by the earth’s iron core. While the existence of telluric currents is not disputed, the ability of dowsers to locate water cannot be scientifically substantiated. Experiments conducted in Germany demonstrated that dowsers located buried pipes with frequency only marginally better than random chance.
Nevertheless, the dowser reported a powerful source of water several hundred feet below the cabin. Taking a leap of faith, Elizabeth Anne decided to find someone who could drill to the proper depth.
Elizabeth Anne explained that the Appalachian Mountains are replete with subterranean rivers and lakes which grow within the mountain roots and feed the aquifer. These underground channels flow downhill just like their surface-bound counterparts, producing enormous pressures—think of Fontana Dam in Graham and Swain Counties, standing Atlas-like astride the river, holding the immense mass of water from crashing down upon the valley. This pressure is a function of simple physics known as Pascal’s Law, which demonstrates that downward pressure upon water originating from a higher elevation can subsequently pump water upwards at a lower elevation. Ancient peoples worldwide used this principle to provide pressure-fed running water to early urban centers, thus vastly improving sanitation and reducing incidence of disease. Romans first used the term aquaduct (from aqua “water” and ducere “to lead”) to describe such artificial channels. In their heyday, these structures carried over 1 million cubic meters (300 million gallons) per day into metropolitan Rome, a feat unmatched until the nineteenth century! These public works, some of which still function today, remain an iconic symbol of Roman engineering.
A local company visited Cozy Creek provide an estimate for drilling. They arrived at the cabin, which is separated from the main road by a bridge over a small rivulet. Elizabeth Anne scheduled the drilling and went traveling out of state. The drilling took place under the supervision of a friend, who reported that the dowser was wrong—the well shaft was already several hundred feet down, and there was no sign of water. Elizabeth Anne authorized the drilling to continue still deeper.
Later she received a telephone call from the friend, now reversing his report—not only was the dowser correct, but massive quantities of water were now gushing geyser-like heavenward with Herculean pressure-driven force. The drilling company explained that this phenomenon is called an artesian well.
The artesian well is a natural phenomenon, but the physics are similar to that of the aquaduct. Backed with incredible pressure, an artesian well virtually explodes when tapped. These were first used with frequency in the medieval French province of Artois, from which the well received its name. There, Carthusian Monks regularly constructed artesian wells to supply each strictly-cloistered member of the order with running water in his cell. Today, this name has been applied to central Australia’s massive, life-sustaining aquifer, the Great Artesian Basin, which is estimated to contain a staggering 64,900 cubic kilometers of fresh water.
When Elizabeth Anne returned, she stopped at Cozy Creek to see the spectacle. The water was still bursting forth with such force that installing a proper pump was both unnecessary and impossible. She called the drilling company and asked whether capping the artesian well was an option. The response was discouraging: “You can’t cap an artesian well.” She then spent days looking for someone who might have a solution. The front yard at Cozy Creek was becoming soggy.
Eventually an ingenious plan was hatched. A second pipe would be laid, diverting the excess water away to the nearby creek. The remaining pressure would be sufficient to supply the cabin with its water needs. This engineering feat accomplished, everything worked exactly as planned. As the property began to slowly dry out, the small creek became a babbling, rushing stream. Elizabeth Anne was satisfied, and guests have enjoyed Cozy Creek ever since.