DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 John Barton Payne, Secretary 
 
 United States Geological Survey 
 
 George Otis Smith, Director 
 
 WATER-SUPPLY Paper 470 
 
 GROUND WATER IN THE NORWALK, SUFFIELD, 
 
 AND GLASTONBURY AREAS 
 
 CONNECTICUT 
 
 BY 
 
 HAROLD S. PALMER 
 
 Prepared in cooperation with the 
 
 CONNECTICUT GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 
 
 Herbert E. Gregory, Superintendent 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 1920 
 
Qass. 
 Book. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/groundwaterinnorOOpalm 
 
n^ 
 
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
 
 John Barton Paynk, Secretary 
 
 United States Geological Survey 
 
 ' George Otis Smith, Director 
 
 Water-Supply Paper 470 
 
 GROUND WATER IN THE NORWALK, SUFFIELD, 
 
 AND GLASTONRURY AREAS 
 
 CONNECTICUT 
 
 BY 
 
 HAROLD S. PALMER 
 
 Prepared in cooperatioB wifh the 
 
 CONNECTICUT GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY 
 
 Herbert K. Gregory, Superintendent 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 
 1920 
 
 
i LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 I JAN261921 
 
 i DOCUMENTis UiVlSlOM 
 
 '1" 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Pagrc 
 
 Introduction 7 
 
 Problems ivlating- to water supplies in Connoctient . 7 
 
 Water-supply investij?ations S 
 
 Sourci' and charaotev of data '•) 
 
 Geography : :i_ 30 
 
 Topography 10 
 
 Xorwalk area lo 
 
 Suffield area 10 
 
 (Hastonbury ai'ea 10 
 
 Climate 11 
 
 Surface waters 12 
 
 Woodlands IT) 
 
 Population __„ 10 
 
 Geologic history 17 
 
 Water-bearing formations lo 
 
 Glacial drift 2o 
 
 Till 20 
 
 Stratified drift 22 
 
 Criteria for differentiation of till and stratified drift 24 
 
 Occurrence and ciiTulation of ground water 24 
 
 Triassic sedimentary rocks 27 
 
 Distribution 27 
 
 Lithology and stratigraphy 27 
 
 Occurrence of ground water 2s 
 
 Water in pores 2s 
 
 Water in bedding planes 2S 
 
 Water in joints 20 
 
 Water in fault zones 2!) 
 
 Trap rocks 20 
 
 Distribution 29 
 
 Lithology and occui'rence of ground water 20 
 
 Crystalline rocks 30 
 
 Distribution ^ 3(» 
 
 Lithology V><) 
 
 Schists 30 
 
 Gneisses of igneous origin 30 
 
 Gneisses' of complex origin 31 
 
 Occurrence and circulation of ground water 31 
 
 Water in lamellar spaces 31 
 
 "Water in joints and along faults 31 
 
 Limestone 32 
 
 Distribution 32 
 
 Lithology and stratigraphy 32 
 
 Occurrence of groiuid watei- 32 
 
4 CONTEXTS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Artesian (■(Hiditioiis 32 
 
 Springs 3-1 
 
 Seepage springs 34 
 
 Stratum springs ; 34 
 
 Fault and joint springs . 34 
 
 Relation of wells to springs 34 
 
 Recoverj" of ground water 35 
 
 Dug ^vells . 35 
 
 Construction 35 
 
 Lifting devices 35 
 
 Bailing devices 35 
 
 Pumps 1 36 
 
 Siphon and gravity rigs 39 
 
 Rams 39 
 
 Windmills and air-pressure tanks 40 
 
 Yields of dug wells 41 
 
 Infiltration galleries 43 
 
 Driven wells , : : 43 
 
 Drilled wells 44 
 
 Springs 46 
 
 Ground water for public supplj' 47 
 
 Introduction _i 47 
 
 Typical plants 50 
 
 Greenfield, Mass 50 
 
 Hyde Park, Mass 50 
 
 Lowell, Mass 50 
 
 Xewburyport, Mass 52 
 
 Newton, Mass 52 
 
 Plainville, Conn : 52 
 
 Quality of ground water 52 
 
 Analyses and assays . 52 
 
 Probable accuracy of analyses and assays 55 
 
 Chemical character of water ^ S'l 
 
 Interpretation of analyses and assays 57 
 
 Contamination 60 
 
 Tabulations 62 
 
 ■ Temperature of ground water ^ 
 
 Detailed descriptions of towns 66 
 
 Darien 66 
 
 New Canaan 74 
 
 Norwalk 83 
 
 Ridgefield 94 
 
 Weston 104 
 
 Westport 109 
 
 Wilton 117 
 
 East Granby 124 
 
 Enfield 131 
 
 Sufl;ield 139 
 
 Windsor Locks 148 
 
 Glastonbury ^ 152 
 
 Marlboro 161 
 
 Index 167 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page. 
 Plate I. Map of Connecticnt sli<)\\ius pbysioj^raphic divisions and areas 
 eoveri'd by wator-supply papers of the I'liited States Geo- 
 logical Survey S 
 
 II. Topographic map of the Norwalk area showing distribution of 
 
 woodlands and locations of wells and springs cited In pocket. 
 
 III. Geologic map of the Norwalk area In pocket. 
 
 IV. Topographic map of the Sullield area showing distribution of 
 
 woodlands and locations of wells and springs cited In pocket. 
 
 V. Geologic mai) of the SulHeld area In pctcket. 
 
 VI. Topographic map of the Glastonbury area showing dislribution 
 
 of woixllarids and locations of wells and springs cited In pocket. 
 
 VII. Geologic map of the Glastonbury area In pocket. 
 
 VIII. A, Estuary in Darien, Conn.; B, Section of sti'atiiietl drift, 
 
 Darien, Conn 66 
 
 IX. A, Plant of the Tokeneke Water Co., Darien. Conn.; B, Sti-ati- 
 
 tietl- drift plain, East Granby. Couu 72 
 
 X. A, Offset trap ridges near Tariffville, Conn.; i?. Flowing v.ell 
 
 drilled in sandstone, East Granby, Conn 126 
 
 XL A, Sand pit in stratilied drift, Thompsonville, Entield, Conn. ; B, 
 
 Stratilied drift overlying till, Thompsonville, Enheld, Conn 134 
 
 XII. Massive granite gneis.s, East Glastonbury. Conn 154 
 
 Figure 1. Diagram showing mean monthly precipitation at Norwalk, 
 
 Conn., 1892-1913 12 
 
 2. Diagram showing mean monthly precipitation at Hartfor<l, 
 
 Conn., 1846-1853 and 1S68-190S 13 
 
 3. Diagram showing mean monthly precipitation at ^Nliddletown. 
 
 Conn., 18r)8-1902 13 
 
 4. Diagram showing tlie usual relation of the water table to the 
 
 land surface on hills and in valleys 26 
 
 5. Diagram showing the relation of the water table on till- 
 
 covered hills to the water table in valleys of stratified drift 
 
 in glaciated regions 26 
 
 6. Diagram showing conditions under which artesian wnters 
 
 may exist in the Ti-iassic sedimentary rocks in Connecticut^ 33 
 
 7. Diagrtim showing two types of installation of "house 
 
 pumps '' 37 
 
 8. Diagram showing siphon Avell .nnd domestic waterworks 38 
 
 9. Graph showing the recovery of the well of J. S. Dewey after 
 
 pumping 40 
 
 10. Graph showing relation of inflow to drawdown in the well of 
 
 J. S. Dewey 42 
 
 11. Diagram showing two types of air lifts 45 
 
 12. Graph showing average composition of waters analyzed, 
 
 grouped according to water-bearing formations 63 
 
 5 
 
b ILLUSTEATIOFS. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Figure 13. Hypotlietical section of Long Neck Point, Darien 60 
 
 14. Profile across New Canaan (A-A' on Pis. II and III), show- 
 ing iniclulating plateau and the valleys cut below it Tt; 
 
 1.5. Profile across Eidgefield (section C-C on Pis. II and III)___ 9G 
 
 16. Projected north-south profiles across Wiltoii, shelving terraced 
 
 character of the plateau 110 
 
 17. Profile across- Wilton (section B-B' on Pis. II and -III), show- 
 
 ing dissection of the terraced plateau 110 
 
 18. Geologic section across East Granby and Suffield (section 
 
 D-D' ou PI. V) . 120 
 
GROUND WATER IN THE NORWALK, SUFFIELT), AND 
 GLASTONBURY AREAS, CONNECTICUT. 
 
 By Harold S. Palmei?. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 PROBLEMS RELATING TO WATER SUPPLIES IN CONNECTICITT. 
 
 The census of 1910 reported the popuhition of Connecticut as 
 1,114,756. The area of the State is 5,004 square miles. The average 
 density of population is therefore about 220 to the square mile, but the 
 distribution of population is markedly uneven. More than 53 per 
 cent of the inhabitants are gathered into 19 cities, each containing 
 over 10,000. The cities are rapidly increasing in population, but 
 parts of the State — about 24 per cent of the towns — are more 
 sparsely settled to-day than in 1860. To speak broadly, the people 
 of Connecticut are engaged in two occupations — manufacturing and 
 mixed agriculture. Manufacturing is increasing at a rapid rate ; 
 agriculture at a slower rate, but Avith a distinct tendency toward 
 specialization. The fine scenerj^ of parts of the State has led to the 
 development of country estates and shore homes. 
 
 As the stage of cultui-e in a region rises it is necessary progres- 
 sively to improve and increase the water supplies. Wild tribes are 
 satisfied with the waters of springs and streams. Pastoral peoples 
 need somewhat more water. Agricultural regions must have water 
 at points where it may be conveniently used ; wells are made, springs 
 are improved, and surface waters diverted to provide water at the 
 points of utilization. In some arid regions extensive works are 
 constructed to supply water for irrigation, as well as for domesti<' 
 use and for watering stock. Industrial and mercantile communities, 
 in which the population is concentrated in cities, demand a great 
 deal of water, not only for human consumption Imt also for innum- 
 erable technical purposes, such as for washing fabrics, for cooling 
 metals, and for generating steam in boilers. 
 
 An annual precipitation of 45 inches gives Connecticut in the 
 aggregate large supplies of both surface and ground water, but the 
 precipitation is sometimes deficient through periods of several weeks 
 or months. Consequently farmers must endure periods of drought, 
 
 7 
 
8 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 manufacturers iiiiist provide against fluctuating water power, and 
 the inhabitants of congested districts must arrange for adequate 
 public supplies. With increase in population and diversification of 
 interests conflicts have already arisen between water-pov/er users 
 and domestic consumers, as well as between towns, for the right 
 to use a particular stream or area. Demands are also being made 
 hj prospective users of the waters for irrigation and drainage. The 
 quality of water acquires new importance with the effort to improve 
 the healthfulness of the State and to reclaim the waters now 
 polluted by factory wastes and sewage. The necessitj^ of obtaining 
 small but unfailing supplies of potable water for the farm and for 
 the village home furnishes an additional problem, for the condition 
 of many private supplies in Connecticut is deplorable. 
 
 To meet the present situation and to provide for the future, 
 State-wide regulations should be adopted. Obviously the first step 
 in the solution of the Connecticut water problem is to make a com- 
 prehensive study of both surface and ground waters to obtain 
 answers to the following questions : How nuich water is stored in 
 the gravel and sand and bedrock of the State?. How much does 
 the amount fluctuate with the seasons? What is tlie quality of the 
 water ? How may it best be recovered in large and small amounts ? 
 What is the expense of procuring it? How much Avater may the 
 streams of the State be relied upon to furnish ? To what extent are 
 the stream waters polluted? How may the pollution be remedied? 
 To what use should each stream be devoted? What is the equitable 
 distribution of ground and surface water among the conflicting 
 claimants — industries and communities ? 
 
 WATER-SUPPLY INVESTIGATIONS. 
 
 The study of the water resources of Connecticut was begun by 
 Herbert E. Gregory in 1903 for the United States Geological Sur- 
 yej. A preliminary report was issued in 1904.^ A discussion of 
 the fundamental problems relating to the State as a whole, pub- 
 lished five years later,- meets in a broad -wnj the requirements of 
 the scientist and engineer, but it is not designed to furnish data for 
 use in a quantitative study of ultimate supply and utilization. It 
 was recognized that conditions in the State are so varied that in 
 order to obtain data of direct practical value the conditions in each 
 toAvn and so far as feasible around each farm and each village 
 should be investigated. 
 
 ' Gregory, H. E., [Notes on the wells, springs, and general water resources of] Con- 
 necticut : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 102, pp. 127^168, 1904. 
 
 2 Gregory, H. E., and Ellis, E. E., Underground M-ater resources of Connecticut: U. S. 
 Geol. SuiTey Water-Supply Paper 232, 1909. 
 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SI 
 
 WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 470 PLATE [ 
 
 r THE PRESENT 
 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 470 PLATE I 
 
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 present report water-supply papers 
 
 MAP OF CONNECTICUT SHOWINa MAIN PHYSIOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS AND AREAS TREATED IN THE PRESENT 
 AND OTHER DETAILED WATER-SUPPLY PAPERS OF THE U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
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INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 J\e;ilizin<r the inipDrtniiio dI" siuli stiulies to Connecticut, the State 
 joined with the Federal Government in order to carry on this work. 
 In 1{)11 a cooj)erative agreement was entered into by the United 
 States CTleok)gical Survey and the Ccmnecticut (leolo^ical and Natural 
 History Survey I'or the purpose of obtaining information concerning 
 the quantity and qualit}^ of waters available for municijial and 
 private uses. The investigation was placed in charge of Mr. (iregory 
 and was to be conducted through a period of two years or more, the 
 cost to be shared equally by the parties to the agreement. The work 
 has consisted in gathering information concerning public water 
 supplies; measuring the dug wells used in rural districts, and ob- 
 taining other data in regard to them; obtaining data concerning 
 drilled wells, driven wells, and springs; collecting and analyzing 
 samples of water from wells, springs, and brooks; studying the 
 character and relations of bedrock and surficial deposits with refer- 
 ence to their influence upon the ground-Avater supply. 
 
 A. J. Ellis spent the field seasons of 1911, 1912, and 1913 on this 
 work under the cooperative agreement. One report^ has been pub- 
 lished on 13 towns around Waterbury, and another- on ten towns 
 around Hartford, four around Saybrook, three around Salisbury, 
 and on Stamford, Greenwich. Windham, and Franklin. 
 
 A third repoit, the field work for whicli was done by G. A. Waring 
 in 1915, v^■ill cover six towns around Meriden and Middletown. A 
 fourth report, the field work for which was done by H. S. Palmer in 
 1914 and 1915, will cover 18 towns between Southington and Granby. 
 A fifth report on four towns in the Pomperaug Valley is in prepara- 
 tion by A. J. Ellis. 
 
 The accompanying index map (PI. I) shows the areas covered by 
 the several reports. The present report covers three areas — the Nor- 
 walk area, comprising the towns of Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, 
 Ridgefield, AVeston, Westport, and Wilton; the Suffield area, com- 
 prising the toM^ns of East Granby, Enfield, Suffield, and Windsor 
 Locks; and the Glastonbury area, comprising Glastonbury and Marl- 
 boro. 
 
 SOURCE AND CHARACTER OF DATA. 
 
 The principal well data are given in tables appended to the descrip- 
 tions of the several towns. The depths of the dug wells were 
 measured with a tape. The information as to depth to rock in wells, 
 consumption of water, and fluctuations and reliableness of supplies 
 
 1 Ellis, A. J., Ground water in the Waterbury area, Conn. : U. S. Geol. Survey Water- 
 Supply Paper 397, 1916. 
 
 ^Gregory, H. E., and Ellis, A. .!., Ground water in tlie Hartford, Stamford, Salisbury, 
 Willimantic, and Saybrook areas, Conn. : D. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supplv Paper 374, 
 1916. 
 
10 GROUISTD WATER II>T jSTOEWALK AKD OTHER AREAS, CONE". 
 
 is in general based on statements by well owners. The elevations of 
 Avells and springs were taken from the contour maps. The statements 
 as to yield of drilled wells are based on tests made by the drillers 
 when the wells were completed and reported by the owners. Informa- 
 tion concerning the flow of a few springs was obtained by measure- 
 ment of the overflow, the yield of others was computed from measure- 
 ments of the velocity and cross section of the streams issuing from 
 them, and the yield of still others was estimated by the ©wners. The 
 kindness of well owners, superintendents of water works, and. others 
 in supplying information has been great. The information thus 
 obtained is acknowledged with thanks. Free use has been made of 
 the technical literature dealing with water supplies, and credit is 
 given for specific facts taken from such sources, but the report con- 
 tains also material gathered from the reports of previous investiga- 
 tions, some of which can not well be attributed to any one author, 
 
 GEOGRAPHY. 
 TOPOGRAPHY. 
 
 Connecticut comprises three phj^siographic divisions, as shown in 
 Plate I — an eastern highland, a western highland, underlain by 
 resistant crystalline rocks, and an intervening central lowland, which 
 is underlain by relatively soft sedimentary rocks. 
 
 Nortooik area. — The Norwalk area is in the seaward portion of 
 the western highland. It rises rather gradually northward from 
 sea level at the south, and its highest point is Pine Mountain, in the 
 northern part of Ridgefield, 1,060 feet above the sea. Except near the 
 shore there is very little level ground, and the region comprises 
 I'idges and valleys running north and south. The ridge crests ap- 
 proximate in elevation a southward or southeastward sloping plane 
 and mark an old plateau below which the streams have incised their 
 vail.ej'^s. The general southerly trend of the streams is due to the 
 southerly tilt of the surface. 
 
 Eu-f^leld area. — The Suffield area is in the central lowland, adjoins 
 Massachusetts, and is crossed by Connecticut Eiver. It is for the 
 most part a nearly level plain, 120 to 280 feet above sea level, above 
 which rise elevations of two types— (1) low, rounded hills with 
 cores of sandstone and cappings of glacial till, and (2) high, long 
 ridges due to the resistance to erosion of upturned sheets of trap rock. 
 
 Gla^onhury a/rea.. — The Glastonbury area is in part in the central 
 lowland and in part in the eastern highland. The lowland portion 
 comprises the north v/est quarter of the town of Glastonbury and is a 
 plain similar to the plain of the Suffield area. The highland portion 
 comprises most of Glastonbury and all of Marlboro. It is in general 
 
ck()<;i;ai'm V. 
 
 11 
 
 .similaf to Ihc Norwalk area in ((>[)oiirai)liy, but the trend ol' the 
 ri(.lj>vs and \ alleys is less imiforni. 
 
 CLIMATE. 
 
 Tlic ()iiLstandin<>' features ol" the climate ol" Connecticut are the 
 hitili huini(hty. the usual iiiiifonnity of precipitation throuj>hout the 
 year, and the rehitively great length of the Avinter.^ The winters 
 hist five or six months, and sj)ring. summer, and autumn are crowded 
 into the remainder of tlic year. Spring is l)rief, but summer is longer 
 and well defined and with the excei)tion of short hot waves is \Qvy 
 pleasant. The autumn is delightful, as it has many warm days with 
 cool nights. The spring comes so quickly that the snow melts rapidly 
 and sometimes makes strong freshets. The winds are prevailingly 
 westerly, but in JNIay and June there is a good deal of east wind. 
 
 The Weather Bureau maintains no stations within the areas here 
 treated, but the data given for New Haven nearly represent the con- 
 ditions in the Norwalk area, those for Hartford the conditions in the 
 SufHeld area, and those for Middletown the conditions in the Glaston- 
 bury area. It is probable, however, that in parts of the Norwalk and 
 (Tlastonbury areas the climate may be a little colder and the rainfall 
 slightly greater because of greater elevation. Some of the more im- 
 portant data for the three stations mentioned are given in the follow- 
 ing table : 
 
 CUmat'w daid for Ncir Haven, Hartford, and Mkldlelmvn, Conn. 
 
 [From U. S. Weather Biir. Bui!. W., section 105, 1912.] 
 
 TcmperaturG(° F.'): 
 
 Mean annual 
 
 Maximiun 
 
 Minimum 
 
 Precipitation (incxies): 
 
 Mean annual 
 
 Mean annual snowfall 
 
 Frosts: 
 
 First killing (average date) 
 Last killing (average date) , 
 
 Earliest recorded 
 
 Latest recorded 
 
 New 
 Haven. 
 
 Uart- 
 ford. 
 
 'i9. 5 
 101 
 
 -14 
 
 48.5 
 98 
 -20 
 
 45. 89 
 40.3 
 
 44.30 
 47.2 
 
 Oct. 17 
 Apr. 20 
 
 Sept. 28 
 May 17 
 
 Oct. 10 
 Apr. 28 
 Sept. 19 
 May 12 
 
 Middle- 
 town. 
 
 48. 7 
 10.3 
 -15 
 
 49. 25 
 51.7 
 
 Oct. 2 
 Apr. 27 
 Sept. 19 
 May 12 
 
 The precipitation in Connecticut is in general abundant, though 
 sometimes there occur more or less protracted summer droughts. 
 The following tables are summaries of longer tables and show the 
 average, maximum, and minimum monthly precipitation at various 
 points in or near the areas under consideration. 
 
 1 Summaries of climatological data of the United States, hy sections : V. S. Dept. Agr. 
 Weather Bureau Bull. W, section 105, 1012. 
 
12 GEOUXD "WATER IN NOEWALK A'SB OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 Suinmai-y of month]}/ precipitation at points in Connecticut. 
 Norwalk, 1892-1913." 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Apr. 
 
 May. 
 
 .Tune. 
 
 July. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Year. 
 
 
 3.44 
 
 0.48 
 1.04 
 
 3.60 
 
 7.08 
 .49 
 
 4.35 
 
 8.55 
 1.22 
 
 3.62 
 7. SO 
 
 .77 
 
 4.09 
 
 8.53 
 
 .07 
 
 2.76 
 
 10. 54 
 
 .56 
 
 3.87 
 10.12 
 
 .83 
 
 5.10 
 
 11.38 
 
 .37 
 
 3.63 
 
 7.87 
 .98 
 
 4.03 
 9.09 
 
 .68 
 
 3.56 
 
 8.86 
 .95 
 
 3.84 
 
 8.58 
 
 .92 
 
 45.89 
 
 Maximum . . 
 
 57.85 
 
 
 34.88 
 
 
 
 Hartlord, 1846-1853, 1868-1908.'' 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Apr. 
 
 May. 
 
 June. 
 
 July. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Year. 
 
 
 3.47 
 8.48 
 1.08 
 
 3.43 
 
 8.28 
 .50 
 
 4.00 
 9.38 
 1.00 
 
 3.14 
 11.17 
 
 .74 
 
 3.55 
 
 3.32 
 
 4.30 
 15.14 
 1.33 
 
 4.59 
 
 10.27 
 
 .90 
 
 3.08 
 
 10.88 
 
 .25 
 
 3.85 
 
 13.33 
 
 .60 
 
 3.64 
 8.29 
 
 .74 
 
 3.33 
 9.34 
 
 .67 
 
 44.30 
 
 Maximum 
 
 9.10 10.81 
 .20 .15 
 
 56.36 
 33.64 
 
 
 
 
 
 Middletown, 1858-1902.'' 
 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. Mar. 
 
 Apr. 
 
 May. 
 
 Jmie. 
 
 July. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Avera.se 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Minimum 
 
 4.22 
 9.24 
 1.45 
 
 4.. 33 
 
 7.56 
 
 . 63 
 
 4.74 3.53 
 9.49 13.37 
 1.12 1 1.09 
 
 1 
 
 3. 88 3.31 
 
 8.05 8.05 
 
 .22 .39 
 
 4.. 51 
 13.43 
 1.10 
 
 4.85 
 10.22 
 1.16 
 
 3. 67 
 
 11.64 
 
 .49 
 
 4.05 
 
 14.51 
 
 .89 
 
 4.26 
 
 9.50 
 
 .75 
 
 3.90 
 11.18 
 1.20 
 
 49.25 
 68.77 
 37.08 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a Oroodnough, X. H., Rainfall in New England: New England Waterwcflcs Assoc. Jour., Sept., 1915. 
 t U. S. Dept. Agr. AV earlier Bureau Bull. AV, section 105, 1912. 
 
 JAN. FEB. MAR. APR, MAY JUNE. JULY AUf. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC 
 
 FiGri:i; 1. — Diagram sliowing mean monthly precipitation at Norwalk, Conn., 1892-1913. 
 
 Fioures 1, 2, and 3 are graphic representations of the data given in 
 the aljove tables. 
 
 SUilFACE WATERS. 
 
 The iNTorwalk area is drained for the most part by streams 15 to 
 20 miles louff tributary to Long Island Somid, but a little of the 
 
GEOar^APTIY. 
 
 13 
 
 iioithorn part is (IraiiuHl by tributaries of lliidsoii Kivoi-. T\n\ 
 Siidicld area is drained entirely to the Connect iciil. 'i'iie (llaston- 
 
 JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUNE JULY AU6. SEPT. OCT. NOV. DEC- 
 
 I'iGiitE -. — Diagr.-im showing nicnn monthly precipitation .\t Il.iitfoid, Conn,, 1,S4(»-1853 
 
 and 186.S-1008. 
 
 bnry area is in part drained by westward-flow ino- streams directly 
 iribntary to Connecticut River and in part by southward-flowing 
 
 JAN. FEB. MAR. APR. MAY JUNE. JULY AUG, SEPT, OCT NOV. DEC. 
 
 Fku'uk 3. — Diagram .showing mean niontlily pn'cipitation .it MidtUctown. roni\.. l.s."').S-1002. 
 
 streams that enter Salmon Eiver, whicli joins the Connecticut at 
 East Haddam. In tlie XorAvalk area and in the highland portion 
 of the Glastonbury area there are many lakes and ponds. Some 
 
14 
 
 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN, 
 
 of the swamps are former water bodies tliat have been filled w^itli 
 sediment. 
 
 When water falls, as rain or snow, a part evaporates, another 
 part enters the ground, and a part flows off in streams. Some of 
 the gi'ound water eventually returns to the surface in springs, seeps, 
 and swamps and enters the streams. Some is lost by evaporation, and 
 b}^ transpiration of trees and other plants. The ratio of run-off 
 to rainfall varies greatly, as it depends on many factors, including 
 the rate of precipitation, its distribution throughout the year, the 
 character and thickness of the soil, steepness of slopes, abundance of 
 vegetable growth, amount of frost, and character and structure of the 
 rocks. 
 
 The following tables give some idea of the amount and variations 
 of the run-off in two basins in Connecticut : 
 
 Monthly run-off of Pomperaug River at Bennetts Bridge and precipitation in 
 Pomperaug drainage basin. '^ 
 
 [Drainage area 89.3 square miles.] 
 
 Month. 
 
 Precipi- 
 tation 
 (inclies). 
 
 Run-off. 
 
 Inclies on 
 
 drainage 
 
 basin. 
 
 Percent 
 of precipi- 
 tation. 
 
 1913. 
 
 August 
 
 September 
 
 October 
 
 November 
 
 December 
 
 191-1. 
 
 January 
 
 February _ 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 June ■ _ 
 
 July 
 
 August 
 
 September 
 
 October 
 
 November 
 
 December 
 
 1915. 
 
 January 
 
 February 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 July 
 
 August 
 
 September 
 
 Year, October, 1913, to September, 1914 . 
 22 months for which tlie run-oil is given 
 
 3.19 
 3.53 
 9.66 
 3.05 
 
 2.72 
 
 2.15 
 2.14 
 5.63 
 4. 35 
 3.19 
 2.83 
 5.91 
 3.66 
 .36 
 3.31 
 3.37 
 2.82 
 
 6.21 
 5.70 
 .15 
 1.59 
 3.37 
 2.01 
 6.31 
 8.09 
 2.94 
 
 45. 65 
 80.20 
 
 0.25 
 .35 
 2.57 
 2.73 
 2.24 
 
 1.33 
 
 .58 
 
 4.32 
 
 2.94 
 
 2.35 
 
 .63 
 
 .70 
 
 .45 
 
 .20 
 
 .51 
 
 1.61 
 
 1.60 
 
 1.21 
 
 .45 
 
 .78 
 
 1.79 
 
 .92 
 
 38.95 
 48.41 
 
 6.8 
 
 9.9 
 
 26.6 
 
 89.5 
 
 81.7 
 
 61.8 
 27.1 
 76.6 
 67.5 
 73.6 
 22.3 
 11.3 
 12.3 
 55.6 
 
 14.8 
 
 1,070.0 
 100.6 
 35.9 
 22.4 
 12.4 
 22.1 
 31.3 
 
 85.4 
 60.4 
 
 oData obtained from unpublished report by A. J. Ellis, U. S. Geol. Survey. 
 
GEOCiltAPH V 
 
 15 
 
 I'l If ii)it(tti<i)i iiikI niii-dff ill lloHsiitonic ilidiiiai/c ha-siii iiborc ddnhinlavillc, 
 Co, UK. t'.KU-t'l'l.l. iiinl 1>)<Hi-l*)0'.i." 
 
 [!'i:iiimi;.' 
 
 ', I .iilO s([iiaio mi'.os. 
 
 
 Piecipi- 
 
 tatioii 
 
 (inches). 
 
 ■Run 
 
 TiU'lios oil 
 
 <li'aina;,'r 
 
 busiii. 
 
 o/r. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Ppr cent 
 
 of ])rocipi- 
 tution. 
 
 1901 
 
 56.94 
 61.43 
 f)6. &5 
 46.31 
 55. 80 
 40.26 
 44. 75 
 
 29. 65 
 38. 62 
 .■59. 6.5 
 22.17 
 29.47 
 19. 67 
 19.^5 
 
 52.1 
 
 1902 
 
 (>2. 9 
 
 i9o:i . 
 
 69. 8 
 
 1906 
 
 47.0 
 
 1907 
 
 52.9 
 
 1908 . 
 
 48.8 
 
 1909 
 
 44.4 
 
 
 
 oCompiled from Gregory, H. E., and Ellis, E. E., Undcrground-vt'ater resources of Connecticut: U. S. 
 (ipnl. Siirvpv Water-Snppiv Paper 232, p. 29, 1909; and from Surface-water supply of tlie I'nited States, 
 1907-8 Parti, and 1909, Part I: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Papers 241 and 261. 
 
 Tlu> Tenth Census i-epor( on water power gives figures taken from 
 various sources concerning the ratio of run-off to precipitation in a 
 nnmlver of drainage basins. The data for four of these basins in 
 the nortlieast-ern United States are summarized in the following 
 tal)le : 
 
 Prrcii)itafif)ii <nuJ nin-off in ccrtfiiii (lidiinn/c Jidxiiis- in ihc Dorfhrasimi T^iiilcfl 
 
 Basin. 
 
 Area c.( 
 
 basin 
 
 (square 
 
 miles). 
 
 Length ol 
 record 
 
 (years). 
 
 Aiinua! 
 precipi- 
 tation 
 (inches). 
 
 Average run-cff (per cent ' f 
 precipitatirni. 
 
 Mean. 
 
 Maxi- 
 mum. 
 
 Mini- 
 mum. 
 
 Connecticut River above Hartford 
 
 10,234 
 78 
 
 20.37 
 339 
 
 7 
 5 
 
 13' 
 
 42.7 
 46.1 
 50 
 
 ■!9. 79 
 
 62.? 
 47.6 
 62. 9 
 
 .56. 5 
 
 
 
 Sudbury River 
 
 1 
 
 West Branch of Croton River. . 
 
 
 Crcton River 
 
 
 
 
 
 "Months. 
 
 The difference in the per cent of run-off' from tlie basin of the West 
 Branch of Croton River and from the whole Croton drainage }>asin 
 is due to the fact that tlie former is a steep, rocky, thin-soiled, and 
 relatively untilled region, Avhereas tlie latter includes much flat-lying 
 and cultivated land and therefore absorbs more of the rain. 
 
 WOODLANDS. 
 
 The woodlands of the Xorwalk area occupy aoout 38 per cent of 
 the total area and for the most part comprise deciduous tree species. 
 The most prominent trees are oak, hickory, chestnut, elm, maple, 
 beech, and birch, with a few conifers. The Avoods are more abundant 
 away from the Sound shore. The three shore towns, Darien, Nor- 
 
16 
 
 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 walk, and Westport, are about 25 per cent ATooded, and tlie four in- 
 land towns, New Canaan, Ridgefield, Weston, and Wilton, are about 
 45 per cent wooded. 
 
 The Suffield area is about 38 per cent wooded, and its most cleared 
 portions lie along Connecticut River. ]\Iany of the stands on the 
 loAvland plains comprise chie% white and yelloAT pine and scrub oak, 
 with an undergrowth of sweet fern and " poverty " grass. The flora 
 on the hills is of the deciduous type like that of the Xorwalk area. 
 
 The Glastonbury area is about 63 per cent wooded and contains 
 chiefly deciduous trees. There are extensive cleared tracts along 
 Connecticut River, but the eastern part of the area is nearly all 
 wooded. The town of Marlboro is about 80 per cent wooded. 
 
 In these areas, as throughout other parts of Connecticut, a great 
 amount of cordwood and a good deal of lumber are produced. The 
 manner of cutting has heretofore been very wasteful, and few at- 
 tempts at reforestation have been made. Cut-over lands have been 
 allowed to grow up with sprout and staddle, and the woodlands have 
 in consequence deteriorated steadily. In the last decade, however, 
 there has been some sj^stematic planting of forest trees, and the cut- 
 ting has been a little less ruthless. The wood crop would be very 
 profitable Avere the industry prosecuted in a proper manner, as the 
 soil is in general veiy good, and if given a chance will mature most 
 kinds of trees sufficiently for the market in 20 or 30 years. 
 
 POPULATION. 
 
 Population of certain, toirns in Connecticvt. 
 
 
 Area 
 
 (square 
 miles). a 
 
 Population. & 
 
 Towa. 
 
 1900 
 
 1910 
 
 Per cent 
 gain. 
 
 Inhabit- 
 ants per 
 square 
 
 mile, 
 
 1910. 
 
 Norwalk area: 
 
 Dai'ien 
 
 12.63 
 22.86 
 22,68 
 35.44 
 20.27 
 19.63 
 28.08 
 
 17. 72 
 34. 25 
 43.31 
 8.15 
 
 .54. 16 
 22.97 
 
 3,116 
 2,968 
 19,932 
 2,626 
 840 
 4,017 
 1,598 
 
 684 
 6,699 
 3, 521 
 3,062 
 
 4.260 
 '322 
 
 3,946 
 3,667 
 24,211 
 3,118 
 831 
 4,259 
 1,706 
 
 797 
 9,719 
 3,841 
 3,715 
 
 4,796 
 302 
 
 27 
 24 
 21 
 19 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 17 
 
 45 
 
 9 
 
 21 
 
 13 
 
 312 
 
 
 160 
 
 Norwalk . . . 
 
 1,068 
 
 Ridgefield 
 
 88 
 
 
 42 
 
 Westport 
 
 217 
 
 Wilton 
 
 61 
 
 Sufliold area: 
 
 East Granbv 
 
 45 
 
 Enfield ' . 
 
 284 
 
 Suffield.- 
 
 89 
 
 
 456 
 
 Crlastonbury area: 
 
 89 
 
 Marlboro. . 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 a Areas mcasm-ed wth planimeter on topographic maps. 
 
 b Population figures from Connecticut State Register and Manual, 1919. 
 
 c Loss of 1 per cent. 
 
 (i Loss of 6 per cent. 
 
GROU^n) WATER IX XORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 17 
 
 GEOI.OOH IIISI<^I?V. 
 
 Very little i^=: Icnowii of tlio oai-jy £io<)l()oic history of ("onneeticut, 
 for the rocks are veiy old and havo suti'ei'ed .so many changes that 
 the evidence given by them is almost impossible to interpret. It is 
 certain that in ))re-C'anibiian and early Paleozoic time sediments 
 were deposited. The earliest were sands, muds, and clays, which 
 became consolidated to form sandstone and shale, bnt later some 
 limestone was deposited. Xo fossils have l)een found in these rocks, 
 but they have been referred to the late Cambrian and early Ordovi- 
 cian bj'- studj'ing the relative positions of the formations and by 
 tracing them into )egions where more evidence is to be had. Sedi- 
 ments were also deposited during the Carboniferous and very prob- 
 al)ly in the intervening periods as well. 
 
 Toward the end of tlie Paleozoic era there were several great 
 mountain-building disturbances, characterized by compression of 
 the earth's crust in an east-west direction and the intrusion of vast 
 quantities of igneous rock. To the mashing and intrusion is due 
 the change of the old shales and sandstones to the schist and gneisses 
 of the Xoi'walk area and the highland portion of the Glastonbury 
 area. The change of tlie Cambrian and Ordovician limestone to a 
 coarse marble (Stockbridge dolomite) was brought about by the 
 same process. The igneous rocks, in large part, were also crushed 
 and converted to gneisses. 
 
 During Triassic time the mountains were deeply eroded and much 
 of the debris was deposited in a troughlike valley in central Connecti- 
 cut, making the sedimentary rocks of tlie Suffield area and the low- 
 land portion of the Glastonbury area. These rocks are for the most 
 j)art red sandstones, shales, and conglomerates, but they include some 
 dark bituminous shales and green and gray limy shales. In some 
 places in the red rocks there are footprints of reptiles, both large and 
 small, and a few of their bones have also been found. The footprints 
 and bones have been identified as belonging to Triassic reptiles. Re- 
 Tuains of fishes are found in places in the bituminous shales and fur- 
 ther prove the age of these beds to be Triassic. 
 
 The deposition of the Triassic sediments was interrupted three 
 times by the gentle eruption of basaltic lava, which spread out across 
 the wide valley floor and which now^ forms the trap ridges between 
 the Farmington and Connecticut valleys, in part in the Suffield area. 
 Into the buried sediments were also intruded other masses of basaltic 
 lava that formed sills and dikes, such as the sill of Manitick Moun- 
 tain, in the western part of Suffield. Subsequently (in Jurassic 
 tiriieO the flat-lying sedimentary rocks and the intercalated trap 
 sheets were broken into blocks by a series of faults that in general 
 
 154444^—20 2 
 
18 GEOUiSTD WATER IjST NOEWALK AI^D OTHEE. AEEAS^ CONIsr. 
 
 cut diagonally across the lowland in a northeasterly' direction. Each 
 block was rotated so that its southeast margin v,'as depressed and its 
 northwest margin elevated. 
 
 There is no sedimentary record of the interval between the Triassic 
 period and the glacial epoch, but the erosion that took place then has 
 left its mark. During- the Cretaceous period the great block moun- 
 tains formed b_y the faulting T\"ere almost completely worn away. It 
 is believed hj Davis ^ and others that during part of Cretaceous time 
 the sea advanced over Connecticut as far as Hartford, and that the 
 submerged area was covered with marine sediments. No such marine 
 beds have been found, however, and the only e^'idence of such an in- 
 cursion of the sea is indirect. Most of the streams in this region 
 flow southward, but parts of the larger ones have sontheasterly 
 courses. This condition could be explained, by assnmdng that when 
 the postulated Cretaceons beds were raised they were tilted a little 
 to the southeast and the streams across them took southeastward 
 conrses. The more vigorous streams according to this hypothesis 
 were able to cut their southeasterty channels into the diseordsnt rock 
 surface ]3elaw the Cretaeeons deposits, whereas. the smaller streams 
 were turned back to the old channels which existed before the Creta- 
 ceous sedimentation ocemrre^ and which, it is assumed, ra;n south- 
 ward. 
 
 It Avas noted by Pereival ^ that the highlands may be regarded as 
 " extensive plateaus " which " present, when viewed from an elevated 
 point of their surface, the appearance of a general level, with, rolling 
 or undulating outline, over which the view often extends to a very 
 great distainee, interrupted onfy hj isolated s^maanits- of riclge&, usually 
 of small extent." Rice ^ has described the phenomeBon as follows: 
 
 If we should imagine a sheet of pasteboard resting upon the summits of the 
 highest eievations of Litchfield Comnty and slopiaig soiitheastward.: in an in- 
 elined plaiae^, that irioaginary slieet of pasteboard, would rest on n.earlj'- all the 
 STimmits oi' both the eastern and western highlands. 
 
 Barrell * has shown, however, that th.e hilltops approximate not 
 an inclined plane but a stairlike succession of nearly horizontal 
 planes, each a few hundred feet lower than the next one to the north. 
 Traces of these terraces are fotmd in m^any parts of both the eastern 
 and western highlands of Connecticut, but ai'e not discernible in the 
 lowlands. Figure 1& (p. 119) is a compasite projection of north- 
 south profiles of hilltops and ridge crests of a part of the Norwalk 
 
 1 Davis, W. M.,, The Triassic fo-rmation of Connecticut : T^. S. G«ol. Survey Eigliteenth 
 Ann. Kept., pt. 2. p. 105, 1898. 
 
 - Pei'cival, J. C4., Eepo-rt o® the geology o£ Connecticut, p. 477, 1842. 
 
 "Rice, W. X., and Gregory, H. E., Manual of the geology of Connecticut: Connecticut 
 GeoT. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 6, p. 20, 1906. 
 
 ■^ Barrell, Josepla,. Piedmont terraces of the- northern Appalachi-ins- and their origin : 
 Geol. Soc. America Bull., vol. 24, pp. 688-601, 191.3. 
 
tiKOLOi.lC IIJSTOKV. 19 
 
 ;irea ;iml shows three more or less \vell-(k>\eh>|)(Ml phiij*js determined 
 by the concordant elevations. 
 
 The rocks of this plateau arc the roots of mountains tliut stood 
 tJu-ri' in late Paleozoic ajid early jMcsozoic time and that were 
 eventually Moru away. Erosion prochiccd a more or less smooth 
 inclined i)lajie or s-eries of level planes which when uplii'tcd con- 
 stituted the plateau surface. Since the uplift erosion has deeply 
 trenched the plateau u)itil only a small part of its original surface is 
 preserved. 
 
 During- the Pleistocene or glacial epoch the continental ice sheet 
 tliat overrode most of the northern United States covered the whole 
 of New England. It was of great thickness, and as it moved slowly 
 southward it remodeled the topography !>y sci'aping away the de- 
 cayed rock accumulated at the surface, by breaking oft and grinding 
 down projecting lodges of rock, and by redepositing the debris. The 
 major featuies of the topography v.erc left unchanged, but tlie de- 
 tails were greatly altered. In general the relief was decreased. The 
 soil mantle was replaced by glacial drift of two tyjjes — till and 
 stratified drift. The till, v.hich A\as deposited directly by the ice, is 
 of moderate thickness, and its surface is similar to the surface of 
 tlie underlying bedrock but somewliat smoother. The stratified drift, 
 wliich Avas deposited by the streams that flowed out from the glacial 
 ice. tilled tlio larger valleys to a considerable extent, making broad 
 ])lains. 
 
 During the recent epoch there has been no considerable change in 
 ii)e topography. Small amounts of alluvium have been deposited 
 in valleys, some swamps have been filled, and some lakes have been 
 changed to swamps by being fdled witli sediment. Tliere has been 
 slight erosion over the whole region, but the changes are in genera! 
 imperceptible save for the terracing of stratified-drift deposits in the 
 larger valleys. 
 
 WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS. 
 
 The water-bearing formations of Connecticut may be divided into 
 two classes — bedrock and glacial drift. The bedrocks are the under- 
 lying consolidated, firm rocks, such as schist, granite, trap, and sand- 
 stone, and they are exposed at the surface only as small, scattereci 
 outcrops. The glacial drift comprises the unconsolidated, loose ma- 
 terials such as sand, clay, and till that occur at the surface in most 
 of the State and overlie the bedrocks. These materials are by far 
 the more important source of ground water and are of two chief 
 varieties — till, also known as "hardpan" or "boulder clay," and 
 stratified drift, also known as '* modified drift " or " glacial outwash.'' 
 
 On the geologic maps (Pis. III. V, and VII) are shown the areas 
 occupied by the two principal tyi)es of ghn ial drift as well as the 
 
20 GEOUIs^D WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 outcrops of bedrock. The Triassic sandstone (including" also shale 
 and conglomerate), the trap rocks, the limestone, and the crystalline 
 rocks are differentiated by color on the maps, but no attempt was 
 made to separate the varieties of the crystalline rocks. The rock out- 
 crops are indicated as small patches, which have roughly the shape 
 of the actual outcrops but most of which are disproportionately large 
 because of the small scale of the map. Inasmuch as in the field work 
 it was necessary to follow the roads, many outcrops in the spaces 
 between roads may have been unmapped. 
 
 GLACIAL DRIFT. 
 TILL. 
 
 Till, which is an ice-laid deposit, forms a mantle over tlie bedrock 
 of much of Connecticut. Its thickness is in general from 10 to 4:0 
 feet but in places reaches 80 feet. The average thickness of the till 
 penetrated by 56 drilled wells in the areas under discussion is 24 feet. 
 
 The till is composed of a matrix of the pulverized and granulated 
 fragments of the rocks over which the ice sheet passed and of larger 
 pieces of the same rocks embedded in the matrix. The principal 
 minerals are quartz, clay, feldspar, and mica, but small amounts of 
 their decomposition products and of other minerals are also found. 
 There has been but little chemical disintegration and decomposition 
 of the till, and it has in general a blue-gray color. Near the surface, 
 however, where the iron-bearing constituents of the matrix have been 
 weathered, j;he color is yellow or brown. ^Vliere the material is in 
 large part derived from the red Triassic rocks the till has a reel- 
 brown to red color. The boulders of the till are characterized by 
 their peculiar subangular shapes with polished and striated facets. 
 Many of the boulders have facets that are in part concave where 
 spalls have been flaked off as the boulders were pressed together in 
 the ice. The boulders are very abundant and are scattered over the 
 fields and in cut banks. As a rule, a number of different varieties 
 of rocks are represented in any one place. 
 
 Some of the till, particularly that part below the weathered zone, 
 is very tough, as is indicated by the popular term "hardpan" often 
 applied to it. The toughness is in part due to its having been thor- 
 oughly compacted by the great weight of the ice sheets, and in part 
 to the interlocking of the sharp and angular grains. It seems prob- 
 able that the more soluble constituents of the matrix have to some 
 extent been dissolved by the ground water and have been redeposited 
 in such a way as to cement the particles together. 
 
 The relative amounts of the different sizes of material are shown in 
 the following table.^ The material treated by mechanical analysis 
 
 » Dorsey, C. W., ^nd Bonsteel, J. A., Soil survey in the Connecticut Valley : U. S. Dep-t. 
 Agr. Div. Soils Field Operations for 1899, p. 131, 1900. 
 
\VATi;i;-Bi:Aii i -n >. ; J( )H.mations. 
 
 21 
 
 is the fine earth that roniained after the coarse gravel and bouUlers 
 luul hoon reniu\ed. The lirst three analyses n'i)re^ent till derived 
 in large part from Triassic sandstone and shales; the fourth a till 
 derived from crystalline rocks. The boulders and pebbles mixed 
 with the fine eartli (tlic matrix) constitute from 5 to 50 per cent or 
 ('\ en more of the total vohimc. 
 
 Mahuniial <tu<ilijxi s of t<tij>iy loams (tiU .so/7.s). 
 
 milliineters. 
 
 »ira\('] 
 
 C;iarse sand . . . 
 Medium sand.. 
 
 Fine mmi 
 
 VtTV fine sand. 
 8il*: 
 
 Fine silt 
 
 Clay 
 
 Iy()ss by drying at. UoT. 
 Loss on ignition 
 
 2-1 
 
 1-0. .5 
 
 0. .5-0. 2 
 
 0. 25-0. 1.5 
 
 0. 1-0. 0.5 
 
 0. a5-0. 01 
 
 0. 01-0. Oft5 
 
 0. 00.5-0. 0001 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 12.4.5 
 
 5.26 
 
 3.3.5 
 
 11.86 
 
 8.66 
 
 S.60 
 
 13. 98 
 
 18. 83 
 
 31.2.5 
 
 14. 7.S 
 
 21.00 
 
 34.22 
 
 17. .51 
 
 IS. 83 
 
 4.3-5 
 
 S.20 
 
 8.70 
 
 6.20 
 
 8.67 
 
 .5.30 
 
 (i. .57 
 
 10.23 
 
 10. 87 
 
 1.36 
 
 1.04 
 
 1.01 
 
 2.03 
 
 l.(J9 
 
 1.77 
 
 3. o."; 
 
 3.8.5 
 8.22 
 11.. 53 
 29.82 
 21.26 
 6.45 
 12.20 
 1.54 
 2.35 
 
 1. Stony loam fixini Triassic rocks half a milo south ol Bloomlielil, Conn. 
 
 2. Stony loam from 'Trias.sic rock-:, Enfuld, Conn. 
 
 3. Stony loam from Trins.sic rocks 13 miks south of Hazard villo. Conn. 
 
 4. Stony loam from cr\stalline rocks 2 miles south of Ash]cy^"ille, Mass. 
 
 The water-bearing capacity of tlie till is difficult to estimate for 
 any large area because of its extreme variability. A small sample 
 may be tested by drying it well, then soaking it in water until it is 
 saturated, and finall}^ allowing the excess to drain away. A com- 
 ]>arison of the weight after drying with the final weight will show 
 how much water has been absorbed. Gregory ^ made such an experi- 
 ment on a typical mass of till collected near New Haven, Conn., and 
 determined that 1 cubic foot could absorb about 3.45 quarts of water. 
 In other words, the till is able to absorb water to the extent of 11.55 
 per cent of its total volume. Other samples would undoubtedly 
 show higher and lower results, but this is prol»ably not far from the 
 average. 
 
 The pores of the till are relatively small, so that water does not 
 soak into it very rapidly. On the other hand, the pores are very 
 numerous and are able in the aggregate to hold a good deal of water, 
 as shown above. The fineness of the pores is a disadvantage in 
 that it makes absorption slow\ but it is at the same time an advantage 
 in that it retards the loss of water by seepage. The till of Con- 
 necticut is more pervious than that of many other glaciated regions, 
 because the hard, resistant rocks from which it w^as largely derived 
 yielded grains of quartz and other siliceous minerals rather than 
 fine rock flour. 
 
 ' Gregory, II. E., and Ellis. E. E., Undorirrounrl-water sources of Connecticut ; U. S. 
 Geol. Survey Watei-Supply Paper 232, p. 139, 1900. 
 
22 GROUiNl) WATER IX aSTOEWALK , AI\D OTHER AREAS, COjSriT. 
 
 At many places there are lenses or irregular masses of water- 
 washed and stratified material within the unsorted and iinstratified 
 till. These were presumably deposited by subgiacial streams that 
 existed but a short time before they were diverted or cut off by the 
 forward movement of the ice sheet. The lenses are of considerable 
 value where they happen to be cut by a well, as they in effect increase 
 the area of till tributary to the well and so a,ugment its supply. 
 Well diggers often report that at a certain depth they " struck a 
 spring." Such reports probably refer to cutting into lenses of this 
 type. 
 
 The till has no striking topographic expression. The plastering 
 action of the ice sheet by which it was deposited tended to give it a 
 generally smooth, surface. In a very few places there are ridges 
 or terrace-shaped masses of till built as lateral moraines along the 
 flanks of tongues of ice that protruded beyond the front of the main 
 ice sheet. In many places the till was heaped up beneath the ice 
 sheet to form drumlins^^ much as sand bars are built in river chan- 
 nels. The drurnlins are gently rounded hills and may or may not 
 have cores of solid rock. 
 
 STRATIFIED DRIFT. 
 
 In contrast with the till, which was formed by direct ice action, 
 is the stratified drift, a water-laid deposit. Stratified drift may 
 have originated either v/ithin, on, under, or in front of the ice 
 sheet. In Connecticut only subgiacial and extragiacial stratified 
 drift are found, and except for their topographic expression these 
 two types are very similar. 
 
 Stratified drift is composed of the washed and well-sorted, re- 
 worked constituents of the till together with some debris made hj 
 the weathering and erosion of bedrock. The water that did the 
 work was for the most part the melted ice from the glacier. Since 
 glacial time the streams have in places added to the deposits of 
 stratified drift, but elsewhere and probably to a greater extent they 
 have eroded and removed parts of those deposits. The distinction 
 between the glacial stratified drift and the more recent stream allu- 
 vium is hard to draw, and although the latter is a little less clean 
 and yields a little less water, the distinction need not be drawn for 
 a ground-water study. The mapping and separation of mappable 
 units within the glacial drift in this report is based in large part 
 on the capacity of the material for carrying' water. A different 
 basis of mapping might be used in a report made for some other 
 purpose, 
 
 Near the end of the glacial epoch the climate became mild and 
 vast amounts of ice were melted. The relativelv soft till was 
 
WATi:U-r.i:AUlX(i FOKIMiVTIONS. 
 
 23 
 
 easily eroded and supplied a tiivaL abiaulaiice of debris. Some 
 of the .streams flowed in sinuous subglacial channels, in wliich they 
 made deposits that have now become the long, winding ridges called 
 cskors. The water in some of the channels beneath the ice was 
 uiuler hydraulic liead, as is shown by the fact that some eskers 
 cross ridges and gidlies regardless of the grades. 
 
 Where the debris-laden waters came to the edge of the ice sheet 
 kames were made. Some of the material was carried beyond the 
 front of the ice sheet and was laid down as an alluvial deposit in the 
 \alleys. Xot all the materials composing the wide outwash plains 
 have been deposited by running water. There are also beds of finer 
 material — clay and silt rather than sand — that were laid dovv-n in 
 lakes and ponds which stood in shallov/ depressions in front of the 
 ice. 
 
 The stratified drift consists of lenses and beds laid one against 
 another in a very intricate and irregular way. Some of the lenses 
 consist of fine sand, others of coarse sand, others of gravel, and still 
 others of cobbles, but the sands are the most abundant. The material 
 of each lens is rather uniform in size, but there may be a gi'eat 
 difference between adjacent lenses. In general the finer materials 
 form more extensive beds than the coarser. Some of the beds of 
 clay and fine silt, though only an inch or two thick, have a hori- 
 zontal extent of hundreds of feet. Lenses of gravel may be 2 or 3 
 feet thick and not extend over 10 feet horizontally. 
 
 The sand lenses are composed almost entirely of quartz grains. In 
 the gravel lenses are pebbles of many kinds of rocks. The clay beds 
 consist of trvie clay, thin flakes of mica, and minute pirticles of 
 quartz and feld.spar. All the deposits contain iron, which gives them 
 brown colors. 
 
 The following analyses^ show the character of the stratified drift : 
 
 Meelianlcrtl anah/scs of yfratipeel (irift. 
 
 
 Diameter in 
 millimeters. 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 Gravel 
 
 2-1 
 
 1-0.5 
 
 0. .5-0. 25 
 
 0. 25-0. 1 
 
 0.1-0.05 
 
 0. 05-0. 01 
 
 0. 01-0. 005 
 
 0.005-0.0001 
 
 4.98 
 
 11.31 
 
 33. 41 
 
 33.75 
 
 10.82 
 
 2.09 
 
 1.03 
 
 1.65 
 
 .50 
 
 .80 
 
 2.20 
 7.51 
 
 3:3.50 
 ^ •i2.05 
 
 13. 50 
 4.47 
 1.75 
 2.7S 
 .80 
 1.30 
 
 0.50 
 1.51 
 7.96 
 23.27 
 41.82 
 9.15 
 6.32 
 4.40 
 1.92 
 3. 68 
 
 0.00 
 
 Trace. 
 
 .21 
 
 1.50 
 
 19.55 
 
 33.67 
 
 28.54 
 
 9.50 
 
 2.60 
 
 4.75 
 
 0.00 
 
 
 .29 
 
 
 .40 
 
 
 .73 
 
 
 
 Silt 
 
 32. 57 
 
 Fine silt 
 
 29.10 
 
 Clav 
 
 25. 65 
 
 Loss on drying at 100° C 
 
 2.17 
 
 
 
 
 3.53 
 
 
 
 
 1. Coarse, shnrp sand 2 milos souih of Bloomfield. 
 
 2. Sandy loam soutiiwest of Windsor. 
 
 3. Fine sandy loam half a mile nortiieast of South Windsor. 
 
 4. Recent flood-plain deposits three-fourths of a mile southeast of Ilartrord. 
 
 5. Briekclay from glacial lake Lcds. hHifReld. 
 
 Dor: cy, C. W., and Bonstoel, J. A., op. cit. 
 
24 GROUND WATER IN NORWAI.K AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 The most striking difference shown by a comparison of this table 
 with the table of mechanical analyses of till samples (p. 21) is that 
 in each sample of stratified drift almost all the material is included 
 within two or three sizes, whereas in the till there is a wider diversity 
 of sizes, even exclusive of the boulders, which were taken out before 
 analysis. 
 
 The topographic form assumed by most of the stratified drift is 
 that of a sand plain, which may be modified by terraces, by valleys 
 cut below it, or by kettle holes. In the highlands small bodies of 
 stratified drift form eskers — long, winding ridges, 10 to 40 feet high, 
 in some places with narrow crests and in others with flat tops, and 
 generally with steep flanks. In the lowlands there are kame areas, 
 which consist of hummocky hillocks and short ridges of stratified 
 drift irregularly scattered. 
 
 CRITERIA rOR DIFFERENTIATION OF TILL AND STRATIFIED DRIFT. 
 
 In many places it is difficult to determine whether the mantle rock 
 is till or stratified drift, and a decision is reached only after weigh- 
 ing several factors. The presence of distinct stratification is in- 
 dubitable evidence that the deposit is stratified drift, but in localities 
 where there are no outcrops or where the outcrops do not show dis- 
 tinct stratification the determination may be uncertain. Till areas 
 are in general characterized by the presence of numerous large 
 boulders, which in many places have been used for building stone 
 fences. These boulders are subangTilar and faceted and may have 
 concave surfaces and glacial scratches, which would distinguish them 
 from the well-rounded boulders found in a few places in very coarse 
 beds of stratified drift. Moreover, areas of stratified drift have 
 characteristic topographic features, such as broad ]3lains and ter- 
 races, with kettle holes, eskers, and kames. Because of its great 
 porosity the upper part of the stratified drift in many places is dry 
 much of the time and therefore favors certain types of vegetation 
 wdiich either get along with little water or are able to send their 
 roots down very deep. Under such conditions there are likely to be 
 many white and yellow pines, cedars, and scrub oaks, with an under- 
 growth of sweet fern and poverty grass. The till has no distinctive 
 floral characteristics. 
 
 OCCURRENCE AND CIRCULATION OF GROUND AVATER. 
 
 Some of the water that falls as rain or melts from snow soaks into 
 the ground. A surface layer of sand or gravel or a thick mat of leaf 
 mold or of needles, as in woods, probably affords the most favorable 
 conditions for high absorption. On steep slopes the rain runs off 
 
^VATKK-H1■:AKI^■^< vo]l\iati(3NS. 25 
 
 rapidly nnd rolativoly littlo ontors the <xt<)iin<l. Whon the *>;r<)iiii(l is 
 frozen it boc'omos almost iiii])OJ'vions, and ab^orjilion is at a minimum. 
 Heavy rains concentratod iii a short tim(> -will in L'ciuMal rcsnlt in 
 loss absorption than an equal amount of rain over a longer time. 
 
 The amount of "water that may be absorl)ed is very great. With 
 a rainfall of 48 inches a year, each acre Avould receive in the course 
 of a year over 1,300,000 gallons. If one-fourth of this (luantity 
 Mere to soak into the ground and be concentrated into a single 
 spring, that spring would discharge an average of over 2 qnai-ts 
 a minute throughout the year. 
 
 Water nu)ves through the groiuid for the most part because of 
 gravity. The water sinks through the pores of the soil until it 
 reaches an impervious bed or the ground- water level, and then 
 it moves laterally. Except in the stratified drift lateral movement 
 over great distances does not occu.r in Connecticut, because the 
 porous soils are cut into small discontinuous areas by the numerous 
 ledges of bedrock. In large valleys occupied by stratified drift 
 there is in general an underflow in the direction of the surface 
 streams. Inasmuch as the porous soil cover over the bedrock is 
 as a rule not ver}' thick, the direction of movement is for the most 
 part the same as the slope of the surface of the ground. The rate 
 at which water moves depends on the amount of Avatei', the steep- 
 ness of the slopes, and the porosity and permeability of the water- 
 bearing materials. Porosity is the ratio of the volume of the crevices 
 between the grains to the total volume of the substance, and does 
 not depend on the size of the pores. Permeability is the capacity 
 of the material to transmit water and depends largeh^ on the size 
 of the individual pores. Large crevices like those of gravels favor 
 rapid circulation. Some fine clays have as high porosity as the 
 gravels, Imt because of the interstitial friction in the minute pores 
 they are virtually impermeable. 
 
 At some depth the pores of the earth are saturated with water. 
 The rains and melting snows supply water which would saturate the 
 rock deposits throughout but for the lateral escape of the ground 
 water. The upper surface of this saturated zone is known as the 
 water table. 
 
 In Connecticut the water table is in general near the surface of 
 the ground in and after seasons of high precipitation in areas where 
 the mantle rock is thin or discontinuous and Avhere the surface is 
 relatively level. High, level terraces are an exception to this rule. 
 The water table is likely to be particularly high in small deposits that 
 fill depressions in the surface of the bedrock. Along the edges of 
 streams, lakes, and swamps the water level is at the surface. It is 
 relatively low in times of drought on steep slopes and in ]) laces 
 
26 
 
 GROUIs^D WATER IN NOEWAL.K AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 FiGURB 4. — Diagram showing the usual relation of 
 the water table to the land surface on hills and 
 iu valleys. 
 
 where the mantle rock is thick. The depth to the water table 
 fluctuates with the seasons and may be increased by drainage of wet 
 grounds, by heavy draft on wells, and by transpiration from vege- 
 tation, as well as by changes in the rates of precipitation and evapor- 
 ation. The improvements made by man on farms and the engineering 
 works in cities artificially lower the water table. In Connecticut 
 
 the greatest fluctuation is 
 on steep hillside slopes 
 from which the water 
 drains rather readily. In 
 such situations there is also 
 rapid though often tempo- 
 rary replenishment of the 
 ground water after rains. 
 There are in Connecticut 
 no extensive water-bearing 
 formations such as the Da- 
 kota sandstone, which is 
 used as a source of water supi^ly in much of the Great Plains. The 
 ground waters in Connecticut are derived from rain or melting snow 
 near by. In manj^ places water lies at the base of the mantle rock, 
 where rapid downward movement is prevented by the relatively im- 
 pervious bedrock. Many wells dug to solid rock and blasted a few 
 feet into it take advantage of this supply. This water bed also feeds 
 Avater into the fissures of the bedrocks. 
 
 The till and stratified drift contrast greatly in texture and there- 
 fore in their ability to hold up the water table. Because of its 
 greater permeability the stratified drift not only absorbs water more 
 readily than the till but also loses it more readih^ In most regions 
 the water table is nearer the 
 ground surface in valleys than on 
 hills, as shown in figure 4. In 
 much of Connecticut, however, 
 where the vallej^s are filled with 
 stratified drift and the hills are 
 covered with till, the reverse con- 
 dition exists. Because of the 
 much slower rate at which the 
 water percolates through the till 
 the water table is held up nearer the surface on the till-covered 
 hills than in the valleys of stratified drift, as is diagrammatically 
 shown in figure 5, 
 
 With respect to their capacity for yielding water there is also a 
 very important difference between the two types of glacial drift. On 
 account of its high porosity and permeability, the stratified drift in 
 
 Figure 5. — Diagram showing the relation 
 of the water table on till-covered hills 
 to the water table in valleys of strati- 
 fled drift in glaciated regions. 
 
WATKK-BKAUINU FOKMATIO^S. 27 
 
 many places (ontaiub large (iuanlities of water which it will yield 
 I'reel.y to wells and which may be readily replenished when raijis 
 come. The till, on the other hand, contains nmch less available 
 water and gives it out at a much slower rate. (See p. 21.) The 
 stratified drift is the more valuable for obtaining large supplies f loiu 
 wells for municipal and mdustrial u^es, but the till U likewise of 
 great value, as it is widely distributed and in general yields enough 
 water for domestic use to inexpensive dug wells. The till is also the 
 reservoir which feeds most of the small springs that make gravity 
 ^ujjplies for many farms. 
 
 TRIASSIC SEDIMENTAHY HOCKS. 
 DISTRIBUTIOX. 
 
 The mantle rock of the Suffield area is underlain by rocks of 
 Triassic age. Most of these are sedimentary, but the ridge of Peak 
 ^fountain, in East Granbj:' and Suffield, is in part underlain bv' trap 
 rocks. Tlie northwest corner of the town of Glastonbury, in the 
 Glastonbury area, comprising about 18 square miles, is underlain 
 by Triassic sedimentary rocks. No rocks of this age occur in the 
 Norwalk area. 
 
 LITHOLOOy AND STRATIGRAPHY. 
 
 The lowest of the Triassic beds lie unconformably on the up- 
 turned edges of the crystalline rocks and may be seen in contact with 
 these rocks at a few points along the western border of the area 
 they underlie. The boundary against the crystalline rocks on the 
 east is believed to be a major fault. 
 
 According to Rice and Gregory,^ the Triassic sediments 
 
 would naturally be characterized in a broad way as red sandstone. The 
 sandstones, sometimes coarse, sometimes fine, consist mainly of jiTiiins of quart:'., 
 feldspar, and mica resulting from the disintegration of the older rocks v»'hioli 
 form the walls of the trough in which the sandstones were deposited. The 
 prevailing red colors of the sandstone are not due to the constituent grains, 
 but to the cementing material, which contains a large amount of ferric oxide. 
 * * * While the name sandstone would properly express the prevalent 
 aad typical character of the rock, the material is in some strata so coarse 
 as to deserve the name of conglomerate and in others so fine as to deserve the 
 name of shale. In the conglomerates the pebbles may be less than an inch 
 in diameter, but tliey are sometimes much coarser. In some localities occurs 
 a rock which has been called " giant conglomerate," in which some of the 
 boulders are several feet in diameter. The conglomerates occur chiefly near 
 the borders of the Triassic areas, and in these it is especially easy to recog- 
 nize the rocks from the disintegration of which the pebbles have been deri-i.tnl. 
 In general, it may be said that the pebl">les in any particular area are derived 
 
 ^ Rice, W. N., and Gregory, H. E., Manual of the geology of Connecticut : Connecticut 
 Gcol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 0, pp. 163-lB."., 1906. 
 
28 geoujs^d watee in noewalk and othee aeeaS; conn. 
 
 from rocks in the immediate vicinity. Tlie conglomerates in tlie Connecticut 
 Vrillej!- area are obviously derived from the gneisses, schists, and pegmatites, 
 which are the prevalent rocks of the highlands. * * * The shales, like 
 the sandstones and conglomerates, are prevailingly red, owing their color 
 likewise to the presence of ferric oxide. Some strata of shale, however, con- 
 tain in considerable quantity hydrocarbon compounds derived from the de- 
 composition of organic matter. These bituminous shales are accordingly 
 nearly black. In the Connecticut Valley area there are two thin strata of 
 these bituminous shales, which have been shown, by careful search for out- 
 crops, to have a very wide extent. The red sediments, however, are dominant. 
 There is great variation in the material composing the beds and in their struc- 
 ture, and the changes in the rock are very abrupt. The stratification is un- 
 evi-n and irregular, and the beds are wedge-shaped or lenslike rather tiian 
 uniformlj'- thick over wide extents. 
 
 Although the beds wei-e originally horizontal and in continuous masses they 
 have been tilted to the east 15° or 20° and have been broken into blocks. The 
 f(.»rct'S which caused the faulting also opened many joints and fissures, along 
 which there has been little or no movement. These joints are in general par- 
 allel to the bedding or nearly at right angles to it, though joints are found with 
 every conceivable inclination. The sandstones and conglomerates have more 
 abundant and more extensive joints than the shales, for they are rigid and 
 relatively brittle rather than plastic and tenacious. The joints ai"e rarely more 
 than 50 feet apart and in general are found at intei'vals of 2 to 8 feet. The 
 joints are more abundant and wider near the surface than they are in depth. 
 
 OCCURRENCE OF OROUXD WATER. 
 
 Ground Avater occurs in the Triassic sedimentary rocks in four 
 ways — in pores throughout the rocks, along bedding planes, in 
 joints, and along fault zones. Though originally derived from 
 rain and snow the Avater has, for the most part, reached the Triassic 
 beds by infiltration and percolation from the saturated mantle rock. 
 
 Wafer in pores. — The sandstone, shale, and conglomerate consist 
 of particles of quartz, feldspar, mica, and other less abundant min- 
 erals and of pebbles of older rocks, all cemented together by fine clay 
 and films of iron oxide. The spaces between the grains are not com- 
 pletely filled with the cementing material but are partly open and 
 may contain water. In the aggregate large quantities of water are 
 held in this way, but on account of the smallness of the openings the 
 water is not readily given off. Bare outcrops, as in quarries, are for 
 the most part dry on the surface, though the interior of the rock 
 may be moist. In the sandstones and conglomerates the water in the 
 pores is slowly given off to joints, from which it may be recovered by 
 means of drilled wells. The shales have pores so very fine that 
 the}^ yield but little water. In some places the shales are so imper- 
 vious as to act as restraining beds that concentrate the water in the 
 pores of the coarser beds. 
 
 Water in hedding flanes. — There is a tendency for the water 
 in the pores to be concentrated in and transmitted along the lower 
 
WATKR-BKARING 1 OKMATIONS. 29 
 
 parts of tlic conrher beds Avlierc tliey rest on finer ami relatively 
 impervious beds. It is probable that a few of the wells drilled in 
 Triassic rocks draw their sui)plies from such horizons. 
 
 \]'ot('r in jo/' /its. — Joints are the most important source of water in 
 the bedrock of Connecticut. They are more abundant and are wider 
 in tlie sandstojie and conglomerate than in the shale. These extensive 
 flat crevices are good watei' bearers because they arc large and offer 
 little capilhiry resistance to the (irculation of water, because they 
 draw on and make available the supply of water stored in pores, 
 and because they are of relatively great extent, Most of the drilled 
 wells and a feAv dug wells in the Triassic areas draAv on the joints. 
 
 Water in fault zones. — The faults that break the Triassic rocks 
 of Comiecticut into great fault blocks are not single fractures but 
 rather zones containing many parallel planes along which move- 
 ment has taken place. Because of the great number of water-bearing 
 joints in such zones Avells drilled along fault lines are likely to yield 
 very large supj)lies of Avater. 
 
 TSAP BOCKS. 
 
 l.'ISTiUlU 'I'lox. 
 
 Trap rocks underlie parts of Peak Mountain, in Suffield and East 
 (iranby, and of Manitick Mountain, in Suffield. There is also a 
 suiail dike in the eastern part of the town of Westport, in the Nor- 
 walk area. Their extent is so small that they are not an important 
 source of water. 
 
 LITIIOLCK.Y AND (»CCl KRF.XCK OF GROrXD AVATKR. 
 
 The trap rocks are den-e. heavy dark-gray to nearly black rocks 
 and aie more or less completely ciystaliine on a small scale. Like 
 the sedimentaiy rocks in which they are inclosed, the traps are cut 
 by numerous joints, some of wliich Avere made by the initial cooling 
 and shrinkiige of the rock and others by the jarring incidental to 
 faulting and tilting. The joints are more abundant near the margins 
 of the masse'-^. 
 
 Trap rocks have a tAvofoid bearing on the occurrence of ground 
 Avater. The joints may contain Avater and the sheets may act as im- 
 pervious layers to restrain the circulation. Trap rocks haA^e a A^ery 
 low porosity and carry vii-tually no Avater in pores, and they contain 
 rio Avater corresponding to that along bedding planes of sedimentary 
 rocks. Water circulates through the joints and fault zones in traps 
 just as in sandstones, but in general less abundantly. EA'idence of 
 such circulation is given by the yellow and broAvn stains of iron along 
 
30 GROUND WATER IK" NORWALK AXD OTHER AREAS, CONIST. 
 
 the joints, due to oxidation and hydration of the iron-bearing min- 
 erals. The immediate source of the water in the trap rock is the 
 water in the formations with which it is in contact; this water enters 
 it through the network of interconnecting joints. Because of its 
 hardness and resistance to erosion the trap forms bold hills with cliff's. 
 This is a disadvantageous form so far as water storage is concerned, 
 because of the facility with which water will drain oiit= 
 
 CSYSTALLINE SOCKS. 
 DISTEIBIJTIOK. 
 
 Crystalline rocks, so named because their constituent mineral par- 
 ticles consist of crystals rather than fragments, underlie all of the 
 Norwalk area except about 9 square miles in Eidgefield, in which 
 the l^eclrock is limestone, and all of the Glastonbury area except the 
 sandstone area in the northwestern part of the town of Glastonbur}". 
 The extent of these rocks is about the same as that of the eastern and 
 western highlands, because the characteristic typographic features of 
 the highlands depend in large part on the resistance of these rocks 
 to erosion. 
 
 LITHOLOGY. 
 
 The areas under consideration contain three t5^pes of cr3^stalline 
 rocks — schists, gneisses of igneous origin, and gneisses of complex 
 origin. 
 
 Schists.— TjipiGSil schists are metamorphosed sandstones and shales, 
 which in turn are consolidated sands and muds. The mountain- 
 making movements to which this region has been subjected squeezed 
 and folded the sedimentary rocks. At the same time the great 
 changes in temperature and pressure metamorphosed the rocks com- 
 pletely; the quartz sand grains were crushed and strung out, and 
 the cl&jQj material was changed to crystalline mica. The mica flakes 
 were turned roughly parallel to one another and so give the rock a 
 pronounced cleavage, called schistosity. Though other minerals are 
 present the quartz and mica are dominant. In the Norv^ralk area the 
 Berkshire schist is of this tj^pe, and in the Glastonbury area the 
 Bolton schist. 
 
 Gneisses of igneous origin. — In connection with the dynamic meta- 
 morphism of the region great masses of molten rock were intruded 
 into the sedimientary beds. They have been metamorphosed like the 
 schists but to a lesser degree, and the changes are textural rather 
 than mineralogic. The dark minerals of the igneous rock have 
 been somewhat segregated and parallelly oriented, so that the rock 
 
WATKll-liKARlNU FORMATIONS. 31 
 
 hiis n fair cleavaire. The Thomaston ofranite gneiss^ ainl the Dan- 
 biirv graiiodiorite gneists ^ of the Xoi'walk aveu and tlie (ilastoii- 
 bury' and ISIaromas granite gneisses of the Ghist(>ni>iiry area aie of 
 this type. 
 
 f'/ieisses of campie-x' origin. — The intrusions of igneous mateiial 
 were in part massive and gave rise to the gneisses of igneous origin, 
 as desorilwd ai)ove. and they were in part in the form of multitudi- 
 nous thin injections into the schists. Certain parts of the schist have 
 been so extensively injected that their character is materially altered, 
 and they have become gneisses of complex origin. The thin intru- 
 sions for the most part follow the planes of schistose cleavage and 
 somewhat obscure them, but others cut across them. The Waterbury 
 gneiss^ of the Norwalk area and the Hebron gneiss^ of ti;o 
 (ilastonbury area are of this type. 
 
 OCCLRREXCE A>:f> CIRCULATION OF GROUND WATEi:. 
 
 Water in lamellar spaces. — In the scliists and to some extent in tl>c 
 gneisses of complex origin, but not in the granite gneisses, there is 
 a little water in the spaces between the mica flakes where they are 
 bent around quartz grains. Most of the opening-s are flat, thin, and 
 not extensive, and they interconnect very imperfectly. In tlie most 
 thoroughly crumj)Ied schists there are small tubular openings along 
 the furrows and ridges. Tlie schistose structure aids in promoting 
 rlie circulation of ground water chiefly because it gives rise to nu- 
 merous joints. 
 
 Waier in joints and along faults. — The forces that caused metamor- 
 phisrn also made many fractures in the rocks. The fractuit?s are 
 even more numerous in these rocks than in the sandstones, ]iut they 
 bear water in the same way. Inasmuch as it is virtually impossible 
 to trace faults in the crystalline recks they v\'ill be considered here 
 only as compound or enlarged joints in which circulation is espe- 
 cially vigorous. 
 
 There are two principal sets of joints, one of which is nearhr hori- 
 zontal and the other nearly vertical. The vertical joijits, according 
 to Ellis,- are from 3 to 7 feet apart where jointing is well developed^ 
 In some sheeted zones 1 to 15 feet wide the joints are spaced at in- 
 tervals of 3 inches to 2 feet, but in some places they are 100 feet 
 
 1 Sorao of the geologic names used in this report (Thomaston granite gneiss. Danhury 
 urauodiorito yneiss, Glastonbury granite gneiss, Waterbury gneiss, and Hebron gneiss) 
 are the pvorisional names ^iven to the rocks on the proiiminary geologic map of Con- 
 necticut by ClregGiy and Robinson (Connecticut Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 
 1907). These names aie herein used only for reference and may differ from those which 
 will finally be adopted by the United States Geological Survey in it:: geologic folios. 
 
 " Gregory, H. E., and Ellis, E. B.. Undergiound-water i-esources of Conaecti-eut ; U. S. 
 Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 2.32, p. 0.5. 1900. 
 
32 GROUND WATER IN NOR WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 t'.part. Though the spacing increases with increasing depth it is on 
 the average less than 10 feet to a depth of 100 feet. Ellis finds that the 
 horizontal joints are on the average 1 foot apart for the first '20 
 feet, between 4 and T feet apart for the next 30 feet, and from 6 to 
 30 feet apart at depths of 50 to 100 feet. The intersecting hori- 
 zontal and vertical joints form a very complicated system of connect- 
 ing channels through which water may circulate. Water is supplied 
 to the network of channels by percolation from the overlying mantle 
 of soil, and it may be recovered by means of drilled wells. 
 
 LIMESTONE. 
 DISTRIBUTION. 
 
 The Stockbridge dolomite underlies about 9 square miles of valley 
 land in the town of Ridgefield, in the Norwalk area. 
 
 LITHOLOGY AXD STRATIGRAPHY. 
 
 The Stockbridge dolomite is a metamorphosed .dolomitic limestone, 
 composed chielly of calcite and dolomite, and for the most part has 
 a thoroughly crj^stalline texture. Some zones, however, have been 
 but slightly metamorphosed and have still the texture of a typical 
 limestone. Because of the solubility of the calcite the rock has slight 
 resistance to erosion and constitutes valley areas. It is one of the few 
 formations in Connecticut whose age is definitely known, for it has 
 been traced into regions in Massachusetts where fossils have been 
 found. 
 
 OCCURRENCE OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 Water is carried in the Stockbridge dolomite in the same way as 
 in the schists, gneisses, and sandstones, namely, in joints. The 
 joints, however, have been in large part widened by the solvent action 
 of the water floAving through them, so that they are excellent channels 
 of circulation and should yield abundant supplies of vrater. It is 
 to be expected, however, that the waters derived from this forma- 
 tion will be rather hard. Unlike most dolomitic marbles Stockbridge 
 dolomite has a very low porosity and carries but little water in pores. 
 
 ARTESIAN CONDITIONS. 
 
 The word " artesian '' is derived from the name of the old French 
 province of Artois, in which wells of this type first became widely 
 known. Originally the term was applied only to wells from which 
 Avater actually floAved, but now it is applied to Avells in Avhich the 
 AA'ater rises by hydrostatic pressure aboA^'e the point at which it 
 
AKTKSIAX ("OXDITIOXS. 
 
 33 
 
 enters the hole. The tei'in is sometimos imi)i-oi)erlY used for any 
 deep AVC'II of small diameter, ie<2;ar(llcss of Avhether the water is 
 under pre^>iire or not. The (jiiestion A\hetlier an artesian well will 
 tiovc or not de!iend> as iniich on the altitude of the mouth of the well 
 as it does on the pressure of the water. 
 
 The essential conditions for artesian AA'aters are the existence of a 
 bed of jiorous or fractured rock through Avhich water may flow, hav- 
 ing an elevateil outcrop where water may soak into it, with relatively 
 impervions strata above and beloAv to prevent escape of water and 
 loss of pressure, and a snpply of water to the outcrop sufficient to fill 
 the resei'voir. 
 
 In Connecticut these conditions may be fulfilled in two principal 
 ways — where sandstones between shales or sandstones between trap 
 sheets function as the pervious and impervious strata, or where a 
 blanket of compact till forms the restraining layer over bedrock that 
 is perviou.s by reason of a network of fissures. In general, the rocks 
 
 FiGCKE 6. 
 
 -Diagram showing conditions under which artesian waters may exist in the 
 Triassic sedimentary rocks in Connecticut. 
 
 contain so many faults and open joints that the water escapes and 
 it-^ pressure is dissipated, so that flowing wells are few. Nearly all 
 the wells are artesian, however, for the water in them rises con- 
 siderably above the point of entrance. 
 
 A few wells pass through beds of relatively impervious shale and 
 draw water from porous sandstone, as shown in figure 6. The under- 
 lying restraining member may be either a shale bed, as at A, or the 
 dense crystalline mass on which the Triassic beds rest, as at B. In 
 general the beds of the Triassic sedimentary rocks are not of sufficient 
 lateral extent to form important reservoirs. In a few wells a sheet 
 fif trap rock forms the upper restraining member, as illustrated at 
 C" in figure G. 
 
 The wells that draw water from the network of fissures are much 
 
 more numerous than those drawing from the pores of the sandstones 
 
 and conglomerates. In some of these rocks there are no connecting 
 
 joints that might discharge water beloAV the level of the wells; in 
 
 1.54444°— 20 3 
 
34 GROUiS^D WATER IN NOEWAI^K AlN^D OTHER AREAS, 00^1^, 
 
 otliers -the joints are tight enough to offer material resistance to the 
 escape of water. Otlier wells draw water from fissiu'ecl rock that is 
 0¥erlain by an impervious blanket of till that acts as a restraining 
 member. 
 
 SPRINGS. 
 
 A spring, in the broadest sense of the word, is a more or less definite 
 surface outlet for the ground water. Springs are formed where the 
 surface of the gromid is so low that it reaches the water table. A 
 well is in a sense an artificial spring, for it is made by artificially 
 depressing the ground surface so that it reaches the water table. Tlie 
 springs in the areas covered by this report may be grouped under 
 three principal heads, as described below, 
 
 SEEPAGE SPRINGS. 
 
 One method of escape of water from tlie ground is by slow seepage 
 in saturated areas on hillsides and along swamps and streams. This 
 process may go on over a wide space if the formation is of uniform 
 texture, or it may be concentrated in a small body of more porous 
 material. To the latter class belong the so-called ^' boiliu-g springs,'' 
 in which the water enters with sufficient force to keep the sand Iwt- 
 tom in gentle motion. In a spring of either class the supply may be 
 artificially concentrated by the excavation of a colleetiiig reservoir. 
 
 Seepage springs are very likely to be found in small swales cut 
 back into a slope. It seems probable that the flow" of w^ater is the 
 primary cause of the excavation of the swales, but that the swales 
 secondarily tend to concentrate the flov/. Areas of diffused seepage 
 may develop into true springs by such a process. 
 
 STSATUM SPRINGS. 
 
 Stratum springs are those in which an outcropping or only 
 slightly buried ledge or layer of impervious material interrupts the 
 flow of ground water and forces it to the surface. Springs of this 
 type may be made by a ledge of rock underlying saturated soil, by 
 beds of sedimentary rock of different porosity, or by a body of till 
 underlying stratified drift. 
 
 FAULT AND JOINT SPRINGS. 
 
 Faults and joints greatly facilitate the circulation of water through 
 rocks, and where they reach the surface they may supjoly springs. 
 Some faults carry a good deal of water under considerable pressure 
 and are in a sense analogous to artesian wells. 
 
 RELATIONS OE WELLS TO SPRINGS. 
 
 Wells may be considered artificial springs. (See above.) Some 
 springs that have been improved by ^excavation to a considerable 
 depth are hard to distinguish from wells that have obtained water 
 
EEOOVliRY OF GROUXl> WATER. 35 
 
 !it moderate depths. In this repoi-t the criterion t^iken for classi- 
 I'vin^' such spiinas i-s the original condition of the ground. If it 
 ap[)ears to have been a wet or springy spot, the term "spring" is 
 applied regardless of the depth of excavation. If the surface ^^as 
 dry in the first jdace, the term " well '• is applied no matter how 
 shallow the depth at which the crater table was found. 
 
 RECOVERY OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 DUG WELLS. 
 
 COXSTRUCTIOX. 
 
 Dug wells are constructed by digging holes in tlie ground deep 
 enough to extend below the water table. The excavation is gen- 
 erally made 8 or 10 feet in diameter, and in it is built a lining of 
 dry or inorttired masonry or brickv>ork, concrete, vitrified tile, or 
 j>lanking. As the well is walled up the space outside the lining is 
 filled. The filling should be of some porous material, such as gravel, 
 in order to facilitate percolation into the well, but many well diggers 
 pay little attention to this matter. Most dug wells when completed 
 are 3 to 5 feet in diameter, though some are much larger, and their 
 depth may be as much as 50 feet or more. The average depth of the 
 707 dug wells tabulated in this report is 18.3 feet, and they contain 
 on an average al>out 5 feet of water. 
 
 LTFTIXG DEVICES. 
 
 A number of different devices are in use for raising water from 
 dug wells. All are types or modifications of a simple bucket for 
 ])ailing out water, the displacement pump, the impeller pump, or 
 the siphon. 
 
 Bculinf) d^vwes. — The most primitive method of lifting water is 
 by bailing with a dipper in shallow wells or with a bucket hung from 
 a rope in deeper wells. In some places the rope is replaced by a light 
 pole with a snap ring at the end by which the bucket is held. These 
 devices are not only inconvenient and laborious to use but are un- 
 sanitary. The '' one-bucket rig " comprises in addition to the roj>e 
 and bucket a gallows-like frame from which is himg a pulley to 
 carry the bucket rope. The "two-bucket rig'' is similar except 
 that it has a bucket at each end of the rope, thus eliminating tlie 
 necessity of sending down the bucket before drawing water. 
 
 In the " sweep rig '' the bucket is hung by a rope or slender pole 
 from the small end of a sweep 15 to 10 feet long. The sweep is 
 pi\ oted at a crotch in a convenient tree or over a pole set firmly in 
 the ground and has at its butt a counterbalance weight. 
 
36 GROITKD WATER IF NOE WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 In the " wheel and axle rig " the rope from the bucket winds 
 around a wheel 2 to 4 feet in diameter with a grooved face to keep 
 the rope from slipping off. The wheel is carried on an axle 4 to 8 
 inches in diameter suspended above the well. Wound around the 
 axle is a second rope to which a heavy stone or block of iron is 
 hung. The greater weight of the stone acting on the axle counter- 
 balances the lesser weight of the bucket acting on the large wheel. 
 
 In the " windlass rig " the rope from the bucket winds around a 
 drum 5 or 6 inches in diameter to which a crank is attached. The 
 windlass is set over the well, and on the drum are flanges to keep 
 the rope from running off. Many are provided with a ratchet to 
 prevent the bucket from falling back and with a brake to use in 
 loAvering the bucket. In some the rope is replaced by a chain either 
 of the ordinary sort or of flat links, by leather straps, or by flat 
 straps of mild brass. 
 
 The " counterbalance rig " is a modification of the windlass rig 
 in which the rope instead of winding around a drum passes over a 
 pullej^ carried on the crank axle. One end of the rope has a bucket 
 and the other a weight that more than counterbalances the emptj^ 
 bucket but is lighter than the full bucket. In some rigs a chain 
 and suitably notched pullej^ are used instead of a rope and smooth 
 pulley. 
 
 The rigs described above, as they are generally installed, are 
 open to objection on sanitary grounds. At far too many wells the 
 open curbs and inward-sloping surrounding surface allow access 
 of foreign matter to the v\^ater, and moreover there is danger of 
 pollution from the handling of the bucket and rope. All the devices 
 are much safer when the curbs are tight and hinged covers are pro- 
 vided which may be closed except while water is actually being- 
 drawn. It is also advisable to bank up earth around the well curb 
 or to build a concrete apron around it so that surface water and 
 drippings will flow away. With some of the rigs it is possible to 
 avoid transfer of filth from the hands by using an automatic filling 
 and dumping bucket, an ordinary bucket equipped with a pair of 
 metal prongs opposite each other on the rim. For a few feet next 
 to the bucket the rope is replaced by a flat chain which, as it rolls 
 onto the drum, turns the bucket so that one or the other of the 
 metal prongs engages a cross rod inside the curb. By further wind- 
 ing the bucket is tipped and emptied into a spout. With this 
 arrangement it is unnecessary either to handle the bucket or to open 
 the curb, which may, therefore, be made tight against foreign matter. 
 
 Puoiips. — Among the principal classes of pumps are displacement 
 pumps, bucket pumps, impeller pumps, and air lifts. Displacement 
 pumps are of two principal sorts — pitcher pumps and deep-well 
 
RECOVErvY OF GROUND WATKK, 
 
 37 
 
 j>uinp>'. Both consist of a cylinder in Avliich a piston moATs. At 
 tlie bottom of the cylinder and in the piston arc valves that open 
 upward. AVhen the piston is raised by means of the handle and 
 connecting rod, Avater rushes into the cylinder from below, and when 
 the piston is depressed the water rises throuoh its valves. Repe- 
 tition of the movement raises the water in successive small masses. 
 In a j^itcher pump the workino- cylinder is at the top of the pipe, 
 above the ground, and the part of the pump above the piston is 
 sliaped to a spout. In a deep-well pump the working cylinder is at 
 some depth and is connected with the delivery pipe by a closed 
 cii.]). On top of the delivery pipe is a standard to carry the pump 
 handle, from which a long rod runs down through the delivery 
 j>ipe to the piston. Some deep-well pumps are double acting— that 
 is, they have extra valves so arranged that water is raised on both 
 
 Pitcher pump 
 in kitchen 
 
 ^^, 
 
 Deep well pump with 
 cylinder in cellar 
 
 Figure 
 
 -Diagram showina; two types of iiistallatiou of " house pumps."' 
 
 the rising and the descending piston stroke instead of only on the 
 rising stroke. Deep-well pumps are superior to pitcher pumps in 
 that they are less liable to freezing, need little or no priming, and 
 can be used in deeper wells by lowering the working cylinder. 
 
 A displacement pump may be installed in the house or barn at 
 some distance from the well, as shown in figure 7. The suction lift 
 (vertical distance between cylinder and water level) should not be 
 more than 20 to 25 feet for moderate horizontal distances and stiU 
 less if the pump is far from the well. In this report installations of 
 this kind are called "house pumps." Some have a pitcher pump on 
 the first floor and others have a deep-well pump with the working 
 cylinder in the cellar and the pump-handle standard on the first 
 or even the second floor. 
 
 Chain pumps are used in many w^ells in Connecticut and are of two 
 types — rubber-bucket pumps and metal-bucket pumps. A rubber- 
 bucket ]:)unip is a displacement pump of special type and consists of a 
 long tube through which is passed an endless chain that has thick 
 ridjbcr washers on special links at intervals of G to 10 feet. xVt the 
 
38 
 
 GFvOL']SrD WATEE 11^ ISTOEWALK A^B OTHER x\EEAS, CONE". 
 
 the 
 up 
 
 and 
 
 In a few places where garden truck is 
 crops, especially if forced for early mar 
 
 top the tube is fastened 
 to a curbing, across the 
 top of which is an axle 
 with crank a n d 
 sprocket wheel to take 
 the chain. When the 
 crank is turned 
 chain is drawn 
 through the tube 
 the rubbers act as pis- 
 tons and raise water 
 . which is discharged 
 I through an opening in 
 I the tube near the top. 
 g A metal -bucket 
 y pump, though similar 
 i in external appearance, 
 I is quite different in 
 a principle. A chain, 
 " made of alternating 
 I plain flat links and 
 g special fiat links that 
 ft are fitted with small 
 ofl metal buckets, passes 
 g over a sprocket wheel 
 
 1 turned by a crank. 
 
 2 The buckets are about 
 ba 2 inches square and i 
 
 3 inches deep, and each 
 jj- has a lip so con- 
 a structed that as it 
 § passes over the wheel 
 "^ it empties the water it 
 
 has carried up from 
 below into a hopper 
 connected to a spout. 
 All these pumps are 
 sanitary if the curb- 
 ing and platform are 
 tight enough to prevent 
 waste water, surface 
 drainage, and solid for- 
 eign matter from enter- 
 ing the well, 
 raised the high value of the 
 kets, makes the pumping of 
 
RECOVEPvY OF GROUND WATER.' 39 
 
 water for irrigation ])r()(i(al)1i\ '\\\'lls oi' lariir truniu'ti'r arc <lug, 
 l)Ut as the saiiitar\ (jiiality ol' (lio water is unimportant tlicy need 
 not be covered nor vci y carefully walled np. ^^']lere the water table 
 is Injrh and the yield of the well large, as in parts of the plains 
 underlain by stratitied drift, centrifugal pumps di'iven Ity gasoline 
 engines have been founci satisfactory. Inside a closed casing is a 
 fajilike wheel, whieh is rotated at high speed and gives the water 
 enough centrifugal inertia to force it out through a tangential dis- 
 chai'ge pipe. A partial Aacuum is prwUiccd at the center ol' the 
 pump, and water rushes in through a central side opening. These 
 pumps have to be primed, but they are little troubled l)y grit in the 
 Avater. If properly designed and of the right size for the task as- 
 signed them they are very efficient. 
 
 S'tphon and gravity rigs. — Dug wells situated higher tl\an the 
 points at which the water is to be used laay be developed by means of 
 si]5l)On pipe line provided the Avater level is not more than 25 feet 
 beloAv the ground and is above the point of delivei'y. Figure 8 
 illustrates such an installation. In some wells, Avliere the water level 
 is near the surface and where no hill intervenes bet\veen the Avell 
 and the point of delivery, and in many springs a diject gravity system 
 mav be used, obviating the necessity" of occasionally priming the 
 siphon. The gravity and siphon rigs are sanitary provided the sur- 
 roundings of the well or spring arc clean. If the pipe is of load care 
 should be taken not to use any water tliat lias stood a long time in 
 the pipe. In some places where the fall from the well is not enough 
 to carry the water to the first floor of the house the water is alloAved 
 to run continuously into a cistern or tank in the cellar, from which it 
 is j^umped by hand. The overflow of siphon ar.d gravity systems is 
 in many places used to supply watering troughs. 
 
 Rams. — Springs of large yield Avhich lie lower than the point of 
 utilization may be developed by means of hydraulic rams. A few 
 exceptional wells also may be developed in this way. The hydraulic 
 ram is a mechanical device which uses the momentum of a relatively 
 largo vohuno of water falling a short distance to raise a small volume 
 of V ater to a relatively great height. Theoretically 10() gallons fall- 
 ing 10 feet would have enough energy to raise 10 gallons 100 feet or 
 1 gallon 1,000 feet, and other quantities and lieights in proportion. 
 However, on account of leakage through the valves and elasticity and 
 friction in the pipes this condition is not realized. A-, cording to 
 tables given by Bj(")rling,' when the ratio of lift to fall is 4: to 1 the 
 ram will lift 86 per cent of the theoretical amount; with a ratio of 
 10 to 1.. oo per cent; and with a ratio of 25 to 1, only 2 per cent. 
 Bj()rling says further that the length of the drive pipe (from spring 
 to ram) should be 5 to 10 times as great as the fall. The delivery 
 
 ' Bjorling, V. R., Water or hydrauUc motors, pp. COl-STl, 1S04. 
 
GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 pipe (from the ram to the storage tank) should have an area of cross 
 section equal to one-fourth or one-third that of the supply or drive 
 pipe (from the spring or well to the ram). The rapidity of the 
 beat should be as great as is compatible with perfect and complete 
 action of the valves and in most rams may be regulated by adjusting 
 springs or weights on the main valve. The noise made by rams is 
 considerable and is transmitted along iron pipes but may be reduced 
 by the use of lead pipe or of a section of rubber hose. 
 
 Many people have been disappointed in trying to use rams because 
 they did not realize their limitations. Rams must of necessity waste 
 a large portion of the water. Before installing a ram careful meas- 
 urements should be made of 
 the flow of the well or spring 
 during its lowest season, the 
 amount of fall available, the 
 amount of lift desired, and the 
 horizontal distance from well 
 to ram. If these data are sup- 
 plied to the, makers they will 
 be able to recommend the best 
 model and size of ram. With 
 proper conditions a suitable 
 ram correctly installed will 
 furnish a reliable, inexpensive, 
 and permanent supply. It is 
 customary to have the ram de- 
 liver the water to a tank or 
 reservoir in an elevated posi- 
 sition from which it is dis- 
 tributed by gravity. 
 
 Windmills and air-'pressure 
 tanks. — A popular method of suppljdng water is by the use of a 
 windmill, pumj^ing jack, pump, and reservoir. Another equipment 
 used by many people is the air-pressure system. A pump driven by 
 a gasoline engine or electric motor pumps water into a closed steel 
 tank containing air. As the water comes in it compresses the air 
 and gives pressure sufficient to drive the water through the piping 
 in the house. The pump is fitted with a snifting valve, which takes 
 in a little air with each stroke to replace that dissolved by the water. 
 Some of the tanks are equipped Avith telltales which give a signal 
 or automatically start the motor when the water level in the tank is 
 reduced below a set point It is the usual practice to put the tank in 
 the cellar, but some are in specially constructed pits outside. 
 
 Tanks and reservoirs built in the open are apt to allow the Avater 
 to become disagreeably warm in summer and to give trouble by freez- 
 
 FlGUUE 9.- 
 the Avell 
 
 TIME ELAPSED^ IN MINUTES 
 
 —Graph showing the recovery of 
 of J. S. Dewey after pumping. 
 
RECOVKRY OF CKOUXl^ WATHR. 
 
 41 
 
 ing in ^viIltor. Tho liciitiiig in ^iinuncr is an ;ulviinta<rt' in irrifjation, 
 as the Avarni Avater «»i\ cs Ic^ss shock to (ho ])hints on wliich it is put. 
 
 YIELDS OF I>1(! AVHLLS. 
 
 One of tlic most important qnestions rehitive to the recovery of 
 ground Avater is the anionnt avaihible. A study Avas made of the dug 
 well of Mr. J. S. Dewey (Xo. 3. PL IV) near Granby station in East 
 (uaiiby. The Avell Avas dug in stratified drift to a depth of 24 feet, 
 i-N 4 feet in diameter, and rarely has more tlian 5 feet of water. At 
 the time the well Avas visited it had been pumped continuously for 
 five hours. Mr. Dewey very kindly stopped pumping in order that the 
 recovery of the Avell might be observed. At intervals of about 10 
 minutes measurements were made of the depth from a datum point 
 on the curb to tlie Avater surface. The results are given in the fol- 
 loAving table : 
 
 R'isc of Icccl in J. S. J^cirey'-s well. 
 
 Time 
 elapsed. 
 
 Length 
 
 of 
 interval. 
 
 Deptli to 
 water sur- 
 face from 
 datum. 
 
 Total rise 
 of water 
 surface. 
 
 Rise 
 
 during 
 
 intervaJ. 
 
 MinuUs. 
 
 Minutes. 
 
 Fat. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 
 
 
 2(5.47 
 
 _ 
 
 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 25. 95 
 
 . 52 
 
 .52 
 
 22 
 
 12 
 
 25.53 
 
 .94 
 
 .42 
 
 33 
 
 11 
 
 25.14 
 
 1.33 
 
 .39 
 
 41 
 
 8 
 
 24.94 
 
 1.53 
 
 .20 
 
 50 
 
 9 
 
 24. 77 
 
 1.70 
 
 .17 
 
 t.o 
 
 10 
 
 24. 62 
 
 1.85 
 
 .15 
 
 71 
 
 11 
 
 24.49 
 
 1.98 
 
 .13 
 
 80 
 
 9 
 
 24.40 
 
 2.07 
 
 . 09 
 
 <tl 
 
 11 
 
 24.30 
 
 2.17 
 
 .10 
 
 100 
 
 9 
 
 24.23 
 
 2.24 
 
 .07 
 
 These data are also graphical!}' expressed in figure 9. As the well 
 has a diameter of 4 feet, the area of the cross section is 12.6 square 
 feet, and a rise of 0.01 foot is equivalent to an infloAv of 0.126 cubic 
 foot, or (1.04 gallon. The rate of infloAv in any interval may be ex- 
 pressed by the e({uation 
 
 RXOM 
 t 
 
 Avhere /=rate of inflow in gallons per minute, A^=the rise of Avater 
 level in hundredths of a foot, and ^=thc length of the interval in 
 ininutes. 
 
 If the curA'e in figure 9 is extended upward and to the right, it 
 Aviil become asymptotic to a horizontal line representing a total rise 
 of about 2.5 feet. It is reasonable to assume that when pumping Avas 
 stopped the Avater had been depressed about 2.5 feet below its original 
 level. Then the original IcA-el must have been 2.5 feet above the 
 26.47-foot level, or about 24 feet below the datum. The drawdoAvn 
 
42 GROUlSrD WATER IX IsOEWALK AjSTD OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 of the water level at any moment may be obtained by subtracting 
 24 feet from tlie distance from the datum to the water level at that 
 
 moment, as was done for the first column 
 of the following table. The second col- 
 umn gives the total inflow in gallons for 
 each of the 10 intervals ( = /?X0.9-l), 
 and the third column gives the rates of 
 inflow as obtained by the formula 
 above. In the fourth column is given 
 the mean drawdown for each interval, 
 found hj averaging the drawdown at 
 the start with the drawdown at the end. 
 In the fifth column are given the ratios 
 of the rate of inflow to the rate of 
 drawclo^vn. The average of these is 
 2.11, which means that reducing the 
 level in the well by 1 foot increases the 
 rate of inflow by 2.11 gallons a minute. 
 The values in the third and fourth col- 
 umns are plotted against one another 
 in figure 10. The rather uniform slope 
 of the line joining these points is ex- 
 pressive of the relative uniformity of the values found in the fifth 
 column. 
 
 Relation of rate of infioiv to draiocloiDn. 
 
 4 
 
 
 1 
 
 / 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 111 
 1- 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 D 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 I ° 
 
 
 £3 
 
 a. 
 
 tn 
 
 z 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 _j 
 
 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 z^ 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 z 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 
 
 / 
 
 
 
 DRAWDOWN, IN FEET 
 
 FicuKK 10. — Graph showing the 
 relation of inflow to drawdown 
 in tho well of J. S. Dewey. 
 
 
 
 
 
 Inflow in 
 
 
 Total 
 
 Rate of 
 
 Mean 
 
 gallons 
 
 Drawdown. 
 
 inflow 
 for 
 
 inflow 
 for 
 
 drawdown 
 for 
 
 per niinute 
 for each 
 
 
 interval. 
 
 interval. 
 
 interval. 
 
 foot of 
 drawdo^vn. 
 
 
 
 Gallons per 
 
 
 
 Teet. 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 minute. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 2.47 
 1.9-5 
 
 
 
 48. 80 
 
 
 
 
 4.88 
 
 2.2i 
 
 2.21 
 
 1.53 
 
 39.48 
 
 3.29 
 
 1.74 
 
 1.89 
 
 1.14 
 
 36.66 
 
 3.33 
 
 1.34 
 
 2.49 
 
 .94 
 
 18.80 
 
 2.35 
 
 1.04 
 
 2.26 
 
 .77 
 
 15.98 
 
 1.78 
 
 .86 
 
 2.07 
 
 .62 
 
 14.10 
 
 1.41 
 
 .70 
 
 2.01 
 
 .49 
 
 12.22 
 
 1.11 
 
 .56 
 
 1.98 
 
 .40 
 
 8.46 
 
 .94 
 
 .45 
 
 2.09 
 
 .30 
 
 9.40 
 
 .85 
 
 .35 
 
 2.43 
 
 .23 
 
 6.58 
 
 .73 
 
 .27 
 
 2.70 
 
 C2.21 
 
 o Average. 
 
 By operating this pump so as to keep the water level down about 
 l.To feet below the level it holds normally when not being pumped 
 an inflow of about 3.5 gallons a minute is obtained. This well could 
 be made to yield at least 210 gallons an hour or about 5,000 gallons 
 a day. 
 
iiEcovEnv <ii' (iiioL'M) WATi:r. 43 
 
 vSiiuilar tests made on a well dug in till indicate a oapacit}- of only 
 320 gallons a day, and other tests on a well blasted into Ti-iassic sand- 
 stone and drawing- its water froiu fissures in the rock showed a eapa- 
 city of 210 gallons a day.^ 
 
 INFILTHATION GALLEBIES. 
 
 An inliltration gallery is a niodlfieation of a dug waW and dei'ives 
 its watei- in the same way. Turneaure and Russell - say of them: 
 
 WlitMH' trroimil water can be rojiclicd at: inoderatf depMis it is soinct ir.n's in- 
 1<^rcepted by ijcallerios constructed across the line of flow. * * * In loi'iii 
 a jialiery may consist of an open ditch which leads tlie water away, or 11 may 
 ))e a closed conduit of masonry, wood, iron, or vitrified clay pipe, provider I 
 \Aiili numerousf sn\all openings to allow the entrance of water. * * * Clal- 
 lerles are usually constructed in an open trench. They ai*e generally arran.ged 
 to lead the water to the p\imp well, and may be provided with gates sw tliat 
 the water may be shut off from various section.*. The cost of galleries is aliout 
 tlie same as tliat of sewers in similar ground. It rapidly increases with depth, 
 lull up to 20 or 25 feet it is sufficiently low so that the construction of galleries 
 can often be advantageously undertaken. A gallery not only intercepts the 
 \\-ater more completely than wells, but it replaces the suction pipe, it is more 
 durable than either pipe or wells, and all trouble from inmiping air isf a"\(iided. 
 
 Filter galleries maj' be so constructed that surface water is flooded 
 over the ground around and above them and is collected in them 
 after percolating through the soil. This will remove most of the 
 suspended matter that makes the raw water unsightly', but unless 
 fret|uent bacteriologic examinations are made it should not be 
 trusted to completely eliminate the germs of disease. Chlorination 
 or similar treatment might well be added as part of the process. 
 
 DRIVEN WELLS. 
 
 Driven wells are made by driving pipes into the ground with a 
 niau.l or machine resembling a pile driver. The pipe is made up of 
 enough sections to reach the ground-water level, and may have 
 either an open end or a closed end. 
 
 In closed-end driven wells a drive point slighth' larger than the 
 pipe is used to penetrate the ground. Above the point is a perfo- 
 rated section through which the water enters. As the pipe is driven 
 down sections are screwed on to lengthen it. The pipes are in g-en- 
 eral from three-fourths of an inch to 3 inches in diameter, and the 
 screens from 2 to 4 feet long. 
 
 Open-end driven wells are made by driving a plain pipe which 
 may or may not have a heavy cutting shoe attaciied to it. The 
 material inside tlie pipe is removed by means of a sand pump or 
 
 1 ralmer, H. S., Ground water of the Soutliinston-Gi-anby area, fonn. : T'. S. Geo!. 
 Siu-vcy Water-Supply Paper 466 (in press). 
 
 -Turneaure, F. E., and Tai-^sell, n. L., Public water .'jupplies, pp. .sl8-.12o, ifiOO. 
 
44 GROUND WATEE IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 water jet. In the jetting method Avater is. forced down a small pipe 
 inside the drive pipe, and as it rises it carries up the sand, silt, and 
 smaller pebbles. The pipe is perforated either before driving or by 
 special tools operated from the inside after driving. In the East 
 rather small pipes are used, but in the West a special casing 10 or 12 
 inches in diameter made of sheet metal is often provided. 
 
 Several kinds of pumps are used with driven wells. With domestic 
 driven v\^ells of small bore the usual practice is to screw a pitcher 
 pump to the top of the pipe. In some of the larger driven wells a 
 deep-well pump is put down inside the drivepipe, and in others a 
 specially constructed section of the drivepipe acts as the cylinder. 
 A centrifugal pump is used in some of the western driven wells of 
 very large size and heavy yield. 
 
 Driven wells are suited to loose sands and gravels, in which caving 
 would make trouble in digging wells. They are inexpensive and have 
 the advantage that if they are unsuccessful the pipe may be withdrawn 
 and used again in another place. One disadvantage of the smaller 
 ones is the proneness of the screen to become clogged hj an incrusta- 
 tion of mineral matter or by silt, and another is that grit may be 
 drawn up with the water and score the working parts of the pump so 
 that it works poorly. Wells of the large type are the best adapted 
 for obtaining large supplies from the stratified drift or other sandy 
 or gravelly deposits. They should be more largely used instead of 
 the small types of driven wells where large supplies are required. 
 Driven wells are not suited to till because the presence of boulders 
 makes driving difficult or impossible and because the yield of the 
 till is insufficient for a satisfactory supply. 
 
 DRILLED WELLS. 
 
 Drilled wells are in general deeper than dug or driven wells and in 
 general obtain their water from cracks or fissures in bedrock. They 
 are made either by a percussion machine (churn drill) or by an 
 abrasion machine (core drill). A percussion drill has a long steel 
 bar with a hardened and sharpened bit at the lower end which is 
 worked up and down by an engine and pounds its way through the 
 rock. At intervals the drill is withdrawn for sharpening and the 
 debris is removed by means of a sand pump. Abrasion machines are 
 built to revolve a hollow steel cylinder shod with diamonds or with 
 chilled steel shot, which cut a circular channel surrounding a core. 
 At intervals the drill is removed and the core broken into sections 
 and extracted. The portion of the hole above bedrock is cased with 
 steel or wrought-iron pipe, which should be driven into the bedrock 
 and firmly set to prevent the entrance of surface water. Drilled wells 
 in Connecticut ranffe from 4 to 12 inches in diameter, but most of 
 
RECOVERY OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 45 
 
 tlioni are G inches in dianiotor. The avcnioe depth of the 129 drilled 
 wells tahi]late<l in this report is '213 feet. 
 
 AA'here only modeiale amounts of water are needed a pump of the 
 dee))- well type o})eratetl by hand or by power is hnnji' in the well. 
 In some avcIIs ^^here large amomits of water are to bo raised fiom 
 a great depth use is made of an " air lift."' Compressed air is forced 
 <!own an air pipe and delivered near the bottom of a discharge i)ipe, 
 :ind then expands and rises, bringing Avater with it. The delivery 
 pipe may be hnng inside the well witli the air pipe alongside it 
 {</. fig. 11), or the rock wall and casing may act as the delivery 
 j)i]>e (7>. fig. 11). It is essential that the length of the submerged 
 ]>ortion of the air pipe should be from 30 to 70 per cent of the dis- 
 tance from the bottom of 
 the air pipe to the point of 
 discharge. In shallower 
 wells the percentage of sub- 
 mergence must be greater 
 than in deeper wells. The 
 pressure used ranges from 
 ■20 to 100 pounds to the 
 s<|uare inch and is often cal- 
 culated at one-fifth to one- 
 quarter of a pound for each 
 foot of lift. The two great 
 advantages of the air lift 
 are that it has no moving- 
 parts in the well Avhere 
 they would be inaccessible 
 in case of wear by grit in 
 the water, and that it ma}^ 
 be controlled and operated 
 from a distant air-compressing station. The efficiency, hoAvever, is 
 not very high in many installations. 
 
 The success or faihire of drilled wells can not be predicted because 
 of the irregular distribution of the water-bearing fissures, but the 
 statistical studies of Gregory and Ellis show that drilling at any 
 jKiint will probably procure a satisfactory supply. Among the '237 
 wells drilled in crystalline rocks in Connecticut studied by Ellis,^ 
 only 3 Avells, or 1.24 per cent, are recorded as obtaining no Avater. A 
 supply of 2 gallons a minute is considered abundant for domestic 
 needs, though insufficient for industrial purposes. Among the 134 
 wells drilled in crystalline rock whose yield Ellis ascertained "only 
 
 Figure 11. — Diagram showinj; two types of 
 
 niv lifts. 
 
 ^ Gregory. 11. E., aiul Ellis, E. E., Unclergrouncl-water resources of Connecticut : 
 U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 32.3, p. 91, 1909. 
 
46 GROUND WATEE UST ]Sr-GilWALK AXD OTHER AREAS, COjSrF. 
 
 17, about 12.45 ]>er cent, furnish less than 2 gallons a minute." It is 
 probably a conservative estimate to state tliat not less than 90 iper 
 cejat of the wells sunk in the crystalline rocks have given supplies 
 sufficient for the use required. Wells may be unsuccessful not only 
 as regards quantity but also as regards the quality of the supply. 
 Along the shore in the Norwalk area are many drilled wells that 
 have bracldsh water, which enters through fissm-es that open also to 
 the salt water of the Sound. (See p. 69.) 
 
 Althoug^h wells are reported by Ellis that obtain water at all 
 depths from 15 to 800 feet, the largest percentage of failures is in 
 wells over 400 feet deep. TMs is due to the less number of joints 
 and their greater tightness in depth. J'rom a consideration of the 
 gieater cost per foot of drilling and of the lesser probabilities of suc- 
 cess it is concluded that if a well has penetrated 250 feet of rock 
 without success the best policy is to abandon it and sink in another 
 locality. 
 
 Gregory,^ in v/riting of the wells drilled in sandstone, says that 
 "of the 194 wells recorded, only 11, or 5.6 per cent, failed to obtain 
 2 gallons a minute, the minimum amount desired for domestic pur- 
 poses." The average yield of 112 of these wells is "27| gallons a 
 minute, the largest being 350 gallons and the smallest two-tliirds 
 gallon." As with wells drilled in crystalline rocks, so with wells in 
 sandstone, it is considered " good practice to abandon a well that has 
 not obtained satisfactory supplies at 250 to 300 feet." 
 
 SPRINGS. 
 
 In developing a spring as a source of water supply it is advisable 
 to make some sort of a substantial collecting* basin. No materials 
 which may rot should be used. Eotting works in two ways to injure 
 a vv^ater supply; it adds objectionable decayed organic matter and it 
 weakens the walls and allows the entrance of surface water "which 
 may be polluted. 2*fo spring slionld be so arranged that water is 
 dipped from it, as this process may readily transfer pollution from 
 tliQ hands. The reserA^^oir should be covered and a pipe provided to 
 carry off the flow, as this method not only prevents pollution from 
 the hands, but also prevents eontamination by animals around the 
 spring. If a spring is used for watering stock a pipe and trough 
 should be provided. 
 
 In order that the water may enter readily the reservoir should be 
 thoroughly jierforated or should be open at the bottom, but it should 
 have stout, water-tight walls extending a foot or two above and be- 
 low the surface to prevent entrance of surface wash. Where it is 
 desired to use the full flow of the spring, the shape of th.e springy 
 
 1 Op. cit., p. 130. 
 
GKOl^XD WATEi; I'Oll ri'BLK' SUPPLY. 47 
 
 aroii ilet<^riiiine.s tho. shape of the iv>erv<)ii-, ^vhich will alloAV of 
 nearly coiuplote i-eoovery. If only :i iiKHlerate supply is needed tho 
 ivsei'voir may i>e of an\ convenient shai>e. Small spring's may be 
 ileveloped by settijig a length of large piix? of concrete, iron, or 
 viti-itied tile vertically in the ground. Such tile is superior to the 
 \Yooden cask or box used at many springs because of its greater 
 diiiability and lesser expense in the long run. Whatever the type 
 of the reservoir it should be provided with a cover or roof that 
 will eti"eetually keep out leaves, sticks, wind-blown dirt, and small 
 animals. 
 
 GROUND WATER FOR PUBLIC SUPPLY. 
 
 INTKXJDUCTIOlSr. 
 
 The use of ground water for public supplies is a comparatively 
 recent development in :N'ew England. Though most of the people 
 a century ago used ground water, wbicli was obtained on a small 
 scale from dug wells and springs, tlie growing need for large sup- 
 plies was met in most places by surface water. Since 1880. hovrever. 
 ;\ number of waterworks which use ground water have been con- 
 structed in jS"ew England, and doubtless more will be built in the 
 future. 
 
 The chief advantages of a properly constructed and properly lo- 
 cated ground- water supply over a surface supply are ujiiformly low 
 and agreeable temperature, sanitary safety, and absence of dis- 
 agreeable odor, color, or taste. The chief disadvantages are that 
 the water may be more highly mineralized, the amount available 
 may be inadequate, and the cost of construction and operation 
 may be greater. The choice of a source of supply, the method of 
 development, and adequate provision for extension of the system 
 with increased consumption are matters in which communities should 
 procure expert advice. 
 
 ]^Iost ground-water systems for public supply comprise one or 
 more batteries of driven Avells connected by suction mains to pump- 
 ing plants which discharge into small reservoirs with distributing 
 pipes. A few plants use dug wells or infiltration galleries. The 
 dri\-en wells are similar to those described on pages 543-54-1:, except 
 that they are in general of greater diameter than domestic wells. 
 They are so located that they will draw from as great an area as possi- 
 ble with the least amount of piping, but with consideration for the 
 difference in the abundance of the supply throughout the field. If 
 tlie direction of the underflov,- is kiiown. tlie lines of Avells are placed 
 across it m order that tlie maximum yield may be intercepted witli- 
 <»ut interference among the wells. 
 
48 GROUND WATER IN NORV/ALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 In selecting- sites for wells it is essential to consider the character 
 of the water-bearing formation. As a rule, only small supplies can 
 be obtained from the till or from the underlying bedrock, but large 
 supplies, such as are required for public waterworks, can be de- 
 veloped in man}^ places from the extensive deposits of sand and 
 gravel that constitute the stratified drift. These deposits and the 
 surface features by which they can be recognized are elsewhere de- 
 scribed. (See pp. 22-24.) The distribution of the stratified drift 
 in the towns discussed in this report is shown on the maps (Pis. Ill, 
 lY, andVI). 
 
 A number of test wells should be sunk and should be vigorously 
 pumped in order to determine the water-bearing caiiacity of the 
 formation at different points and depths. The pumping should be 
 as heavy and as long continued as possible, in order that any de- 
 terioration in the quality or abundance of the water may be detected 
 and so that as strong jdelds as possible may be developed. Analyses 
 of samples collected at intervals and measurements of the yield 
 should be made. The static level in open wells near the test wells 
 should be observed before, during, and after pumping to ascertain 
 the amount and extent of the drawdown of the water table and its 
 rate of recovery. 
 
 In order to get successful wells with large yields in the stratified 
 drift, it is necessary to clean the wells out thoroughly and thus to get 
 rid of the fine sand and to develop around the intake of the well a 
 reservoir of clean gravel. The wells should be not less than 8 
 inches in diameter and should have casings extensively perforated 
 with circular holes one-fourth inch or more in diameter or slits not 
 loss than one-fourth inch wide. The wells should be pumped vig- 
 orously for a long time, preferably with an air lift, but if an air lift 
 is not available, by means of a centrifugal pump, in order to get out 
 the sand. It is desirable in developing a well to pump it at its 
 maximum capacity or at least considerably harder than it will be 
 pumped when it is put into service. If this is done there will 
 generally be not much trouble with sand when the wells are in use 
 and are pumped at the more moderate rate. 
 
 The methods of developing wells in incoherent and poorly as- 
 sorted sand and gravel deposits, such as the stratified drift, are much 
 better understood in the western part of the United States, where 
 hundreds of thousands of acres are being irrigated with water 
 pumped from such wells, than in the East, where there has in general 
 been less need for large underground supplies. If the methods 
 described above, which are extensively used with success in the West, 
 were applied to the stratified drift, wells yielding several hundred 
 
GROUND WATER FOlI PUHLIC SlUTLY. 49 
 
 iralloiis a minute coiild no (1()ul)t be obtained in many places. If 
 waterworks can be supplied by one well ol" laiire yield or even by ii 
 few such wells the cost of maintainino; the wcdls and the eost of puiu])- 
 ing will be le?-s than where there is a large battery of small wells hav- 
 ing casings with small perforations or screens of fine mesh which 
 generall}' become partly clogged and do not admit Avater freely. 
 
 The source of the water may be rainfall on the adjacent region or 
 underflow from some body of water, or in part from both. Water 
 from a surface body is greatly improved in quality by passing slowly 
 through a mass of soil. Water derived chiefly from absorption of 
 rainfall by the soil has a temperature of 48° to 52° F., which is the 
 general temperature of the earth below the depth of diurnal varia- 
 tion. Surface waters are much warmer in summer and colder in 
 winter, so that a wide range of temperature in the clriven-well water 
 would indicate surface origin. 
 
 The experience at many plants at which ground water is pumped 
 into open reservoirs is that there is likely to be a heavy growth of 
 algae, even more than where surface waters are thus stored. Eoofing 
 the reservoirs is found to reduce or eliminate the algal growths, for 
 they thrive only in abundant light. Roofed reservoirs also keep the 
 temperature more uniform. As roofing is expensive, however, the 
 usual practice is to have much smaller storage capacity and to de- 
 pend on the pumps to keep pace with the fluctuations in consump- 
 tion. 
 
 An excessive amount of carbon dioxide, iron, or manganese in 
 some supplies has been troublesome. Carbon dioxide has made a 
 good deal of trouble at the plant at Lowell, Mass., and experiments 
 were mnxle in 1914 to find a remedy.^ It was found that spraying 
 the water under low pressure from small nozzles would aerate it and 
 thus eliminate the gas. By another set of experiments, conducted 
 at the same time, for the removal of iron and manganese which had 
 increased in amount as the draft on the supply increased, the con- 
 clusion was reached that " the iron and manganese can be successfully 
 and economically removed by limited aeration, passage through a 
 coke prefilter not less than 8 feet in depth, operated as a contact bed 
 at a rate of 76,500,000 gallons per acre daily, and subsequent filtration 
 through sand at a rate of a million gallons per acre daiW." The rate 
 of filtration and the details of construction of the filter beds would 
 be somewhat different with waters of different content of carbon 
 dioxide, iron, and manganese. 
 
 ^ BailK)Ui'. F. IT.. IinpvoA-cniPnt of the water supplj- of the city of Lowell, a special 
 report to the iniinicipal council, 1014. 
 
 154444 "'— 20 4 
 
50 GROUND WATER IN NORWiVLK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 TYPICAL PLANTS. 
 GREENFIELD, MASS. 
 
 At Greenfield, Mass., o-round- water supply supplements the surface 
 suppty.^ Near Green River a Avell 40 feet in diameter and 30 feet 
 deep was made by sinking a cylindrical concrete caisson. The water 
 level is only 5 feet below the surface, and the earth is loose and 
 pervious. Pieces of 2^-inch pipe were placed in the concrete walls 
 during construction in order to permit ready entrance of water. The 
 well is covered by a domed concrete roof. At one time 2,000,000 
 gallons of water were pumped daily for about two weeks, though 
 the pumps are generally run only part time and draw only about 
 1,200,000 gallons daily. 
 
 HYDE TARK, MASS. 
 
 The Hyde Park Water Co. formerly had a ground-water supply. 
 The supply was drawn from 150 driven wells connected to a central 
 eollectiiig chamber, and the water was pumped through the mains to 
 a reserA'oir and stand]3ipe with a combined storage capacit}' of 
 2,000,000 gallons. The pumps had a capacity of 2,500,000 gallons 
 a day, and there were 32.4 miles of mains, 1,806 .service taps, and 178 
 fii'e hydrants.- The original equipment, installed in 1885, com- 
 prised 64 driven wells 2 inches in diameter, from 25 to 38 feet 
 deep.'^ The wells were pumped in 1886 at the rate of 1,000,000 gal- 
 lons a day for seven days. The water level was dei3ressed froin 8 to 
 15 feet below the surface — ^tliat is, it was lowered T feet — but recov- 
 ered overnight. The pumps were unable to lower the level below 15 
 feet. 
 
 LOWELL, MASS. 
 
 Lowell's first waterworks, built in 1870, comprised a filter gallery 
 1,300 feet long parallel to and 100 feet distant from Merriniaclv 
 River, from which water was pumped to a distributing reservoir. 
 The supply was about 900,000 gallons a day (1875), and as the daily 
 consumption became greater a supplementary supply was puuiped 
 direct from the river and passed through a sand filter. Epidemics 
 of typhoid fever in 1890 and 1891 necessitated a better supply. 
 Test wells were driven at different places near the city, and finally 
 a contract was awarded to the Cook Well Co. for a 5.000.000-gallon 
 supph' to be obtained by driven wells along River Meadow Brook. 
 Fortj^-five 6-inch wells of the open-end type. -17 to 67 feet deep, were 
 
 ^ Meri-iU, G. F., Tho Greenfield waterworks: New Englancl Waterworks Assoc. Jeur., 
 Juno, 1915, pp. 149-ir,0. 
 
 2 Baker, W. N., Manual of American waterworks, 1S97. 
 
 2 Discussion, in New England Waterworks Assoc. .Jonr., Sept., 1886. 
 
GROUND WATER FOR PUBLIC SUPPLY. 51 
 
 Slink by saiul pniups. ami at first yielded 7,000,000 o-allons a day, 
 I. lit soon fell off to only 2,000,000 oallons. Fifteen 4-inch wells 
 were added, and increased the yield to ;},000,()()() cjallons, Imt the con- 
 tractors considered it impossible to get 5,000,000 «2:allons, and aban- 
 doned the contract. In 189+ the Hydraulic Construction Co., of New 
 Vork, sunk by the jettin<!: method 120 open-end 2-inch wells a mile 
 upstream from the old wells. As the total yield from both well fields 
 v,-as less than 5,0(X),000 ^-Jilloiis a day, it was necessary to pump i-iver 
 wator to supply the T.OOO.OOO-g'allon daily consumption in IHiK). In 
 July. 1895, B. F. Smith & Co. commenced driving wells in a locality 
 on Merrimack Eiver. and that company made 169 successful wells 27 
 to 40 feet deep, situated 150 to 350 feet from the river. The daily 
 yield from this area, known as the Lower Boulevard Field, was about 
 4.000.000 gallons. 
 
 Excessive corrosion of lead pipes in the city developed in 1800 
 and the State board of health attributed it to the high content 
 of carbon dioxide in the water from the Cook wells. Consequently 
 tlie Cook Held and the field a mile upstream on River Meadow 
 Brook were abandoned in 1900. Fifty-two wells driven in 1900 and 
 125 driven in 1901 supply the Upper Boulevard station. The system 
 was adequate for the demand in 1902 and 1903, but the supply began 
 to decrease, and from 1904 to 1911 it was found necessary to use 
 the Cook wells. A deterioration in quality, due to overdraft, was 
 coincident ^^ith the decrease in supply. In 1911 there were added 
 118 new wells in the Boulevard field, so that there were then 450 
 wells available in this area, allowing for a few that had been aban- 
 doned. The addition of these wells counteracted the overdraft and 
 for several years the supply was satisfactory. 
 
 The wells that have been sunk since 1900 are of the closed-end 
 type. They are of 2}-inch extra-heavy iron pipe with a bottom sec- 
 tion 38 inches long, in which are bored 180 half -inch holes. A heavy 
 brass wire wound spirally around the pipe separates it from a brass 
 screen with vertical slots, 20 to the inch horizontally and 6 to the 
 inch vertically. The bottom is screwed into a cast-iron driving 
 ])oint 4 1 inches in diameter that protects the strainer from abrasion. 
 The wells are driven with a heavy drop hammer. As the forma- 
 tion into which the. wells are driven is of fine grain, the strainers 
 have to be cleaned at intervals. Each casing is ca2)ped at the sur- 
 face, and a connection with the suction main is made l)elow the caj) 
 through a T. In general, the wells are staggered 12 feet apart oi^ 
 alternate sides of the suction main and 4 feet distant from it. 
 
 I4iat the water comes in large part from the river is shown by 
 the seasonal range of the temperature from 45° to 65° F.. which is 
 much more pronounced than that of true ground water. The de- 
 
62 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 terioration upon overdraft is presninabl^y due to the fact that the 
 water is then retained a shorter time in the earth and consequently 
 loses less of its impurities.^ 
 
 XEAVRURYPORT, MASS. 
 
 At Newburyport, Mass., a flat gravelly or sanely stretch, which 
 looked rather promising as a source of water supply, yielded little 
 Avater when test wells were sunk. As there was urgent need of a 
 water supply a plan was worked out b}^ which water from an impui-e 
 source was pumped onto the plain and was recovered by driven wells 
 after having percolated some distance. The quality of the water is 
 stated to have been greatly impro^s^ed by this filtration process.^ 
 
 NEWTON, MASS. 
 
 A filter basin 1,575 feet long by 10 to 88 feet wide at Newton, 
 Mass., lies parallel to Charles Eiver and intercepts the underflow to 
 the river. This amounts to an excavation in the bottom of which 
 are driven wells that collect the water. The system also includes a 
 number of driven wells on the other side of the river.^ 
 
 PLAINVILLE, CONN. 
 
 In 1909 the Plainville Water Co. decided to install a ground-water 
 supply for use in summer because of the annoying algal growths 
 in the surface supply then used. Test wells on a site near Quinnipiac 
 Eiver showed an underflow toward the river. Thirty driven wells, 
 each 3 inches in diameter, were put down in two rows of 15 wells 
 each at right angles to the direction of underflow. The depths range 
 from 25 to 30 feet. Tests indicated a capacity of 40 gallons a 
 minute for each well. The pump has a capacity of 500 gallons a 
 minute, and if operated 10 or 12 hours a day it provides sufficient 
 water. Despite the heavy draft on the ground water there has been 
 no permanent reduction of the supply, and though the Avater level is 
 depressed by the day's pumpage it recovers overnight. The water 
 is excellent, though a little harder than the reservoir water.* 
 
 QUALITY OF GROUND WATER. 
 ANALYSES AND ASSAYS. 
 
 The chemical studies made in connection with this report com- 
 prise 3 complete analj'ses, 22 partial analyses, and 42 laboratory 
 assays made by Alfred A. Chambers and C. H, Kidwell in the 
 
 1 Thomas, R. .T., Tbe Lowell Waterworks and some recent impiovements : New England 
 Waterworks Assoc. Jour., vol. 27, Marcb, 1913. 
 
 " .Tolmston, W. S., Ground waters as sources of public water supply: New England 
 Waterworks Assoc. Jour., vol. 23, pp. 401-434, 1909. 
 
 3 Baker, W. N., Manual of American waterworks, p. 53, 1897. 
 
 ■* Palmer, H. S., Ground water in the Southington-Granby area, Conn. : U. S. Geol. 
 Survey Water-Supply Paper 466 (in press). 
 
GROUND WATEK FOR PUBLIC SUPPLY. 53 
 
 wiitor-resonrces laboiatorv of the United States Geological Survey. 
 These are divicled ninoiio- the three areas as follows: Norwalk area^ 
 14 iinalyses and '2''\ assays; Sudield area, 7 analyses and 12 assays; 
 (ilastonhury area. 4 analyses and 7 assays. The quantities are 
 Imported in parts per million. 
 
 (onstftiK nt.'i (Jetcrinhicd hij analysis. — In 22 of the 25 analyses 
 the following constituents Avere chemically determined : Silica 
 (SiO._>), iron (Fe), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), carbonate 
 radicle (CO,), bicarbonate radicle (HCO,), sulphate radicle (SO,), 
 chloride radicle (CI), nitrate radicle (NO.,), and total dissolved 
 solids at 180° C. In the three remaining analyses (Ridgefield 
 Xos. 15 and Ki and Westport No, 39) sodium (Na) and potassium 
 (K) were also determined. 
 
 In the assays the following constituents were chemically deter- 
 inincd: Iron (Fe). carbonate radicle (CO,), bicarbonate radicle 
 (H(MX). sulphate i-adicle (SO,), chloride radicle (CI), and total 
 hardness in the conventional terms of CaCOg. 
 
 Consiituents computed. — In the partial analyses the following 
 (juantities were computed: Sodium and potassium taken together 
 (Na+K), total hardness as CaCOg, scale-forming ingredients, foam- 
 ing ingredients, and the probabilitj^ of corrosion in steam boilers. In 
 three of the analyses, as noted above, sodium and potassiimi were de- 
 termined independently by chemical methods instead of by com- 
 putation. 
 
 The computation of sodium and potassium was made by calculat- 
 ing the sum of the reacting values of the acid radicles (CO.. HCO3, 
 SO4, CI. and NO3) and subtracting from it the sum of the reacting 
 values of calcium and magnesium (Ca and Mg). The reacting 
 value of a constituent is its capacitj^ to enter into chemical combina- 
 tion and is equal to the amount of the constituent present multiplied 
 by its valence and divided by its molecular Aveight. The excess of the 
 acid radicles is considered to be equivalent to and in equilibrium with 
 the sodium and potassium. They were computed on the hypothesis 
 tliat only sodium Avas present, by dividing the difference between the 
 i-eacting values of the acids and bases by the reacting value of an 
 amount of sodium equivalent to one part per million. The result 
 is reported as if it were sodium and potassium. 
 
 Total hardness was computed in the conventional terms of cal- 
 cium carbonate (CaCO.) by the following formula given by Dole:^ 
 
 IIrr=2.5 Ca-f 4.1 Mg 
 
 The computations of s, f, and c, which represent respectively the 
 scale-forming ingredients, the foaming ingredients, and the prob- 
 
 ' Mendenb.Tll. W. C, Dole. R. B., and Stablfr, Herman, Groiind water in San .Toaquin 
 Vallfy, Calif.: U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 308, p. 45, 1916. 
 
54 GROUND WATEE IN NOEWALK AND OTHEE AEEAS, CONN. 
 
 ability of corrosion, were made by the following' formulas given 
 by Dole.^ 
 
 s=Sm+Cm+2,95 Ca+1.66 Ms; 
 
 t=2.7 Na 
 
 0=0.0821 Mg-0.0333 CO,— 0.0164 HGOo 
 
 The symbols Sm and Cm represent suspended matter and colloidal 
 matter, respectively, and are expressed in parts per million. 
 
 In the assaj^s the same quantities were computed except total 
 hardness which was determined, and in addition the total solids 
 were computed. In the assays the following formula given by Dole - 
 was used to compute the values of the alkalies, sodium and potassium 
 (Na+K). 
 
 Na==0.83 CO3+O.4I HCO:+0.71 Cl+0.52 SO,-0.5 H 
 
 Tile symbols represent the parts per million of alkali (sodium and 
 potassium) and the carbonate, bicarbonate, chloride, sulphate, and 
 total hardness found by the assay. 
 
 The total solids were computed by the following approximate 
 formula given by Dole : ^ 
 
 T. S. =SiO,+1.73 CO3+O.86 HCO3+I.48 SO,+1.62 CI 
 
 The s,ymbols represent the parts per million of silica and the car- 
 bonate, bicarbonate, sulphate, and cliloride radicles. In applying 
 this formula it is necessary to set some arbitrary value for the silica. 
 Inasmuch as the average silica content of the analyses of ground 
 waters in this report is 23 parts per million, 25 parts per million, a 
 convenient round number on the safe side, was taken as the arbitrary 
 value for silica. The estimate of solids is rough, and only two signifi- 
 cant figures are reported. 
 
 The factor for scale-forming ingredients, s, was computed ac- 
 cording to an approximate formula given by Dole.* 
 
 s=Cm+H 
 
 The symbols represent the joarts per million of colloidal matter and 
 of total hardness in terms of CaCOa. Inasmuch as the colloidal 
 matter is essentially the same as the silica, the above equation lias 
 been used in the equivalent form 
 
 sr=.SiO,+H 
 The value of silica was taken arbitrarily as 25 parts per million, 
 as in the computation of total solids. The unknown Init variable 
 ratio between calcium and magnesium introduces a further error. 
 
 ^ ld«m, p. 6.5. See also Water-Supply Paper S75, pp. H33-164, 1916. 
 - Op. cit., p. .57. 
 3 Idem, p. SI. 
 * Idem, p. 66. 
 
GROUND WATER FOR PUBLIC SUPPLY. 
 
 55 
 
 Tlie rosultfci arc tliereloiv reported to tlio nearest 10 il' above 100 and 
 to the nearest 5 if below 100. 
 
 The same formula was used for coinputino- foaming Inoredients 
 ill the assays as in the analyses. Formulas upon which the classifi- 
 cation of waters for boiler use as regards their corrosive tendency are 
 based arc ditfcrent with the assays from those used with the analyses. 
 (See section on interpretation of analyses, p. 57.) 
 
 PROBABLE ACCURACY OF ANALYSES AND ASSAYS. 
 
 The analyses in this report were all made accoi'ding to the meth- 
 otls outlined in "Water-Supply Paper 236/ which gives also a discus- 
 sion of accuracy of methods and results based on both theoretical and 
 practical considerations. The subjoined table, taken from this dis- 
 cussion, gives the limits which have been used for rejecting analytical 
 data. Acceptance or rejection of analyses in which sodium and po- 
 tassium (Na+K) are calculated is based on the difference between 
 the sum of the constituents and the total solids. The sum is com- 
 puted by adding the amounts of the various constituents, first con- 
 
 verting bicarbonate to carbonate ^ ^.-, ' 
 
 :CO,. Differences between 
 
 the sum and total solids greater than the limit set forth in the 
 above table are generally due to inaccuracy of work or errors of 
 computation, though the presence of organic matter may cause seri- 
 ous differences. Combining or reacting values have also been used to 
 check analyses in which sodium and potassium have been determined. 
 The percentage difference between the reacting values of the acids 
 and bases is computed and compared with the proper figure accord- 
 ing to the total solids in the table. Analyses showing errors greater 
 tlian the limits given by the table were rejected or the waters were 
 reanalyzed. 
 
 Criteria for rejcctiiir/ (nialjitical datfi. 
 
 Dissolved solids (parts per million). 
 
 Maximum excess 
 
 of total 
 
 dissolved solids 
 
 over sum of 
 
 constituents 
 
 (parts per 
 
 million). 
 
 Maximum excess 
 
 of sum of 
 
 constituents over 
 
 total dissolved 
 
 solids (parts 
 
 per million). 
 
 Maximum error 
 
 of combining 
 
 values (i>er 
 
 cent). 
 
 Not less than - 
 
 I,ess than— 
 
 
 1 
 
 .50 15 
 
 100 20 
 
 200 30 
 
 500 40 
 
 1 000 ^ 
 
 5 
 6 
 8 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 4 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 50 
 100 
 200 
 .500 
 1,000 
 
 2,000 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 > Dole, R. B., The quality of surface waters in the United States, pt. 1, pp. 9-2.3, 
 28-39, 1909. 
 
56 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 Assays are approximations which serve to show, by means of a 
 few determinations rapidly made and by computations based on 
 these determinations, the general character of a water rather than 
 the exact amount of each constituent present. It has been shown 
 that the values of a water for domestic, irrigation, and boiler use may 
 be determined by such assays with a degree of accuracy which is 
 sufficient for practical purposes.^ 
 
 CHEMICAL CHARACTER OF WATER. 
 
 The essential points in describing the chemical character of a 
 water are, first, the concentration or total amount of mineral matter 
 contained therein and, second, the nature of the chief constituents. 
 As regards the bases present the most important distinction is that 
 between calcium and magnesium on the one hand and sodium and 
 potassium on the other. Calcium and magnesium are members of the 
 chemical group known as alkali earths and have many similar 
 properties, so that they are in contrast with sodium and potassium, 
 which belong to the group of alkali metals and are in turn mutually 
 closely related. As regards the acid radicles present, distinction is 
 made between the carbonate, sulphate, and chloride radicles. As 
 carbonate and bicarbonate are always in chemical equilibrium and 
 carbonate is the more stable, they are grouped together, and bicar- 
 bonate is reduced to carbonate by dividing by 2.03. The acid and 
 basic radicles are not balanced against one another directly but are 
 lirst reduced to reacting values by multiplying by the valence and 
 dividing by the sum of the atomic weights of the constituent atoms. 
 The reacting values of the several acid and basic radicles are com- 
 pared and used in applying the following classification : ^ 
 
 Classification of water liij chemical charactet'. 
 
 [Carbonate (CO3) 
 Calcium (Ca)l U,^^,^,.^^^ (SO.) 
 Sodium (Na) / [chloride (CI) 
 
 The designation " calcium " indicates that calcium and magnesium 
 predominate among the bases, and " sodium " indicates that sodium 
 and potassium predominate. The designation " carbonate," "sul- 
 phate," or " chloride " shows which acid radicle predominates. 
 Combination of the two terms classifies the water by type, and the 
 classification can be abbreviated by the use of symbols — for example, 
 "■ Ca-COg " for a calcium-carbonate water. 
 
 ^ Mendenhall, Vv. C, Dole, R. B., and Stabler, Herman, Ground water in San Joaquin 
 Valley, Calif. : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 398, pp. 43-50, 1916. 
 - Idem, p. 80. 
 
GROl'Xl) WATEll FOW Pl'BLIC SUPPLY. 57 
 
 INTERPRETATION OF ANALYSES AND ASSAYS. 
 
 Ill additioii to the cheiiiical clnssilicnl ion disfu^scd in (ho precod- 
 \\\iX section, tlic inialyses and a.ssay> havr been inteii)i-eted as regaixls 
 their suitability for boiler and domestic use. 
 
 Mfnifdlization- and hardness-. — Waters may be classilicd accord- 
 iniT to the concentration of dissolved niattei- in them — that is. the 
 de^roe of mineralization — and according to their har(biess or soap- 
 consuming powers. Waters may be considered as low in mineraliza- 
 tion if they contain less than 150 parts per million of dissolved 
 solids; moderately mineralized if they contain from 150 to 500 parts 
 l)er million; highly mineralized if they contain from 500 to 2,000; 
 and very highly mineralized if they contain over 2,000 parts per 
 million. - 
 
 Hardness in water is due chiefly to the presence of calcium and 
 magnesium, which unite with soap, forming insoluble compounds 
 that have no cleansing value. Hardness is measured by the soap- 
 consuming capacity of a water and can be expressed as an equivalent 
 of calcium carbonate (CaCOg). It can be computed from the 
 amounts of calcium and magnesium in the water or can be deter- 
 mined by actual testing Avith standard soap solution. Waters that 
 contain less than 50 parts per million of hardness measured as cal- 
 cium carbonate may be considered very soft; waters that contain 
 from 50 to 100 parts, soft ; w^aters that contain 100 to 300 parts, hard; 
 and waters that contain over 300 parts, very hard. 
 
 Qualify for hoiler nse. — Three kinds of trouble in the operation of 
 boilers are due to unfavorable features of the water — the formation 
 of scale, foaming, and corrosion. Scale is mineral matter deposited 
 witliin th.e boiler as a result of evaporation and heating under pres- 
 sure. These deposits increase the consumption of fuel, as they are 
 })ad conductors of heat, and they also decrease the cubic capacity of 
 the boiler. They are a source of expense and a potential cause of 
 explosions. Scale is formed of the substances in the feed vrater that 
 ;ire insoluble or that become so under the usual conditions of boiler 
 operation. It includes all the suspended matter, the silica, iron, 
 aluminum, calcium (principally as carbonate and sulphate), and 
 uiagnesium (principally as oxide but also as carbonate). Formulas 
 for the computation of scale-forming ingredients are given on 
 page 54. 
 
 Foaming is the rising of water in the boiler, particularly into the 
 steam space al)Ove the normal Avater level, and it is intimately con- 
 Tieited with priming, which is the passage of water mixed with steam 
 from the boiler into the engine. Foaming results when anything pre- 
 
 1 Idem, p. 82. 
 
58 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 vents the free escape of the nascent steam from the Avater. It is be- 
 lieved to be due principally to sodium and potassium, which remain 
 in solution after most of the other bases are precipitated as scale and 
 which increase the surface tension of the water. The increased sur- 
 face tension tends to prevent the steam bubbles from bursting and 
 escaping. Other factors undoubtedly affect or cause foaming, but 
 sodium and potassium are the chief agents. The principal ill effects 
 of foaming are that the water carried over with the unbroken steam 
 bubbles may injure the engine, and that it may cause dangerously 
 violent boiling. Where waters that foam badly are used it is neces- 
 sary to "blow off " the water at frequent intervals to get rid of the 
 rather concentrated sodium and potassium. A formida for comput- 
 ing the amount of foaming ingredients is given on page 54. 
 
 Corrosion, or " pitting," is caused chiefly by the solvent action of 
 free acids on the iron of the boiler. Many acids have this effect, but 
 the chief ones are those freed by the deposition of hydrates of iron, 
 aluminum, and especially of magnesium. The acid radicles that 
 were in equilibrium with these bases may pass into equilibrium with 
 other bases, thus setting free equivalent quantities of CO3 and HCO3 ; 
 or they may decompose carbonates and bicarbonates that have been 
 deposited as scale ; or they may combine with the iron of the boiler, 
 thus causing corrosion; oV they may do any two or all three of these. 
 Even with the most complete analysis this action can be predicted 
 only as a probabilit3^ If the acid thus freed exceeds the amount re- 
 quired to decompose the carbonates and bicarbonates it corrodes the 
 iron. The clanger from corrosion obviously lies in the thinning and 
 weakening of the boiler, which may result in explosion. The formula 
 for the corrosive tendency ^ used in computations based on the anal- 
 yses expresses the relation between the reacting values of magnesium 
 and the radicles involving carbonic acid. If c is positive the water is 
 corrosive, for this represents an excess of magnesium over carbonate 
 and bicarbonate. If c— 0.0499 Ca (the reacting value of the calcium) 
 is negative the carbonate and bicarbonate taken together can hold 
 both the calcium and magnesium, and corrosion will not be caused 
 by the mineral constituents. If c— 0.0499 Ca is positive the ability of 
 the carbonate and bicarbonate to hold the calcium and magnesium is 
 uncertain and corrosion is uncertain. These three conditions may 
 be represented by the symbols C (corrosive), N (noncorrosive), and 
 ( ? ) (corrosion uncertain) . (For formulas see page 54.) 
 
 In working with the assays it is necessary to restate the conditions, 
 as the amounts of calcium and magnesium are unknown. One-fif- 
 tieth of the total hardness is equivalent to the reacting value of cal- 
 cium and magnesium, and H divided by 230 (or 0.004 H) is equiva- 
 
 1 Meiulenhall, W. C, Dol(», R. B., and Stabler, Herman, op. cit., p. Go. 
 
GROUND ^\'ATEl; IXIR PUBLIC SUPPLY. 
 
 59 
 
 lont to tlio iViK'tiui:- vahu' of niao'iu'siiim on llu- :i>siiiiij)rK)H that 
 Ca^r^^J jMii". a ratio whii-li £>i\-es niagncsiuui its .smallest probable 
 value relative to caleiuiu. The reacting- values of carbonate aiul bi- 
 carbonate are repre.sentcd, i-espcctively. by O.OSo CO.. and 0,016 
 HCO3, each coefficient being the ratio of the valence of the radicle 
 to its molecular weight. The following propositions result: 
 ■ If 0.0;V> CO,+0.0U) ITC(),>().0'2 II, then the mineral matter will 
 not cause corrosion. 
 
 Tf 0.0:);^ C().;+0.()1() HCO;;<0.(K)4: H. then the water is corrosive. 
 
 If ().0;',8 CO.I+O.OIG HCO,<0.()2 H but>0.0()4 H. tlien corrosion is 
 uncertain. 
 
 Scale forruation. foaming, and corro.sion are the principal criteria 
 in rating waters for boiler use, but their evaluation is a matter of 
 i)ersonal experience and judgment. The committee on water service 
 of the American Kaihvay Engineering and Maintenance of Way As- 
 sociation has offered two classifications by Avhich waters in their raAv 
 state may be approximately rated, but, as their report states. '• it is 
 difficult to define by analy.sis sharply the line between good and liad 
 water for steam-making purposes.'' Their tables, which are given 
 below with tlii> amounts recalculated in terms of parts per million, 
 Avere used in rating the waters for this report. In every case the less 
 favorable of the U\o ratings was given. 
 
 U'dlitiys of iratrr for Iioilcr ii-'se accordlnci to incn(stiii<i ojid (■orrod'nKj inyre' 
 dirnt.s (111(1 to foainvu/ ingredievt^f- 
 
 Tncrnstin;; and corroding ingredi- 
 onte. 
 
 Foammg intcreciifnts. 
 
 Parts per miilioii. 
 
 Classification. 6 
 
 Parts per million. 
 
 I'U-.i.sifieation.c 
 
 More 
 than— 
 
 Not more 
 
 than— 
 
 More 
 than— 
 
 Not more 
 than— 
 
 
 90 
 200 
 430 
 
 Good. 
 Fair. 
 Poor. 
 Bad. 
 
 
 150 
 
 Good. 
 Fair 
 Bad. 
 Very bad. 
 
 90 
 200 
 430 
 
 150 
 250 
 400 
 
 250 
 400 
 
 
 
 
 
 oMcndenhali, W. C, Dole, R. B., and Stabler, Herman, Groxmd water in San Joaquin Valley, Calif.: 
 !.'. 8. Cieol. Survey Water-Supplv Paper 398, p. 07, 1916. 
 b Km. Railway Eui". and Maintenance of Way Assoc. Proc. vol. 5, p. 565, 1904. 
 cldeni, vol. Ol p. 13!, 1908. 
 
 Qualify of ■water for domef^tie use. — Waters whose harthiess does 
 not exceed 200 parts per million and which are sufficiently low in 
 mineral matter to be palatable are satisfactory for drinking and 
 cooking. Althougli Avaters high in hardening constituents can be 
 used for drinking they are unsatisfactory for cooking and launder- 
 ing. Hardness exceeding 1.500 parts per million makes water unde- 
 sirable for cookino;, and water much softer than that consumes 
 
60 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 excessive quantities of soap in washing. Approximately 200 parts 
 per million of carbonate, 250 parts of chloride, and 300 parts of sul- 
 phate can be detected by taste. Considerably higher amounts of 
 these constituents can be tolerated by a human being, but more than 
 800 parts per million of carbonate, 1,500 parts of chloride, or 2,000 
 parts of sulphate is apparently intolerable to most people. How- 
 ever, local conditions and individual preference largely determine 
 the significance of the terms " good " or " bad " as applied to the 
 mineral quality of water for domestic use. 
 
 CONTAMINATION. 
 
 Water supplies may become contaminated in various ways, chiefly 
 by industrial and manufacturing wastes, by the washing in of sur- 
 face drainage, or by sewage. The objectionable materials derived 
 from industrial wastes are largely chemical ; those derived from sur- 
 face wash or seAvage are organic, the germs of disease. As industrial 
 wastes do not frequently pollute ground-water supplies, they are 
 passed over briefly in this report. Sea water causes serious trouble 
 in parts of the Norwalk area but need not be considered except in 
 a strip along the shore of Long Island Sound. Sewage is 'a very 
 serious clanger and is of various sorts, including animal excreta, 
 human excreta, and kitchen wastes. It is only through a nearly 
 criminal neglect of the elementary principles of h3^giene and sanita- 
 tion that these substances ever get into water supplies. Wells should 
 never be constructed where there is any possibility of underflow 
 from barnyards, latrines, or kitchen drains. No spring that is thus 
 wrongly situated should be used. No bai-nyard, pigpen, latrine, or 
 kitchen drain should be built in a situation where it might pollute a 
 well or spring. No rule can be laid down as to the direction of flow 
 of the underground water, though it is in general the same as the 
 direction of slope of the surface of the ground. Similarly no rule 
 can be given as to what may be considered a safe distance between a 
 well or spring and a source of pollution. To be safe this distance 
 should always be made as great as possible. 
 
 The excreta of all animals, especially of human beings, contain 
 considerable amounts of chloride that has been taken into the body 
 in the form of sodium chloride (common salt) and discharged in the 
 same condition. The human excreta are richer in chloride because 
 liuman beings are able to obtain more salt. Chloride is a normal 
 constituent of all waters in Connecticut and is derived in part from 
 the sea by the agencj?- of the wind, which carries inland small amounts 
 of salt-laden spray. There is, then, for every point a " normal " 
 amount of chloride, the amount that is normally carried there by 
 the wind. Along the shore of Long Island Sound it is rather large, 
 
GR0U:N'D WATEi; FOn PUBLIC SUPPLY. 61 
 
 but inliiiul it is siiiall. I'lio uiiiount of cliloriile in iiormnl watei's of 
 Connectiout lias been determined for different parts of the State 
 tind slioAvn on maps ' indicating!: the normal distribution of chloride 
 by means of isochlors, or lines dehnin.i!; areas within which the 
 waters in their natural state contain certain definite amounts of 
 cliloride. In the SufHcld area the normal chloride is about 1.5 parts 
 per million, and in the (ilastonbury area about 2 parts. In the in- 
 land portion (Ridgefield) of the Norwalk area the normal chloride 
 is from 2 to 2.5 parts per million, but alon^; the shore it is much 
 irreater. This wind-blown salt is almost the only normal source of 
 cidoi'ide for Avatei's deri\ed from the crystalline rocks, the till, or 
 the stratified drift, though it is possible that some of the sandstone 
 Nvaters have dissolved small amounts of salt that was included in 
 the sediments dnring their deposition. Chloride may be readily and 
 accui-ately determined by the chemist. Any water which has an un- 
 due amount of chloride should be looked on with suspicion and 
 should not be used in its raw state unless frequent bacteriologic ex- 
 amination shows it to be indubitably safe. Many of the cases of 
 tA'phoid fever that have occurred in the State have been traced to 
 water supplies contaminated by human excreta. 
 
 Xitrates may also be considered as indicators of contamination by 
 sewage, for nitrogen exists in all excreta as nitrates or in forms 
 readily convertible to nitrates through oxidation. Waters that 
 contain more than 6 or 7 parts per million of nitrate should be 
 looked on with suspicion and subjected to bacteriologic examination. 
 A content of more than 12 parts per million of nitrate usually 
 indicates gross contamination. Waters in which the total min- 
 eral content is unusiuilly high may be approved though the nitrate 
 is a little high, whereas in waters with a low total mineral con- 
 tent less nitrate is alloAvable. In general waters that are high in 
 both nitrate and chloride indicate contamination by human ex- 
 creta, Avhereas waters that are high in nitrate but contain only a 
 normal amount of chloride indicate contamination hj live stock. 
 Although waters that contain less than 6 parts per million of chlo- 
 ride are probably free from animal contamination, waters that have 
 unusually little or no nitrate should be treated wdth suspicion, for 
 sewage often contains denitrifying bacteria which destroy the 
 nitrates and convert them to nitrites and perhaps to free nitrogen 
 and am.monia. Because of the comparatively unstable character of 
 the nitrogen in the nitrates, the nitrate content is a far less reliable 
 indicator of pollution than chloride, w'hich is chemicall}'^ very stable. 
 
 ^ Smith, H. E., Connecticut State Board of Health Kept, for 1002, pp. 227-242. 
 
 Orf^iiry, U. E., ;mfl Ellis, I'. E.. I'mlfrcronnd-water r(<sources of (.'onnecricut : U. S. 
 Geol. Survpy Water-Supply Paper 232, p. 108, 1909. 
 
62 GROUND WATER Ilf WOEWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 It is 2)ossible in general to locate the source of excessive chloride 
 or nitrate by inspection of the surroundings of the well or spring 
 from which the sample for analysis was obtained. In fact, it is 
 often ])ossible on simple examination of the premises to predict that 
 analysis will show excessive chloride or nitrate. 
 
 In addition to making safe the location of a well, or spring by 
 seeing to it that no potential source of pollution is near, precautions 
 should be taken to prevent the entrance of surface wash. The 
 ground around dug wells should be filled in and' tamped enough to 
 make rain water and drippings flow away from them and not back 
 into them. An excellent protection is a concrete apron several feet 
 wide on ail sides of the well and sloping away from it. Cattle^ 
 should be kej^t away from wells and springs by a fence, and the^' 
 should be watered at a trough some distance away. Drilled wells 
 should have the iron casing set firmly into the bedrock to prevent 
 the entrance of shallow ground water, and the casing should extend 
 a foot above the ground to keep out surface wash. A little extra 
 care, labor, and expense in the protection of a w^ater supply will be 
 well repaid by the feeling of safety gained, if not by the saving of 
 doctors' bills and perhaps even of life. 
 
 TABULATIONS. 
 
 The results of the analyses and assays and the computations based 
 on them are tabulated for each town included in this report. 
 
 Tables of analyses and assays comparing the waters from the vari- 
 ous water-bearing formations are given on page 64. Within each 
 table the data have been grouped according to the geologic for- 
 mation from which the waters were obtained, and the average 
 amounts of each constituent are reported, together with the number 
 of analyses or assays used in obtaining the average. Figure 12 is a 
 graphic representation of the table comparing the groups of analyses. 
 The analyses of dolomite water and beach-sancl water are not plotted 
 except as they are involved in the general average of the 25 analyses. 
 
 With the possible exception of the analyses of w^aters from strati- 
 fied drift and till, the number of analyses available is too small to 
 represent adequately the average composition of waters from tlie 
 various water-bearing formations. As it is inadvisable to draw 
 generalizations from these data regarding the quality of water by 
 formations, the graph (see fig. 12) and tables of averages are pre- 
 sented with that understanding and are not intended to be inter- 
 preted as conclusive. 
 
 The presence of carbonate in waters is dependent upon the con- 
 dition of its chemical equilibrium with bicarbonate. As the 
 
(iROi'xn WATioi; loi; itiujc sri'j'LN 
 
 (>3 
 
64 
 
 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 equilibrium is a variable, separate averages of carbonate and bicar- 
 bonate are often difficult of interpretation. Thus it will be noticed 
 in the table of averages of analyses that some of the waters con- 
 tained no carbonate at the time of analysis, although it is possible 
 that under certain conditions carbonate might be present in them. 
 As a basis for more careful comparison of the waters it would be 
 advisable to convert the bicarbonate into carbonate by dividing the 
 figure for bicarbonate by 2.03. 
 
 Averages of groups of analyses of waters from the icater-l)earing formations of 
 the Nor walk, Suffiehl, and Glastonhurij areas, Connecticut. 
 
 [Parts per million except as otherwise stated.] 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o jo 
 
 
 
 ^^• 
 
 m 
 
 , 
 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■3 
 
 o o 
 
 o 
 
 
 ■ ^ 
 
 
 2 
 
 ■rt 
 
 fHo, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2r7 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ■^ 
 
 o 
 
 M 
 
 ^ 
 
 2 
 
 '^s 
 
 Formation. 
 
 d 
 a 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 
 3 
 'o 
 
 i 
 ■a 
 
 1 
 
 li 
 
 03 
 
 f 
 
 o 
 
 ^5 
 
 o 
 
 d 
 
 +3^ — ' 
 
 Kl 
 
 a 
 •3 
 
 CO 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 o3'~' 
 
 "o 
 o 
 
 |d 
 
 s 
 
 o 
 
 a.S 
 i 
 
 o 
 
 CO 
 
 g 
 
 2 2 
 
 2; '^ 
 
 Gneiss 
 
 26 
 17 
 
 0.65 
 14 
 
 13 
 IS 
 
 4.1 
 4 fi 
 
 8.2 
 18 
 
 2.7 
 
 
 48 
 77 
 
 17 
 14 
 
 4.4 
 6.2 
 
 0.22 
 .08 
 
 100 
 
 114 
 
 SO 
 64 
 
 72 
 
 78 
 
 23 
 
 49 
 
 2 
 
 Dolomite 
 
 al 
 
 Sandstone 
 
 ?fi 
 
 3? 
 
 44 
 
 Q ?. 
 
 21 
 
 4 6 
 
 8?, 
 
 105 
 
 4 1 
 
 ? 8 
 
 960 
 
 1,50 
 
 170 
 
 57 
 
 3 
 
 Stratified drift 
 
 19 
 
 ■SO 
 
 13 
 
 3 7 
 
 17 
 
 
 
 49 
 
 19 
 
 13 
 
 7 
 
 119 
 
 48 
 
 64 
 
 45 
 
 10 
 
 Till 
 
 ?3 
 
 m 
 
 14 
 
 5 5 
 
 15 
 
 P 
 
 70 
 
 14 
 
 8.7 
 
 3.6 
 
 115 
 
 59 
 
 75 
 
 39 
 
 8 
 
 
 11 
 21 
 
 .32 
 .32 
 
 22 
 
 18 
 
 6.0 
 5.1 
 
 37 
 17 
 
 .0 
 
 1.0 
 
 90 
 
 42 
 
 49 
 29 
 
 30 
 10 
 
 4.4 
 4.5 
 
 218 
 140 
 
 80 
 66 
 
 86 
 82 
 
 100 
 45 
 
 ol 
 
 Average of 25 analyses 
 
 
 a Only analysis available from this formation. 
 
 Averages of groups of assays of iraters from the various irater-hearing fotma- 
 tions of the Norwalk, Suffield, and Glastonbury areas, Connecticut. 
 
 (Parts per million except as otherwise stated.] 
 
 Formation. 
 
 Hi 
 
 so 
 
 03O 
 
 csO 
 ao 
 
 «2 
 
 °.2 
 
 .CI 
 
 eg 
 
 is 
 
 O in . 
 
 <s a, 
 o « O 
 
 m.2 
 
 ■ W.J 
 
 Gneiss 
 
 Sandstone 
 
 Stratified drift 
 
 Till 
 
 Average of 42 assays 
 
 0.32 
 .25 
 .22 
 .21 
 
 .22 
 
 3.3 
 
 4.0 
 
 .0 
 
 .9 
 
 76 
 135 
 
 44 
 109 
 
 48 
 8.6 
 17 
 12 
 
 17 
 
 204 
 193 
 113 
 161 
 
 129 
 52 
 96 
 
 125 
 153 
 
 77 
 120 
 
 102 
 
 42 
 
 TEMPERATirRE OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 The temperature of ground water depends on and tends to become 
 the same as that of the material through which it circulates. A layer 
 a few inches thick at the top of the ground varies greatly in tempera- 
 ture every 24 hours, owing to the heating effect of the sun in the da}^- 
 time and the radiation of heat at night. This phenomenon is particu- 
 
GROU.XI) WATKIl FOR rUBLIC SUPrLY. 65 
 
 lai'ly noticeable early in the sprin^-, when the <i:r()iin(l Ireezes liai'd at 
 night but tlunvs and beeomejs sol't and nuuUly (buin<>- the day. At a 
 moderate depth these diurnal variations become negligible and only 
 seasonal fluctuations oi" tem])erature occur. These seasonal fluc- 
 tuations of temperatuie correspond to the freezing of the gi'oimd 
 to a depth of several feet in the fall and the spring thawing of 
 this ground, which has remained frozen through the winter. 
 At a still greater depth there are not even seasonal fluctuations and 
 the temperature is uniform the year around. The depth of this zone 
 of no seasonal fluctuation of temperature is believed to be r»0 or 60 
 feet. Its temperature tends to be the same as the mean annual 
 temperature of the locality, and water which circulates through it 
 tends to have the same temperature as the mean annual temperature. 
 In the southern part of tlie Xorwalk area the normal ground-water 
 temperature is probably about 49.5° F., the mean annual temperature 
 at New Haven, a place of similar situation.^ In the northern part 
 of the Xorwalk area the normal ground-water temperature is per- 
 liaps 1° lower because of the gi'eater elevation and the greater 
 distance from the ameliorating influence of Long Island Sound. 
 In the Suffield area the normal ground-water temperature is probably 
 about 48.5°, the mean annual temperature at Hartford. This will 
 also hold for the northern or lowland part of the Glastonbury area, 
 but in the southern or highland part the normal ground-water 
 temperature will be half a degree or a degree lower. In the region 
 of no seasonal fluctuation of temperature there is a rather uniform 
 increase of temperature with increasing depth, due to the internal 
 heat of the earth. This amounts to 1° F. for every 50 to 100 feet 
 increase in depth, so that deep drilled wells usually get slightly 
 warmer water. 
 
 Springs and wells whose waters have traveled a considerable 
 distance in the zone of no seasonal fluctuation should have this 
 temperature uniformly the year around. If the circulation has been 
 in large part in the zone of seasonal fluctuation the water will be 
 warmer in summer than in winter. It seems probable that springs 
 on north slopes, where the heating effect of the sun is at a minimum, 
 would be a little cooler than normal, and springs on south slopes, 
 where insolation is at a maximum, would be a little warmer than 
 normal. Because of this factor and because of the increase of 
 temperature in depth, the actual temperature of the water is of less 
 importance in determining whether Avater has circulated near the 
 surface or at considerable depth than the uniformity of the tempera- 
 ture the year around. 
 
 • Summaries of climatolocacal data hy flections : U. S. Weatlior Bviroau P.ull. 2. pt. 2, 
 sec. 105, p. 11, 1905. 
 
 1.54444°— 20 5 
 
66 GROTJls^D WATER liV NORWALK All^D OTHER AREAS, CONJST. 
 
 DETAILED DESCRIPTIONS OF TOWNS. 
 DABIEN. 
 AREA, I^OPULATION, AJTD INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Darien is on the southern liorder of S'airfield County, between 
 Stamford and Korwalk, Long Island Sound forms the south 
 boundary and Noroton Kiver the Yv^est boundary. The east boundary 
 m part follows Fivemile Kiver. The area of the town is about 13 
 square miles, of which 3 square miles, or about 25 per ceiit of the 
 whole area, is wood.ed. 
 
 The territory was taken from Stamford and made a separate town 
 in 1820. In 1910 the population was 3,946, an increase of 830 in the 
 decade from 1900. The mean density of population is 312 to the 
 square mile. The following table gives the population at each cen- 
 sus and the per cent of change during the preceding decade: 
 
 ropulatiosi of Darien/' 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion, 
 
 Per cent 
 ehaiige. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- Per com 
 tion. change. 
 
 1820 
 
 1,126 
 1,212 
 1,080 
 1, 454 
 1, 705 
 
 + 8 
 -11 
 
 + 35 
 
 + 17 
 
 1S70 
 
 1,808 
 1,949 
 2,276 
 3,116 
 3,946 
 
 + 6 
 
 1S30 
 
 isso - 
 
 r ^i 
 
 18*0 
 
 1890 
 
 + 17 
 
 1850 
 
 190i> . 
 
 
 1860 
 
 1910 
 
 + 27 
 
 
 
 
 aCoanoeticut rvC,2;isi?r aad Maiiua!, 1915, ]}. GJ3. 
 
 There has been grov* tli in every decade except that from 1830 to 
 1840. In the following decade, 1840 to IS'oO, there was an unusually 
 large growth, due presumably to tlie opening of the New York & 
 New Haven Railroad in 1849. During the last two decades tliere has 
 been a relatively great increase in the population which is dependent 
 in large part on the proximity of New York City. A number of 
 extensive and beautiful residential estates have been established in 
 Darien, and it is probable that this sort of development w^ill con- 
 tinue. The growth for the next tew decades will probably be mod- 
 erate and steady. Darien and Noroton are the principal settlements. 
 Both have stations on the main line of the New York, New Haven & 
 Hartford Railroad. A trolley line connects Stamford and Norwalk 
 and runs through Darien. Post offices are maintained at Darien, 
 Noroton, and Noroton Heights, and the outlying districts are served 
 by rural delivery. The Boston Post Road, one of the State trunk- 
 line highways, runs east and west near the south boundary of the 
 town. About 4 miles of its length is in Darien, and it connects all 
 the shore towns betv/een Bridgeport and Nevv^ York. In addition, 
 there are about 60 miles of road worked by the town and a number 
 of miles of semipublic roads privately maintained. The town roads 
 
r. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 WATEK-SUPPLY PAPER 470 PLATE VIII 
 
 A. ESTUARY IN DARIEN, CONN. 
 
 
 '^'■-i^<:X -'ik^^iy, 
 
 ,.^' 
 
 B. SECTION OF STRATIFIED DRIFT, DARIEN, CONN. 
 
liARIEN. <)7 
 
 are excelleiil ami are con.-truetod \n part oi' macadam and in pait of 
 gravel. 
 
 Tlie principal tntlu.stries of Darien are agriculture and oyslor 
 farming. Tlie residential estates directly and indirectly furnish 
 einplt)ynient to n»any of the inhabitanfs. 
 
 SUIU'\\Ctl FEATURES. 
 
 Darien, altliough it lies near sea level, must be included in the 
 \vesteri\ highlands of Connecticut because of the character of its 
 bedrock and tlie topography developed thereon. The strongly ridged 
 and furroAved surface of erosion has been depressed and in part 
 submerged. Small estuaries alternate with peninsulas and make a 
 very irregular shore line. The maximum elevation, about 260 feet 
 above sea level, is found on several ridges near tlie north boundary. 
 
 A long cycle of erosion had reduced this regio)i to a plain. Sub- 
 sequently this plain was uplifted and dissected, forming ridges and 
 elongated hills that trend about north and south. The hills were 
 somewhat worn' down and the valleys partly filled w^ith debris. In 
 a strip of coimtry about a mile wide along the shore there are many 
 small knobs of solid rock which rise above the water level of the 
 bays and above the salt marshes. It is belie\"ed that since its 
 glaciation the region has been depressed relative to sea level, that the 
 bays and estuaries are drowned valleys, and that the peniiLsulas are 
 partly submerged ridges. Plate VIII, A^ a view in the southeasteiii 
 part of the town, shows an estuary bordered b}'^ salt marshes above 
 wliich rise small, wooded, rocky hills. 
 
 The eastern part of the tov.n is drained by Fivemile Kiver and 
 the western by Xoroton River. The central part of the town is 
 drained by Stony Brook and a second unnamed brook. These streams 
 rise just beyond the north boundary of the town and are about T) 
 miles long. There are also a few short brooks in the soutli part of tlie 
 town that drain directly into the Sound. 
 
 WATEK-BEAKINti FORMATIONS. 
 
 Schist- and gneiss.- — Three bedrock formutions have been recog- 
 nized in Darien ^ — Becket granite gneiss. Danbur}- gTanodiorite 
 gneiss, and Thomaston granite gneiss. 
 
 The Becket granite gneiss, which underlies a small area along the 
 north portion of the Fivemile Brook boundarj''. is of complex origin — 
 that is, it is a schist, into which a great deal of igneous material has 
 been injected, thus altering its character. The rock consists of ill- 
 
 1 Gregory, H. E., and Robinson, II. 11., Prpliminary geological map of Conn«etieut : Con- 
 necticut Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 1907. 
 
t>8 GEOUXD WATER IN NORWALK K^B OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 defined alternating bands of gray schist and sheets of granitic and 
 liornblendic material. 
 
 The Thomaston granite gneiss is the bedrock in a small area in 
 the northwest corner of the town and a larger area around and south 
 of Noroton. Originalh^ it was gTanite composed essentially of 
 quartz, feldspar, and mica with minor quantities of accessory 
 minerals. Subsequent mashing has given it a moderately pro- 
 nounced gneissic texture expressed by dark bands that are relatively 
 rich in black mica. The degree to which this texture is developed 
 varies from place to place. 
 
 The Danbury granodiorite gneiss is similar to the Thomaston 
 granite gneiss except that it has hornblende in addition to quartz, 
 feldspar, and mica. Its gneissic character is in general less pro- 
 nounced but is everywhere clearly distinguishable. This formation 
 underlies most of Darien. 
 
 The water-bearing properties of the three bedrocks are so much 
 alike that they may be considered together. Interstitial water is 
 almost if not entirely absent. A number of elongated openings, 
 lissu.res, and joint cracks exist in these rocks. Water which has 
 fallen as rain and snow and been absorbed by the unconsolidated 
 mantle rock may be transmitted ultimately to the intricate net- 
 work of intersecting fissures in the bedrock. Wells drilled into the 
 rock are apt to intersect one or more such water-bearing crevices 
 and to obtain moderate supplies. In general the fissures are more 
 abunflant in the higher zones of the bedrock than farther down. It 
 is therefore better policy to abandon a well that is unsuccessful in 
 the first 300 feet arid to try in a new place, rather than to drill 
 deeper. This is shown by the following table compiled from the 
 data on drilled wells given on page 74. The wells have been grouped 
 according to depth, and the ratio of the yield (in gallons per 
 minute) to the depth computed. The number of gallons per minute 
 obtained for each foot drilled is in general less in the deeper groups 
 than in the shallower groups. 
 
 Relation of yield of drilled 'nells to depth. 
 
 Depth of wells (feet) - ■ 
 
 Number of wells 
 
 Total depth - - feet- 
 
 Total yield gallons per minute. 
 
 Average yield .do- - - 
 
 Yield per foot of drilling do. . . 
 
 0-99. 
 
 100-199. 
 
 200-299. 
 
 300-399. 
 
 400-499. 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 o29 
 
 1,093 
 
 694 
 
 1,027 
 
 2,145 
 
 42.5 
 
 39 
 
 14.5 
 
 23.5 
 
 94 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 19 
 
 .080 
 
 .036 
 
 .021 
 
 .023 
 
 .044 
 
 500 and 
 over. 
 
 4 
 3,468 
 32.5 
 7 
 .009 
 
 Tlie depths of 40 drilled w^ells in Darien were ascertained. They 
 range from 65 to 1,465 feet and average 266 feet. The yields of 30 of 
 
DAKIEN. 
 
 09 
 
 these wells uverao-e 8 gallons a minute. A few of them yielded no 
 water, and the oroatest yield was ^*0 g'allons a niinnle. 
 
 No general statement can be made as to the direction and extent 
 of the water-bearing fissnres in the town. Systems of fissures, or a set 
 of two or three systems, are developed locally. One system is roughly 
 horizontal and i?s cut by one or two steeply inclined fissure systems. 
 One of the inclined systems tends to dominate the other. It is said 
 that on the east side of Long Neck Point there is more probability 
 of obtaining salt water in deep wells than on the west side. A pos- 
 sible explanation of this condition is suggested in figure 13. A 
 system of strong fissures striking north and dipping west would be 
 likely to carry sea Avater in.to wells near the east shore, for the 
 fissure cut by such Avells crops out under the Avatei's of the Sound. 
 The fissures cut by drilled 
 wells on the west side of 
 the peninsula would be 
 fissures that crop out 
 above sea level, The out- 
 crops of bedrock on Long 
 Neck Point are so few 
 tliat the direction of the 
 fissure systems could not 
 be ascertained. 
 
 It is impossible to make 
 a general statement as to 
 1k)w near the shore a well may be drilled with certainty of avoiding 
 pollution b}^ sea water, because of the great irregidarity of the fissure 
 systems. However, it seems inadvisable to drill within 500 feet of 
 the shore, or on a small island. 
 
 TJ7]. — Overlying the consolidated bedrock in Darien are found 
 three types of mnntle rock — till, stratified drift, and the muds of the 
 salt marshes, the last of which, however, are not an available source 
 of w^ater suppl3^ 
 
 Till is the material formed by the plowing and scraping action 
 of the great ice sheet that overrode the region in glacial time. It 
 consists of a thoroughly mixed mass of debris of all kinds of material 
 in fragments Avhich range in size from the finest of rock-flour par- 
 ticles to boulders weighing tons. It comprises a matrix of sand, silt, 
 and I'ock flour in which are embedded pebbles, cobbles, and bouldei"s. 
 Between the smaller particles are minute interstices that are capable 
 of absorbing rain Avater, of storing it, and of giving it out sloAvly 
 to wells aTid springs. AVells dug in till, unless unfavorably situated, 
 Avill yield small but fairly reliable supplies of Avater. Forty-three 
 
 Figure 1.' 
 
 IT,vpi)thot!cal section of Long 
 I'oiiit, DiU'it-n. 
 
 Nock 
 
70 GROUjSTD V/ATER IX iNTORWi^iK AND OTIIEE AREAS, GONlv, 
 
 suck wells were measured at Darien in September, 1916. Data re- 
 garding the depths found are given in the following table : 
 
 Siii)iina>-[i of vjeUs dug in till in Daricii. 
 
 
 Total Depth to 
 depth. water. 
 
 1 
 
 Depth of 
 water. 
 
 
 Feet. 
 55.0 
 6.7 
 19.6 
 
 Feet. 
 35.0 
 3.1 
 13.3" 
 
 Feet. 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 & 4 
 
 
 
 Twentj/'-six of the v^'ells vrere said to be unfailing, and eig^iit were 
 said to fail. The reliability of the remaining nine wells was not as- 
 certained. 
 
 Stratified, drift. — Along Norwalk Eiver and Fivemile River and 
 in other valley bottoms till is absent and stratified drift eonstitutes 
 the mantle rock. This drift is a water-laid deposit formed for the 
 most part by the rev/orking of the materials of the till. The dif- 
 ferent sizes have been sorted from one aBO-ther and laid in dis- 
 tinct beds and lenses. Because of the elin-iination to a great extent 
 of fine particles from the spaces between the larger ones, this type 
 of deposit is more porous than till. It not only can contain more 
 water, but because of the greater size of the passages it will transmit 
 water more readily. This greater porosity makes it a better source 
 of water than till, except where the body of stratified drift is in a 
 bad topographic situation from which the water may readily seep 
 awa}^ The wells of the Tokeneke Water Co. and two domestic wells 
 (Nos. 28 and 2&) in Barien are dug in stratified drift. One spring, 
 No. %'% (see map, PL II), is at the foot of a terrace scarp and at 
 the inner edge of the flood plain of Fivemile Eive^. This spring was 
 yielding about a gallon a minute in September and had a tempera- 
 ture of 51° F. 
 
 QUALITY OF GROU^TD WATER. 
 
 The accompanying table gives the results of two analyses and two 
 assays of samples of ground waters collected in the tov»'n of Darien, 
 The waters are low in mineral content, are very soft, and are suit- 
 able for boiler use. In so far as may be determined by chemical 
 investigation of the mineral content of these waters they are accept- 
 able for domestic use. No. 16 and the composite sample, No. 71 
 and 7lA, are calcium-carbonate in type. Nos. 49 and 51 are sodium- 
 carbonate waters. 
 
DAIilE^s. 
 
 71 
 
 i'hciitic'.il cam iM'^ it ion and clds.si/irdii-in of iiroinul iratt.rs in J)(iri<ii.'' 
 
 [Parts per million. Collected Dec. 9, 1916; analyzed by Alfred A. Chambers and (.'. Jl. Kidwcll. 
 Xumbors of analyses and assays correspond with those used on I'l. II.) 
 
 Silica (SiO-.) 
 
 lro!i (Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magnesium (Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+Kjf 
 
 C;u"h<jnateradicle (CO:;) 
 
 Biiarl lonal e radicle (liCO;)) 
 
 Sulpliaie radicle (S0^) 
 
 Chloride radicle f CI) 
 
 Nil raio radicle ( NOn) 
 
 Total dis,solvcd solidsat 180 =" C. .. 
 
 Total hardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale-forming constituents^ 
 
 Foaming constitucntsf 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 Prol laliility of corrosion/ 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic use 
 
 -\jialyses.'' 
 
 Assays, c 
 
 S3 
 .40 
 9.6 
 4.5 
 9.1 
 5.3 
 &1 
 5.9 
 3.6 
 .43 
 68 
 :42 
 69 
 
 Ca-COs 
 (?) 
 Good 
 Gootl. 
 
 20 
 
 .11 
 10 
 ■i.-.', 
 U 
 
 .0 
 38 
 "16 
 9.=« 
 .77 
 SO 
 f 38 
 55 
 30 
 
 0.41 
 
 ; 
 
 15 
 
 U 
 
 .0 
 
 .0 
 
 30 
 
 0^ 
 
 22 
 
 8.0 
 
 4.2 , 
 
 4.2 
 
 <to 
 
 <G7 
 
 23 
 
 14 
 
 50 
 
 40 
 
 40 
 
 SO 
 
 Ca-COs 
 
 Na-CC, ' 
 
 (?) 
 
 N ' 
 
 Good. 
 
 Good. 
 
 Good. 
 
 Good. 
 
 Na-COa 
 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 
 Good. 
 
 "For location and other descriptive information see pp. 72-74. 
 
 *For methods used in analyses and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 c Approximations: for methods used in assays and reliabiiitv of results sse pp. 52-00. 
 
 d Collected December 7. 1916. 
 
 ( Computed. 
 
 /Based 0'\ computed quantity; (?)=corr6sion uncertain; X=uoncorrosive. 
 
 PUBLIC WATEU SUPFLIHS. 
 
 Two companies supply' the residents of Darien with water. The 
 Noroton Water Co. has been supph'ing Darien. Noroton, and Noro- 
 ton Heights in Darien and a fsAv customers in Glenbrook in Stam- 
 ford since 1911. It buys its water by meter from the Stamford 
 Water Co. and distributes it by gra\aty under a pressure of 55 to 
 65 pounds to the square inch through 15.6 miles of main pipe to 
 96 hydrants and 406 metered service taps.^ The 2,500 people that 
 are supplied consume an average of 194,000 gallons a day. Mr. 
 Harold H. Mead, the superintendent, stated in 1916 that the winter 
 consumption is only two-thirds as great as the summer consumption. 
 The company owns two reservoir sites, one in North Stamford and 
 one in New Canaan, which will eventually be used. 
 
 The Tokeneke Water Co. is a subsidiary of the Tokeneke Cor- 
 poration which has made an extensive land development in the 
 southeast corner of the town. Service Avas begun in December, 
 1909, At present water from tv\'o large dug wells in stratified drift 
 is pumped to a steel standpipe of 46,500 gallons capacity, and is 
 distributed by gravity through 3.5 miles of mains to 16 hydrants 
 
 1 Connecticut I'liblic Utilities Commission liept., 1017. 
 
72 
 
 GROUND WATER IN XORWALK AXD OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 iind 81 service taps. The pressure is from 40 to 60 pounds to the 
 square inch. There are two single-acting triplex Gould pumps of 
 G^-inch bore and 8-inch stroke, driven by upright single-cylinder 
 gasoline engines. The capacitj^ of each pump is said by Mr. Charles 
 F. Barker, the superintendent, to be 150 gallons a minute. A small 
 single-acting triplex Gould pump, of 3|-inch bore and 4-inch stroke, 
 that has a capacity of 25 gallons a minute and is driven by an electric 
 motor, is used as an auxiliary. 
 
 The site of the wells was originally a terrace, but in excavating 
 gravel for road building it has been cut down nearly to the level of 
 the flood plain. Plate VIII, B^ shows the fact of the remaining 
 portion of the terrace and the character of the stratified drift at 
 this point. Plate IX, ^1, shows the pumping plant and the roofs 
 of the wells. At the left is well No. 2 (No. TlA on the map, PL II), 
 which is 32 feet in diameter and 13 feet deep, at the center is the 
 pump house, and at the right is well No. 1 (No. Tl on the map), 
 which is 15 feet in diameter and 10 feet deep. According to Mr. 
 Barker, if pumping is done at the rate of 150 gallons a mJnute and 
 water is taken from both wells the drawdown, or depression of the 
 water level, is about 2 feet. If well No. 1 is pumped alone the 
 water is depressed to the suction limit in 3 or 4 hours. If well No. 2 
 is pumped alone the drawdown is about 2|^ feet, but the water in 
 well No. 1, 100 feet away, is lowered about 6 inches. Mr. Barker 
 estimates the daily consumption in the summer months to be 60,000 
 to 70.000 gallons a day. but only a third as much in winter. 
 
 RECORDS OF WELLS. 
 WclU (lug in till in Daricn. 
 
 Xo. on 
 PI. 11. 
 
 0A\iier. 
 
 iTopoicraphic 
 i situation. 
 
 Wra. E.Clark 
 
 Slope. . . 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plateau. 
 do.. 
 
 Slope... 
 
 H. V. Miller ! do.. 
 
 I do.. 
 
 I Plateau. 
 
 I Slope. .. 
 
 do.. 
 
 John Straks Plain. . . 
 
 ' do. 
 
 I Slope.. 
 
 E. C. Bates | do. 
 
 I Plain.. 
 
 I Slope.. 
 
 ' do. 
 
 do. 
 
 n C3 
 
 a' 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 is 
 
 5^ 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Fat. 
 
 Fcef. 
 
 130 
 
 25.0 
 
 21.8 
 
 130 
 
 24.1 
 
 16.6 
 
 205 
 
 18.6 
 
 10.2 
 
 205 
 
 26.2 
 
 10.1 
 
 205 
 
 19.3 
 
 10.1 
 
 240 
 
 16.1 
 
 6.2 
 
 2.35 
 
 18.5 
 
 14.1 
 
 230 
 
 20.9 
 
 13.9 
 
 190 
 
 17.9 
 
 14.7 
 
 210 
 
 17.6 
 
 9.3 
 
 180 
 
 15.1 
 
 9.5 
 
 170 
 
 17.6 
 
 14.2 
 
 150 
 
 14.8 
 
 12.8 
 
 185 
 
 20.7 
 
 15.8 
 
 160 
 
 20.5 
 
 10.2 
 
 75 
 
 17.0 
 
 15.2 
 
 75 
 
 14.2 
 
 8.7 
 
 ' 75 
 
 19.0 
 
 16.1 
 
 50 
 
 26.3 
 
 23.2 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 
 3.2 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Nonf ailing. 
 
 7.5 
 
 . . do. . . 
 
 Do. 
 
 8.4 
 
 .. ..do 
 
 Do. 
 
 16.1 
 
 Chain pumo 
 
 Do. 
 
 9.2 
 
 do....: 
 
 
 9.9 
 
 Windlass riband 
 house pump. 
 
 
 4.4 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Fails. 
 
 7.0 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Nonf ailing. 
 
 3.2 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Do. 
 
 8.3 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 5.6 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Do. 
 
 3.4 
 
 Windlass rig and 
 house pump. 
 
 Do. 
 
 2.0 
 
 Deep-v.'ellpump 
 
 Do. 
 
 4.9 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Abandoned. 
 
 10.3 
 
 House pump 
 
 Nonf ailing. 
 
 1.8 
 
 No rig 
 
 Do. 
 
 5.5 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Do. 
 
 2.9 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Do. 
 
 3.1 
 
 do.......... 
 
 Do. 
 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 WATKH-SUI'I'I.Y TAPKR 17!) PLATK IX 
 
 A. PLANT OF THE TOKENEKE WATER CO., DARIEN, CONN. 
 
 B. STRATIFIED DRIFT PLAIN, EAST GRANBY, CONN. 
 
DARIKN. 
 
 73 
 
 Wells dun i» till ill DarUn — Continued. 
 
 No. on 
 I'i.ll. 
 
 f.O 
 
 eoA 
 
 60B I 
 62 
 66 
 67 
 75 
 76 
 77 
 
 J. C. Ulirlaub. 
 
 roiiosjiiiphic 
 situation. 
 
 Hilltop. 
 Slope . . . 
 I'lateau. 
 Slopp. . . 
 Plain... 
 
 do.. 
 
 Slope. . . 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope. . . 
 do-- 
 
 Mlsses Brady do . 
 
 do. 
 
 Plain . . 
 
 James Kenealy.. 
 
 James A. 
 bridge. 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Trow- 
 
 Slope..-. 
 
 Ridge. 
 
 Slope.. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Plain.. 
 Slope . . 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Plain. . 
 
 Vcet. 
 180 
 85 
 165 
 IGO 
 SO 
 70 
 SO 
 ilO 
 140 
 115 
 
 110 
 30 
 45 
 50 
 
 Fffi. 
 35.0 
 17.8 
 30.6 
 27. 5 
 13. 9 
 12.2 
 16.4 
 6.7 
 2:3.5 
 M.4 
 11.4 
 
 18.5 
 12.5 
 9.0 
 10.5 
 
 55. 
 
 .38.0 
 27.0 
 33.1 
 12.1 
 17.2 
 16.0 
 13.0 
 
 20. 
 14.3 
 16.8 
 13.4 
 
 8.7 
 11.1 
 11.3 
 
 3.1 
 15. 7 
 13.0 
 
 8.0 
 
 12.3 
 3.2 
 
 4.5 
 7.6 
 
 35.0 
 
 20.0 
 20.0 
 20. T 
 
 8.2 
 13.3 
 12.7 
 12. 3 
 
 7.2 
 
 Fe-I 
 
 15.0 
 
 3.5 
 
 13.8 
 
 14.1 
 
 5.2 
 
 1.1 
 
 5.1 
 
 3.6 
 
 7.8 
 
 1.4 
 
 3.4 
 
 6.2 
 9.3 
 
 4.5 
 2.9 
 
 20.0 
 
 18.0 
 7.0 
 
 13.0 
 3.9 
 3.9 
 3.3 
 .7 
 1.3 
 
 («) 
 
 Windla.ss ri^'. . 
 do 
 
 Chain pump. . 
 
 Windlass rig.. 
 
 'V ivo-bueket rii 
 
 Windlas.srig.. 
 
 House pump.. 
 
 Chain pump . . 
 do 
 
 House pump. . 
 
 Chain nump. . 
 
 do". 
 
 One-bucket rig 
 Chain pump . . 
 
 Windlass rif;. 
 do 
 
 Chain pump. 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 House pump . 
 
 Rcmuks. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 ]>o. 
 Fails. 
 j Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 
 Fails. For assay 
 .see p. 71. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Nonfailing: fresh 
 water though 
 only 125 feet 
 from well No. 
 53. For assay 
 see p. 71. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. (ft) 
 Do.(<-) 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 Do.(d) 
 
 Fails. 
 
 a Well is 20 feet in dianeter. Pumped by electricity to tank. 
 
 * Well is 3"0 feet east of well No 60. 
 
 « Well is 150 feet south of well No. 60. 
 
 <l Well is in a basin between two rock ledges. 
 
 Wells dug in stratified drift in Dnrien. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. IT. 
 
 Ovriwr 
 
 To)>ographic 
 situation. 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 in well. 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Uemark.s. 
 
 2S 
 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plain 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Feet. 
 25 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 Feet. 
 25.0 
 23.9 
 10.0 
 
 13.0 
 
 Feet. 
 23.2 
 19.3 
 6.5 
 
 S.O 
 
 Feet. 
 1.8 
 4.6 
 3.5 
 
 House pump.. 
 . ..do 
 
 
 29 
 
 
 Nonfailing 
 
 71 
 71 A 
 
 Tokeneke Water 
 Co. 
 
 do 
 
 (") 
 (0 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 For analysis 
 see p. 71.6 
 Do. 
 
 « Well is 15 feet in diameter; will yield l.'iO gallons a minute. 
 b Simple collected for analysis is composite of Nos. 71 and 71 A. 
 
 c Well is 32 feet in diameter: will yield 150 gallons a minute. There is some interference between this 
 well and well No. 71, which is 200 feet farther south. 
 
74 GROUISTD WATER IX jSTOEWALK AXD OTHER AREAS, COISriSr. 
 
 D-rillcd wells in Daricn. 
 
 No. on 
 
 pi.n. 
 
 O-wner. 
 
 Topographic 
 situation. 
 
 Eleya- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 rock. 
 
 Depth 
 to 
 
 water. 
 
 Diam- 
 eter. 
 
 Yield 
 per 
 min- 
 ute. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 15 
 
 Col. Edgerton 
 
 W.C. Humbert 
 
 Slope ...... 
 
 . ..do -. 
 
 Feci. 
 155 
 115 
 
 110 
 
 105 
 
 95 
 
 45 
 
 90 
 
 30 
 
 120 
 
 140 
 
 140 
 
 50 
 
 20 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 CO 
 30 
 40 
 30 
 
 Fed. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Galls. 
 
 
 16 
 
 125 
 
 71 
 110 
 
 75 
 189 
 200 
 400 
 150 
 503 
 425 
 
 4S 
 
 
 30 
 
 14 
 
 13 
 
 16 
 15 
 20 
 20 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 15 
 3 
 
 Si- 
 Slight. 
 26 
 (a) 
 26 
 50 
 
 
 IS 
 
 Ernest BaHhol 
 
 do 
 
 gneiss. For 
 analysis see 
 p. 71. 
 
 20 
 
 Saraii F. Leeson 
 
 do. 
 
 
 21 
 
 F. M. Smith. 
 
 do 
 
 
 23 
 32 
 
 W. R.S.Bates 
 
 John A. Weed 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 
 35 
 
 C. W. Maary 
 
 Fordfleld estate 
 
 Soldiers' Home 
 
 do.... 
 
 do 
 
 Plateau 
 
 Hill 
 
 
 
 s 
 
 
 38 
 
 40 
 
 40A 
 
 ■■■■-■ 
 12 
 
 15 
 15 
 (0 
 
 6 
 
 S 
 
 s 
 
 (0. 
 
 42 
 
 Forbes 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 43 
 
 Henry D. Weed 
 
 175 
 6.5 
 75 
 67 
 
 (/) 
 
 110 
 
 264 
 
 350 
 
 1,465 
 
 1.000 
 
 200 
 
 700 
 
 130 
 
 230 
 
 500 
 
 350 
 
 460 
 
 450 
 
 66i 
 
 78 
 
 75 
 
 153 
 
 103 
 
 410 
 
 128 
 
 93J 
 
 327 
 
 
 
 
 2 
 J 
 
 
 44 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 •5 
 
 
 
 45 
 
 
 Plain 
 
 Island 
 
 do 
 
 
 46 
 47 
 
 W. M. Weed 
 
 Johan. Shipv/ay... 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 
 Slightly brack- 
 ish. 
 
 48 
 62 
 
 Eliza Blcdsell... 
 
 Fred Wecke 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 13 
 17 
 
 13 
 
 20 
 
 
 6 
 
 34 
 4 
 14 
 3 
 Dry. 
 
 
 55 
 
 Vv'm. Ziegler,jr 
 
 do 
 
 
 56 
 
 .....do.. 
 
 Island 
 
 
 
 
 
 56A 
 
 do.g 
 
 
 
 
 
 56B 
 
 .....do.fi 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 57 
 
 do 
 
 Island 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 25 
 25 
 25 
 25 
 25 
 25 
 75 
 70 
 75 
 60 
 60 
 40 
 65 
 50 
 15 
 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 58 
 
 JofinCort 
 
 H. C. Fleitmau 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 
 
 
 59 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 61 
 
 filA 
 
 Ivlrs. H. P. Stokes... 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 .....do.... 
 
 A. B. Noxon 
 
 Henry Brencher 
 
 Caroline E. Perrj' . . . 
 
 Eidge 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 .do 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 do... 
 
 20 
 15 
 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 
 6 
 G 
 
 oh 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 Dry. 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 3^ 
 
 
 
 8 
 2 
 20 
 
 (0. 
 
 OIC 
 63 
 64 
 65 
 
 20 
 
 9 
 IS 
 9 
 6 
 2 
 5 
 20 
 5 
 9 
 
 ....... 
 
 15 
 60 
 20 
 15 
 20 
 18 
 10 
 10 
 
 ('). 
 
 68 
 
 L. J. Mead 
 
 do... . 
 
 
 69 
 
 Miss Zada Dean . . 
 
 do . 
 
 
 70 
 73 
 
 Dr. J. F. Pentecost. 
 C. D. Albrecht 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 ("O. 
 
 74 
 
 Mrs. S. C. Petty 
 
 . do 
 
 
 7S 
 
 Fred H. Eoryan 
 
 Plain 
 
 
 « Abundant. 
 
 & For further descriptiorn sec U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Sunply Paper 232, p. 90, 1909. 
 
 c Op. cit.,p. 91. 
 
 <^ Water potable, though slightly brackish. 
 
 e Salt water, although 500 feet from shoi-e. 
 
 f Four drilled wells on this island. Two were drilled to between 75 and 100 feet deep, where the drills 
 yyere blocked by slanting fissures. The other wells p.re about 200 feet deep and yield salty water. 
 
 g Wellis loOfeet west of well No. 56. 
 
 ti Wellis 300 feet northwest of well No. £6. 
 
 s" Dri.ne.dln 1902; yielded 10 gallons a minute of fair water at first. The yield soon dropped to 4^ gallons 
 a minute, and in four years to 3i gallons a minute; 175 feet from shore. 
 
 /Drilledin 1904; 150 feet southwest of well No. 61 and 125 feet from shore. Water is salty. 
 
 K Yielded 18 gallons a minute at a deptli of 360 feet at first, but after four months it failed. Deepening 
 to 4.60 feet gave a yield of 1 or 2 gallons. Seventy-five pounds of 70 per cent dynamite was exploded at the 
 bottom of the well, but v,-ith no effect. A second shot of 50 pounds brought a yield of 10 gallons a minute. 
 This water was fresh at first, but later beeame brackish. Well is 220 feet south of well No. 61. 
 
 i Well is 175 feet from shore and 100 feet south of well No. 61. 
 
 13 Well yields 1% gallons a minute at depth of 75 feet; 5 to 6 at deoth of 150 feet; 7i atdepthof 200 feet: 
 and 8 to 10 at full depth of 410 feet. 
 
 NEW CANAAN. 
 AREA, POPULATIOX, AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 New Canaan, in Fairfield County, Conn., is one of the second tier 
 of towns nortli of Long Island Sound. To the north is part of 
 Westchester County, N. Y., on the w^est is the north part of Stam- 
 ford, on the south is Darien, on the southeast Norwalk, and on the 
 
NEW CAN^sAjS'. <«> 
 
 east Wilton. Silverinine Brook fonns part of the eastern boundary 
 :nul liippowani River part of the western boundary. The total area 
 ol" the town is 2o square miles, oi which 11 square miles, or 1-5 per 
 cent, is wooded. The woods are for the most part in the valleys 
 and on the steep slopes, whereas the broad hilltops and ridge crests 
 
 are cleared. 
 
 The territory which now constitutes New Canaan was taken from 
 Stnmford nnd Norwalk in 1801 and incoriwrated as a separate town. 
 Tw population in 1910 was 3,667. an increase of 701 from 1900. The 
 boroufih of New Canaan had about 1,672 inhabitants. Th.e density 
 of population of the town as a whole was 180 to tlie square nTile. 
 The following table shows the population at each census and the per- 
 centasje of change in the decade preceding: 
 
 roi>ukitioii of -V«r CuHariH. h^lO-lUlO." 
 
 Year. 
 
 Pop-ala- 
 tion. 
 
 Percent ! 
 of change. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 ofcliango. 
 
 
 1,59V 
 1,689 
 
 
 1S70 
 
 2,479 
 2,673 
 2,701 
 2,96S 
 3,667 
 
 -10 
 
 
 + 6 
 
 ISSO 
 
 + 7 
 
 
 1,830 : + 8 
 2,217 +21 
 2,600 +17 
 2,771 + 7 
 
 1S90 - 
 
 + 1 
 
 
 ini'io 
 
 + 10 
 
 
 WlO 
 
 + 24 
 
 1S60 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a Conneetieut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 639. 
 
 There has been growth in every decade except that from i860 to 
 1870, when there was a decrease for which no explanation is appar- 
 ent. The large increase from 1830 to 18,50 may be due in part to 
 the opening of the New York & New Haven Railroad in 1819. The 
 increase from 1890 to 1910 is presumably the result of the develop- 
 ment of this region as a commuting residential district tributary 
 to New York City. It is probable that this growth will continue, 
 especially if a proposed railroad from Greenwich through the north 
 i:)art of Stamford and New Canaan to Ridgefield and Danbury is 
 constructed. At all events such a possibility must be borne in mind 
 in planning future development and utilization of the ground and 
 surface water resources of tlie region. 
 
 The only built-up settlement in New^ Canaan is the borough of 
 New Canaan, incorporated in 1889. There is about 70 miles of road 
 in the town, which is in general well kept up. and there is a good 
 deal of tar-bound macadam. New Canaan is reached by the electri- 
 fied New Canaan branch of the New York, New Haven & Hartford 
 Railroad, which joins the main line at Stamford. Stages run be- 
 tween New Canaan and Norwalk. There is a post office at the 
 borough, and rural-delivery routes serve the outlying parts of the 
 
 
76 GEOUND WATER IN NOKWALK AND OTHEE AREAS, CONN. 
 
 town. The principal industries are agriculture, the raising of nurs- 
 ery stock, and the manufacture of shirts and overalls and of wire 
 
 goods. 
 
 SURFACE FEATURES. 
 
 New Canaan lies on an upland which is dissected by valleys 150 
 to 200 feet deep that lead south-southwestward. The interstream 
 spaces are broad ridges with gently rolling crests and steep flanks. 
 The profile in figure 14 is drawn across the town a little north of the 
 borough and shows the broad plateau cut b}?" the shallow valley of 
 Fivernile Eiver. and bounded by the deeper valleys of Rippowam 
 and Silvermine River. Formerly the surface was nearly level, but it 
 has been tilted to the south-southeast. This tilting has established 
 tlie general south-southeast courses of the rivers. Tributaries of 
 Rippowam River drain about 5 square miles in the northwest corner 
 of the tow^n and the headwaters of Noroton River 7 square miles in 
 the southwest corner. A north-south strip 1 to 1^ miles wide through 
 
 A 
 
 ^ ,JUppo..c^ River ^j^^.^f^ " ""-^TZ^V^"^ 
 
 A 
 
 SiLvermirbe 
 
 Vertical scale twice the horizontal 
 
 FiiiunK 14. — I'l-oflie ;u:j'oss New Canaan {A-A' on Pis. II and III), showing undulating 
 plateau and the valleys cut below it. 
 
 the middle of the town is tributary to Fivemile River, which rises 
 within the town limits. A similar strip along the east boundary is 
 drained by Silvermine River. Near the head of Fivemile River is 
 the reservoir of the New Canaan AVater Co., and on Silvermine is 
 the Grupe reservoir of the first taxing district of the city of Norwalk. 
 The lowest points in New Canaan are those where Noroton and 
 Fivemile rivers cross the boundary about 115 feet above sea level, in 
 the southwest and southeast corners of the town. The highest point 
 is near the middle of the north boundary and is 620 feet above sea 
 level. There is thus a range of elevation of about 500 feet. 
 
 WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS. 
 
 ScMst and gnehs.—'Yh^ bedrocks which underlie New Canaan 
 have been identified as belonging tb four formations.^ Underlying 
 an area of 2 square miles in the northwest corner of the town is the 
 Berkshire schist. It is a medium to dark gray well-banded schist, 
 composed essentially of black mica and quartz with some garnet, 
 feldspar, and other accessory minerals. The small mica scales have 
 
 '^ Gregory, H. E., and Robinson, H. H., Preliminary geological map of Connecticut : 
 eomaecticnt Geo!, and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 1907. 
 
NEW C^ANAAN. 77 
 
 ill liirgi." part been seaiviiatcd and tiirnod parallel to one another, so 
 tliat they form dark bands that allei-nate witli <]uartz bands and ii;ive 
 the rock its fissile, schistose character. There are many thin veins 
 ol' white and pink <>Tanitic material injected alonijj and across tlic 
 chnivage planes. 
 
 I'he bedrock of a circular area a mile in diameter in the north 
 l)art of the borough and of an area half as laroe in the soutlieast 
 corner of the town is the Danbnrv granodiorite gneiss. This gneiss 
 is a moderately coarse igneous rock composed essentially of feldspar 
 and quai-tz with black mica or hornblende or both. In this region 
 there is a tendency for certain of the feldspar crystals to be larger 
 than others and thus to give the rock a porphyritic character. Honi- 
 blende is more abundant than elsewhere in the formation. Since its 
 original consolidation from a state of igneous fusion, the rock has 
 undergone metamorphism and has been changed to a gneiss. The 
 gneissic texture is similar to the schistose texture of the Berkshire 
 schist in character but is far less well developed. There is less mica, 
 and the hornblende is less clea^able, so that tlie rock splits into 
 thicker slabs and with more difficulty. 
 
 An area of about a square mile in the southeast corner of the 
 town is underlain by the Becket granite gneiss. According to 
 Gregory,^ it Avas probably originally a 
 
 yranite wliicli has been injected at different times and subjected to intense 
 nietannn-pliisni while yet deeply buried within tlie earth. On this hypothesis 
 the more granitoid phases are most like the original rock, and the schistose 
 phases are most metamorphosed. The horublendic and granitic beds were 
 intruded before or during the chief metamorpliic movement, and owe their 
 position and alinement to the forces that produced tlie main foliation. Veins 
 of quartz and pegmatite were intruded after most of the metamorphism had 
 taken place, and certain intrusions indicate even a later stage of igneous 
 activity. 
 
 That it is of igneous origin, however, is not certain, for the evi- 
 dence of its original character has been largely destroyed by meta- 
 morphism. 
 
 By far the greater part of the town is underlain by the Thomas- 
 ton granite gneiss. It is a true granite in that the dominant min- 
 erals are quartz, feldspar, and black mica, but like the other rocks 
 of the region a gneissic texture has been imposed on it by meta- 
 morphism, as is shown by the bands rich in dark mica which alter- 
 nate with bands rich in light quartz and feldspar. Tn some places 
 phenocrysts of feldspar, which give the rock a porphyritic character, 
 are developed. The rock is light gray in general, but some parts 
 have a pinkish tinge. 
 
 - ^ Rice, W. N., and Gregory, II.. E., Manual of the geology of Connecticut: Connecticut 
 Gcol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. G, p. CJ, 1906. 
 
78 GROUND WATER IN" jS^OSWALK AI->7D OTHER AREAS, CONlSr. 
 
 The capacities of these four rock types for carrying water are 
 about the same and may be discussed tog-ether. Because of their 
 low ]3orosity there is no appreciable amount of interstitial water. 
 The schists are probably a little more porous than the gneisses be- 
 cause of the presence of thin flat openings between the flakes ol 
 mica, but even this is inconsequential. The crustal disturbances to 
 which this region has been repeatedly subjected have produced many 
 joints: and fissures vfhich constitute an intricately interconnecting 
 network of narrow but extensive channels. Other joints are due to 
 shrinkage during the initial consolidation of the rock. When rain 
 fails on the ground a portion of it is absorbed and slowly percolates 
 downiward. Most of this vf ater, when it reaches the bedrock surface, 
 will move approximately horizontally^ but some will find its way 
 into the joint system. In the upper zones of the bedrock the fissures 
 are far more abundant than at greater depths, where they tend to be 
 closed by the weight of the overlying rock. The water in the joint 
 system may be recovered hj drilled wells. It is highly probable 
 that at any specific point one or more water-bearing fissures will 
 be intersected before drilling beyond 250 to 300 feet. If lione is cut 
 it is better to try again in a new place than to drill deeper,, for it ia 
 far less probable that a fissure will be cut betvfeen 300 anel 600 feet 
 in the old place. The depth of the drilled wells in New Canaan 
 for which data were obtained averages 173 feet and ranges from 
 86 to 300 feet. The yield of 14 wells averages 23 gallons a minute 
 and ranges from 2 to 70 gallons. A few dug wells blasted down 
 into rock also draw water from fissures, but they are not satisf actor;/ 
 in general. The fissures very near the surface of bedrock are very 
 apt to fail in drought, but the blasted cavity is of some value in that 
 it acts as a reservoir and stores som.e water. 
 
 Till. — Everywhere in New Canaan, except in parts of the valley 
 floors and where ledges of rock outcrop, the bedrock is covered b}" 
 a mantle of till. The depth to Ixedrock in 13 of the drilled wells 
 tabulated below averages 37 feet and ranges from 7 to 79 feet. These 
 fi^gures give some idea of the thickness of the till mantle. The till 
 or boulder clay, or " hardpan " as it is locally called, is of glacial 
 origin. The continental glacier which overrode this region from 
 north to south plowed up and scraped away the soft rock and resid- 
 ual soil and even removed some of the deeper unweathered rock. 
 Projecting ledges and knobs of rock were torn away. The rock 
 surface was smoothed, grooved, and polished by rock fragments em- 
 bedded in the ice, and they in turn crushed, beveled, and polished 
 one another. The resulting material, a heterogeneous mixture of 
 pieces of rocks of many kinds and of all sizes from the very small 
 
NEW CANAAN. 
 
 71) 
 
 particles of rock flour up to bouKU'is weighiu^- se\eial tons, was 
 plastered over the glaciated surface. Deposition was particularly 
 ooucentrated iu depressions and against the slopes of Icnlges and 
 sl.arp ridges. 
 
 The intimate niixmg of particles that vary greatly in size makes 
 Iho product low in porosity. There are no openings within the peb- 
 blo^^ and boulders tliat could hold water, and the spaces between 
 them are filled with smaller particles. Moreovei-. the presence of 
 fhie material means that the spaces that do exist are very small. 
 JJowever, there is a very appreciable pore space, and a considerable 
 amount of rain water is absorbed and held. On account of the 
 [small size of the pores the water is transmitted very slowly, but 
 wells dug in till will obtain supplies that are as a rule fairly reliable. 
 Sixty-five such wells were visited in September and October, lOK'), 
 in New Canaan. The measurements made of the v:ells are tabulated 
 on pages sL-»2. The following table sunuiiarizes the data : 
 
 t<i!ininar[/ of iccUs lUcj in iill in .Ye/.- ('minai:. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth. 
 ;o "(Vater, 
 
 Maxiniuu: 
 Minimum 
 Averas^o.. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 29.5 
 5.2 
 U.4 
 
 Depth of 
 
 vvater in 
 
 well. 
 
 F:Ct. 
 
 23.8 
 0.5 
 h.'2 
 
 The reliability of 51 of these wells was ascertained ; 33 were said 
 to be nonf ailing and 18 to fail. The springs in the table on page 
 83, with the exception of No. 56, are in till. 
 
 Stratified <?r^/^.-^Stratified drift, which may replace till as the 
 mantle rock, is found in New Canaan only in parts of the valley 
 floors. The map (PL III) shows the areas of stratified drift along 
 Rippowam, Fivemile, and Silvermine rivers. This type of de- 
 po.sit has been formed by the action of running w-ater as is shown 
 by the well-washed, vsorted, and stratified character of the material. 
 The source of the material is in large part till, but a little of it has 
 undoubtedly been derived directly from the bedrock. The agent 
 has been for the most part the streams that now occupy the valleys. 
 In other parts of the State large volumes of melt water, derived 
 from the receding glacier, built up extensive deposits of stratified 
 drift. How^ever, the questions of the precise source of the material 
 and of the particular transporting agency are not essential to a 
 consideration of the deposits as a source of ground water. The 
 impoi-tant facts are its character and distribution. It is char- 
 
 
80 GEOUXD WATER IX XOEWALK AKD OTHEE AEEAS, CONN". 
 
 acterized by sorting into distinct beds within which the particles 
 are of relatively nniform size. Different beds and even adjacent 
 beds are of very dissimilar coarseness. The absence of small 
 particles from the interstices of the larger ones makes a very 
 porous deposit capable of holding and rapidly transmitting a 
 large amount of water, so stratified drift is an excellent source of 
 ground water. Where the slopes are relatively steep the movement 
 of water through stratified drift may be so rapid that wells in it 
 may fail in dry seasons. No wells in stratified drift were ^dsited 
 in New Canaan. Spring 56 (see map, PL II, and table, p. 83) is 
 in stratified drift. 
 
 QUALITY or GROUND WATER, 
 
 The subjoined table gives the results of two analyses and three 
 assays of samples of ground water collected in the town of New 
 Canaan. The waters are low in mineral content except No. 68, 
 which is moderately mineralized. Nos. 11, 18, and 62 are very soft; 
 No. 35 is soft; and No. 68 is hard in comparison with other waters 
 of this area, though it is not hard as rated by general standards. 
 In so far as mineral content may detennine it, these waters are 
 good for domestic use. All are good for boiler use except No. 68, 
 which is rather high in scale-forming ingredients and is therefore 
 rated as fair. The waters are calcium-carbSnate in type except 
 Nos. 11 and 62, which are sodium-carbonate waters. 
 
 Chemical composition and classification of ground wuters in New Canaan fi 
 
 [Parts per million; collected Dec. 9, 1916; analyzed by Alfred A. Chambers and C. H. Kidwell. Numbers 
 of analyses and assays correspond to those used on PI. II.] 
 
 Silica (SiO;;) 
 
 Iron (Fe) , 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magrnesiura (Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+K)<i . 
 
 Carbonate radicle (CO3) 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 
 
 Sulphate radicle (SO4) 
 
 Chloride radicle (CI) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 180° C ... 
 
 Total hardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale-forming constituents <i 
 
 Foaming constituents d 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 Probability of corrosion f . 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic use . 
 
 AnalTses. 6 
 
 23 
 
 .34 
 6.7 
 2.9 
 11 
 
 .0 
 24 
 16 
 4.6 
 12 
 S5 
 rf29 
 48 
 30 
 
 35 
 
 29 
 
 .18 
 14 
 4.7 
 15 
 
 .0 
 
 68 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 1.9 
 
 122 
 
 d54 
 
 78 
 
 40 
 
 Na-C03 Ca-COa 
 (?) N 
 
 Good. Good. 
 Good. Good. 
 
 Assavs. c 
 
 62 
 
 Trace. 
 
 7. 
 
 .0 
 31 
 9.0 
 
 4.8 
 
 d73 
 28 
 55 
 20 
 
 Ca-COs 
 (?)^ 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 12 
 
 .0 
 38 
 7.0 
 5.6 
 
 d77 
 22 
 45 
 30 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 0.78 
 
 10 
 10 
 119 
 12 
 6.1 
 
 dl70 
 115 
 140 
 30 
 
 Ca-COs 
 (?) 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 « For location and other descriptive information see pp. 81-83. 
 
 ti For methods used in analyses and aecuraey of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 e .Approximations; for methods used in assays and reliability of results see pages 52-60. 
 
 <i Computed. 
 
 « Based on computed quantity; (?)=corrosioa uncertain; N = noneorrosive. 
 
NEW CANAAN. 
 
 81 
 
 ruBT-ic A\ A ir.i; surrLY. 
 
 The New Canaan AA'ator Co. has supplied residents of the vilhif^o 
 with water since 1895. The company has a I'eservoir of 70.000.000 
 j>:allons capacity on Fiveiuile River foi-med by a core-wall dam aboiifc 
 45 feet hi^h and 400 feet long. The water is distribnted from the 
 re.servoir by gravity through 91 miles of main pipe, 52 hydrants, and 
 512 service taps. The pressure in the vilhige is about 50 pounds to 
 the square inch. About 2,000 people are supjdied, and consume 
 about 250.000 gallons a day on the average. Tlie water is filtered, 
 and occasional analyses are made.^ 
 
 If the demands on the system increase very greatly they will b© 
 met only with great difficulty, for most of the drainage basins in 
 the region are already in use or their use has been planned for. 
 Good sup]:)lies could probably be developed in the deposits of strati- 
 fied drift along Fivemile River. 
 
 RECORDS OF WELI.S AND SPRINGS. 
 Wells (lug In till in Xcic Canaan. 
 
 No. 
 on 
 
 ri. 
 II. 
 
 Eliswortli Waters. 
 Carl Sc'lineider 
 
 Topocraphip 
 situation. 
 
 Elpva- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 F.C. Fladd. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plateau . 
 Slope.... 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 Town Farm do 
 
 35 I A. S. Jerrv. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Hilltop. 
 Slope. . . 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 Hilltop. 
 Slope... 
 
 Hilltop.. 
 Plain... 
 Plateau . 
 Slope. . . 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Fat. 
 3(iO 
 340 
 300 
 3(;0 
 425 
 
 420 
 375 
 4<i5 
 485 
 
 470 
 405 
 350 
 470 
 490 
 490 
 
 455 
 465 
 380 
 
 405 
 
 300 
 410 
 430 
 250 
 260 
 2f>0 
 370 
 
 .3(15 
 300 
 300 
 285 
 305 
 315 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Fc(K 
 23.4 
 14.3 
 15.1 
 26.9 
 18. 
 
 22.1 
 
 in. 4 
 17. G 
 17.8 
 
 32.5 
 21.2 
 10. 6 
 14.9 
 10.9 
 12.5 
 
 17.2 
 14.8 
 13.0 
 25.1 
 
 28.8 
 31.1 
 15.8 
 19.2 
 15.8 
 13.9 
 20.7 
 
 21.9 
 
 25.9 
 10.1 
 15.9 
 29.0 
 10.8 
 20.4 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water 
 
 Fc<t. 
 18.3 
 12.7 
 12.1 
 19.0 
 13.6 
 
 19. S 
 12.5 
 7.6 
 13.9 
 
 22.4 
 
 7.7 
 8.7 
 14.4 
 8.9 
 9.3 
 
 14.0 
 10.6 
 12.5 
 17.1 
 
 27.0 
 2i). 5 
 11.3 
 17.0 
 12.4 
 10. 
 13.4 
 
 16.7 
 
 19.0 
 0.8 
 
 11.4 
 5.2 
 6.2 
 
 17.7 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Fert. 
 5.1 
 1.6 
 3.0 
 7.0 
 5.0 
 
 2.3 
 3.9 
 10.0 
 3.9 
 
 10.1 
 13.5 
 7.9 
 0.5 
 2.0 
 3.2 
 
 3.2 
 4.2 
 1.1 
 8.0 
 
 1.8 
 1.6 
 4.5 
 2.2 
 3.4 
 3.3 
 7.3 
 
 5.2 
 
 6.9 
 3.3 
 4.5 
 23.8 
 4.6 
 2.7 
 
 P.iS. 
 
 P.emarks. 
 
 Windlas"; ri<; ... 
 C)ne-bueket rig . 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 House pump 
 
 Tv.'O-bucket rig 
 
 and hou^e 
 
 pump. 
 
 Drain pump 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Hou.se pump 
 
 Drain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig.. 
 AMndlass rig ... . 
 
 Two- bucket rig.. 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 One-bueket rig.. 
 Two-bucket ng 
 
 and house 
 
 pump. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig.. 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Sweep rig and 
 
 house pump. 
 do 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 House pump 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Xonfailing. 
 
 1)0. 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 Fails. Blasted 
 in( rock. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailiug. 
 Fails. For anal- 
 ysis see p. 80. 
 
 Nonfai!ing. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. Rock bot- 
 tom. 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails.a 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. For anal- 
 ysis see p. SO. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 a Well is 15 feet in ledge. Cost about $300 to deepen it 8 feet. 
 ' Rppt. Connecticut Public L'tilities Commission, 1917. 
 1:34444 °— 20 6 
 
82 GEOUIS'D WATER IN NOEWALK A^^'TD OTHER AREAS, COL^N. 
 
 Wcllii diKj In till ill Ncio Caiiumi — Continued. 
 
 No. 
 on 
 PI. 
 
 n. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 C. F. Stevens. 
 
 J. M. Wassing. 
 
 Topograph!; 
 situation. 
 
 Slope . . . 
 Plateau . 
 Slope. .. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 ..do. 
 ..do. 
 ..do. 
 ..do. 
 ..do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Knoll.. 
 
 do. 
 
 Slope. . 
 
 .do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Plain.. 
 
 Slope . . . 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 School Hilltop. 
 
 Slope... 
 
 Stephen Hovt's 
 Sons Co. , 
 
 Swate - 
 
 Slope . - 
 
 do- 
 
 do. 
 
 Eleva- 
 
 
 
 Depth 
 
 tion 
 
 above 
 
 sea 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 to 
 
 water. 
 
 ol 
 
 water 
 
 in 
 
 level. 
 
 
 
 well. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 320 
 
 40.5 
 
 24.3 
 
 16.2 
 
 325 
 
 24.9 
 
 16.2 
 
 8.7 
 
 210 
 
 15.9 
 
 13.2 
 
 2.7 
 
 170 
 
 16.5 
 
 13.5 
 
 3.0 
 
 150 
 
 23.3 
 
 22.0 
 
 1.3 
 
 400 
 
 27.4 
 
 14.0 
 
 13.4 
 
 345 
 
 10.3 
 
 7.4 
 
 2.9 
 
 280 
 
 8.3 
 
 5.9 
 
 2.4 
 
 270 
 
 16.8 
 
 12.5 
 
 4.3 
 
 Z75 
 
 27.0 
 
 17. 3 
 
 9.7 
 
 255 
 
 13.1 
 
 10.3 
 
 2.8 
 
 240 
 
 23.5 
 
 14.7 
 
 8.8 
 
 200 
 
 15. 
 
 13.4 
 
 2.2 
 
 240 
 
 7.8 
 
 5.9 
 
 1.9 
 
 175 
 
 25.5 
 
 20.0 
 
 5.5 
 
 206 
 
 25.1 
 
 20. 5 
 
 4.6 
 
 180 
 
 10.0 
 
 9.5 
 
 6.5 
 
 180 
 
 28. 2 
 
 21.4 
 
 6.8 
 
 190 
 
 24.3 
 
 19.7 
 
 4.6 
 
 230 
 
 ' 29.5 
 
 10.8 
 
 10.8 
 
 185 
 
 22.0 
 
 20.7 
 
 1.3 
 
 200 
 
 13.9 
 
 11.6 
 
 2.3 
 
 260 
 
 21.2 
 
 16.8 
 
 4.4 
 
 200 
 
 16. O' 
 
 15.2 
 
 1.7 
 
 190 
 
 21.0: 
 
 18.8 
 
 2.2 
 
 180 
 
 12.2 
 
 9.4 
 
 2.8 
 
 300 
 
 22.1 
 
 17.8 
 
 4.3 
 
 320 
 
 18.1 
 
 11.2 
 
 6.4 
 
 320: 
 
 20. 
 
 6.0 
 
 13.0 
 
 260 
 
 10.4 
 
 7.7 
 
 2.7 
 
 230 
 
 25.6 
 
 23.2 
 
 2.4 
 
 310 
 
 20. 
 
 15.1 
 
 4.9 
 
 rCia. 
 
 Windlass rig... 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 and house 
 
 pump. 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bueliet rig. 
 Chain pump. .'. 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 Chain pump . . . 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 Win<ilass rig.. . 
 One-bucket rig. 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 an-d house 
 
 IDump. 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig.. 
 
 Coimterbalan c- 
 ing and air- 
 pressure S3-S- 
 tem. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 and house 
 piunp. 
 (") 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Tie marks. 
 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 
 rioufailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 ■ Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 N onfall ina 
 
 Nonfaiiing. For 
 assf.y SCO p. 80. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfaiiing. 
 
 Fails. 
 Nonfaiiing. 
 
 Dc. 
 
 Nonfaiiing. Eock 
 
 bottom . 
 
 Nonfaiiing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 a Pumped by a steam-driven pump. If 8,000 gallons arc pinnped the level is depressed about S feet, but 
 it regains its former position in about six hours. The inflow is therefore equivalent to about 1,300 gallons' 
 an hour, or 20 to 25 gallons a minute. 
 
 Drilled ifclU in J^cic Canaan. 
 
 No. 
 
 on 
 
 PI. II. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topographic 
 situation. 
 
 Ele- 
 vation 
 above 
 
 sea 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 to 
 
 Depth 
 to 
 
 water. 
 
 Diam- 
 eter. 
 
 Yield 
 per 
 min- 
 ute. 
 
 Ivemarks. 
 
 9 
 
 11 .Y 
 
 13 
 
 18 
 
 Chapelle 
 
 S. W. Wakeman.. 
 
 F.C. Fladd 
 
 George E, Kruger. 
 D.H. Hamilton.. 
 
 Plateau. 
 Slope. . . 
 .....do... 
 
 do. . 
 
 do.. 
 
 George Brown do. 
 
 Jacobs & Wolf I do- 
 
 Peter B . Chick Plam .-. 
 
 John B . Miller I Slope . . 
 
 Feel. 
 415 
 470 
 485 
 505 
 525 
 
 170 
 170 
 170 
 290 
 205 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Inches. Galls. 
 
 162 
 105 
 199J 
 
 300 
 205 
 
 121 
 
 88 
 
 Water from 
 gneiss. For 
 assay s ee 
 p. 80. 
 
 Do. 
 
NORWALK. 
 
 Drilhd irclls in \iir CuiKum — (_'ouiiiiui.'il. 
 
 83 
 
 X... 
 on 
 
 ri.ii. 
 
 0\>iier. 
 
 Topogrnphic 
 situation. 
 
 Klt^ 
 vat ion 
 above 
 
 sea 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 loek. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Diam- 
 
 et er. 
 
 Yield 
 per 
 
 min- 
 ute. 
 
 Hemarks. 
 
 (•') 
 
 S 1 iirjris Coffin 
 
 Hill 
 
 Flit. 
 
 Fttl. 
 1.50 
 2.')3 
 153 
 150 
 ISG 
 200 
 248 
 150 
 130 
 104 
 253 
 120 
 
 Feet. 
 
 . 5ti 
 50 
 (iii 
 20 
 14 
 49 
 35 
 
 Feet. 
 4 
 8 
 20 
 
 4 
 
 Indue. 
 6 
 
 (> 
 t) 
 
 Gallx. 
 18 
 40 
 70 
 40 
 G 
 2 
 ...... 
 
 ' 
 
 -Mrs. W. E.C.Bradley. 
 Tangart 
 
 do 
 
 jSlope 
 
 
 
 („{ 
 
 Miss C. .\. BlLss 
 
 Theoiiore Teiiill 
 
 Dr. V. 11. AVilliams... 
 Jlrs. l>.lJ..Vle.\ander.. 
 L. P. Child 
 
 Hill 
 
 
 
 (a) 
 
 . .. do 
 
 
 9 ;. 
 
 5 (i 
 15 5 
 04 
 
 
 (a) 
 (") 
 
 do 
 
 Itidge ..... 
 
 
 
 HiU 
 
 
 
 (<') 
 
 H. Fi.sher estate 
 
 (Iray Bros 
 
 Kidue 
 
 
 
 (" ) 
 
 Slope 
 
 
 21 
 
 30 
 11 
 25 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 40 
 
 
 (i) 
 
 Mrs. A.M. Bradlev... 
 
 
 
 
 (') 
 
 Ct race Church 
 
 Hili 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 oNot plotted on map. Data from Gregorv, H. K., rndergroimd-water resources of Connecticut: U. S. 
 (^eol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 232, p. 82, 1909. 
 
 Not plotted on map. Idem, p. 88. 
 
 c Not plotted on map. I'ata from Gregory, H. E., Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United 
 States; Connecticut: I'. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply I'aper 102, p. 128, 190-t. 
 
 Spiin[/s in Xeir Vanaun. 
 
 No. 
 
 on 
 
 PL II. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topograph i:- 
 situation. 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 above 
 sea level. 
 
 Temper- 
 ature. 
 
 Yield 
 
 per 
 
 minute. 
 
 Remar; s. 
 
 15 
 
 J. Busslinger 
 
 Slope 
 
 Fat. 
 390 
 430 
 290 
 275 
 180 
 270 
 
 °F. 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 Pumped to house. 
 
 24 
 
 do 
 
 51 
 54 
 49 
 51 
 54 
 
 2 
 
 1' 
 15+ 
 
 31 
 
 
 Footofclitf 
 
 
 32 
 
 A.C. Clarkson 
 
 Air-pressure system. 
 
 56 
 
 Foot 01 terrace. . . . 
 Slope 
 
 78 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 KORWALK. 
 
 AREA, POPULATION. AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Norwalk, in Fairfield Coiintj^ is on Long Island Sound. 32 miles 
 "west of New Haven, 40 miles east of New^ York, and '20 miles south 
 of Danbury. Norwalk Eiver, which rises in Eidgeheld, flows through 
 the middle of the town. Fivemile Eiver in part follov/s the west 
 boundarv and in part lies half a mile east of it. The area of the part 
 of the town on the mainland is about 23 square milas, of which about G 
 square miles or 25 per cent is A^ooded. The woodlands are most 
 abundant in the west and north parts of the town. The offshore 
 islands aggregate an area of a third of a square mile. 
 
 The territory of Norwalk was purchased from the Indians and a 
 town was incorporated in 1051. The original town included more ter- 
 ritory, but from time to time parts have been separated to make ne'w 
 towns. In 1801 NeAv Canaan was made of territory ttiken in part 
 from Norwalk and in part from Stamford. In 1802 Wilton was 
 taken from Norwalk, and in 1835 i^art of Norwalk was combined with 
 
84 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 parts of Fairfield and Weston to form Westport. The city of South 
 Norwalk was incorporated in 1870' and the city of Norwalk in 1893. 
 Since then they have been combined and made into one city coter- 
 minous with the town but divided into five taxing districts. The first 
 district Avas formerly the city of I^^orwalk, the second district was 
 formerlji^ the city of South Norwalk, and the third district was 
 formerly the fire district of East Norwalk. The fourth district com- 
 prises these three districts, and the fifth district comprises the out- 
 lying- parts of the town. 
 
 The population in 1910 was 24,211, an increase of 4,279 over the 
 1900 population. The population is concentrated in the city, but if 
 distributed over the whole town would average about 1,070 to the 
 square mile. In 1910 there were 6,954 people in Norwalk and 8,968 
 in Soutli Norwalk. The following table gives the population at each 
 census since 1756 and the percentage of change in each census period : 
 
 PopiiTatio)) of NonraJk, 17-)6 to 1910." 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 Tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 1756 
 
 3,050 
 
 4,388 
 
 4,051 
 
 (i) 
 
 5,146 
 
 2,983 
 
 3, 004 
 
 3,792 
 
 
 1840 
 
 3, 863 
 4,651 
 7,582 
 12,119 
 13,956 
 17, 747 
 19, 932 
 
 + 2 
 
 1774 
 
 6+44 
 c_ 8 
 
 1850 
 
 +20 
 
 1782 
 
 186T. 
 
 +63 
 
 1790 
 
 1870 
 
 +60 
 
 1800. . . . 
 
 «+27 
 
 1880. .. 
 
 + 15 
 
 1810 
 
 1890 
 
 + 27 
 
 1820 
 
 + 1 
 + 26 
 
 1900 
 
 + 12 
 
 1830 
 
 1910 
 
 24,211 
 
 + 21 
 
 
 
 o Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 040. 
 
 *> For a period ot 18 years. 
 
 c For a period of 8 years. 
 
 d Norwalk was not counted separately but was included with Stamford and Greenwich at tliis census. 
 
 « For a period of 20 years. 
 
 There has been growth in each period except that from 1771 to 
 1782. In the decade from 1830 to 1840 there was enough increase 
 to a little more than offset the loss of population by the cession of 
 part of Westport in 1835. In 1849 the New York & New Haven 
 Railroad was opened, and in 1852 the Danbury & Norwalk Railroad. 
 In the two decades from 1850 to 1870 Norwalk nearly trebled in popu- 
 lation as manufactures became well established. The population 
 continued to increase steadily and doubled between 1870 and 1910. 
 It is to be expected that the growth will continue. 
 
 In addition to Norwalk, South Norwalk, and East Norwalk, which 
 are built up without break, there are four small settlements in the 
 town. Rowayton, in the southwest corner of the town, is in large 
 part a summer settlement. West Norwalk is on Fivemile Brook just 
 south of the New Canaan town line. Winnipauk is a small manu- 
 facturing village on Norwalk River 1^ miles north of Norwalk. 
 Cranberry is a little settlement near the northeast corner of the toAvn. 
 
NOiaVALK. 85 
 
 The main line of the New '^ oik, New Ilaxon «.'v; Tlniirord IJaili'Oiid 
 crosses the town near tlie shore oi' Lono; Island Sound and has sta- 
 tions at Rowayton, Sonth Xorwalk, and East Xorwalk. Tlie Dan- 
 bur}^ branch, connectino; Sonth XorAA'alk Avith Danbury, lias stations 
 also at Norwalk and AVinnipank. Trolleys connect South Xorwalk 
 with Darien and Stamford by way of Rowayton; East Xorwalk, 
 Saupitnck, AVestport. and Bridgeport; Roton Point; (Jregory Point; 
 and Xorwalk and AVinnipank. A trnnk-line State highw^ay con- 
 nects with points east and west along the shore, and another follows 
 Xorwalk River to Ridgefield and to Danbnry. There is automobile- 
 stage service to Xew Canaan from Xorwalk. Post offices are main- 
 tained at Xorwalk, South Xorwalk, and Rowayton, with carrier 
 serAice in Xorwalk. South Xorwalk, and East Xorwalk. The out- 
 lying districts are served by rural delivery. 
 
 The principal industries of Xorwalk are the manufacture of cor- 
 sets, shirts, silks, paper and paper goods, brass, rugs. hats, hardware 
 and machinery, boots and shoes, Avoolen goods, lace, automobile tires, 
 motor trucks, engines, stores, and stone and earthen Avare; ship- 
 building: oyster fishing: and agriculture in the outlying districts. 
 
 SURFACE FEATURES. 
 
 Norwalk is in that portion of the Avestern highlands of Connect icr.t 
 that lies along the shore of Long Island Sound. The inland portion 
 of the province is a plateau sloping gently to the south-southeast, 
 underlain by intensely folded, crushed, and injected rocks. The 
 plateau has been deeply trenched by streams so that, although the 
 hills and ridges rise to concordant altitudes, the topography is 
 I'ugged. At the seaAvard margin these features persist but in a re- 
 duced degree. Formerly the land stood higl.er relatiA^e to sea level 
 and X'orAvalk was Avell inland, and under such conditions it dcA^eloped 
 the topographic features characteristic of the present inland. Subse- 
 quent depressing of the land has droAvned the XorAvalk coast. Arms 
 of the sea extend up the A^alleys making bays of the shorter ones and 
 an estuary of the valley of Xorwalk River. The ridges between 
 these droAvned A^alleys are noAv peninsulas. In the heads of the bays 
 and estuaries the Avater has but little motion, and deposits of mud 
 haA'e been made. These are the salt marshes that form so prominent 
 a feature of the topography of the Connecticut shore. The greatest 
 elevation in the town, 340 feet above sea leA^el, is on the divide be- 
 tAveen Silvermine and Xorwalk riA^^ers at the AVilton toAvn line. 
 
 FiA'emile Ri\'er and XorAvalk River are through- fiow^ing streams 
 Avhieh Avith their tributaries drain the Avest and central parts of the 
 town. On Silvermine RiA'er. Avhich enters Xorwalk River a little 
 
86 GEOUND WATER 1:^- jSTOEWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONH. 
 
 beloAY Winnipauk, and on Xorwalk Eiver there are se\'eral small 
 water powers deveiopecL Tlie northeast corner of the town is drained 
 hy the headwaters of Stony Brook which crosses into Westport and 
 joins Saugatuck iii^'er. There are a few short brooks which drain 
 parts of the shore zone and flow through salt marshes into the Sound. 
 
 W A TER -BE ARIN G FOR M ATIO X S , 
 
 /Schist and gneiss. — There are three bedrock formations in Nor- 
 walk^— the Danbury granodiorite gneiss, which underlies a strip 2 
 miles long west of Fivemile E-iver ; the Becket granite gneiss, under- 
 lying the rest of the elevated territory west of Norwalk Ei^er ; and 
 the Thomaston granite gneiss, underlying the south margin of the 
 town and most of the part east of Norwalk River. There is also an 
 area of Becket granite gneiss half a mile wide and extending a mik> 
 along the middle of the Westport boundary. 
 
 The Becket granite gneiss underlies much of western Connecticut, 
 and is composed of feldspar, quartz, and black mica which are con- 
 centrated in contrasting light and dark laj^ers. These give the rock 
 the banded and cleavable character typical of gneisses. There is 
 some doubt as to Avhether this rock was originally an igneous or 
 sedimentary rock. The minerals are those defining the granite family 
 of igneous rocks, but certain phases are so highly quartzose as to 
 suggest sandstone. It is possible that a very minor part of the rock is 
 of sedimentary origin but that an extreme amount of igneous material 
 has been added so as to give it a dominantl}' igneous character. It 
 is a resistant rock and forms a high ridge between Fivemile Eiver 
 and Norwalk Eiver. This ridge is bounded on the west by a valley 
 cut in large part in Danbury granodiorite gneiss, and on the south 
 and east by a lower area of the Thomaston granite gneiss. 
 
 The essential constituents of the Danbury granodiorite gneiss are 
 quartz, feldsi:>ar, and mica or hornblende or both. Where tlie mica is 
 the chief dark mineral the rock approaches a true granite in com- 
 position, but where hornblende is dominant it becomes a granodiorite. 
 The granodiorite seems to be the variety found most commonly in 
 the southern part of Fairfield County, according to Gregory.^ Cer- 
 tain of the feldspar crystals tend to be much larger than the other 
 crystals, so the rock has a porphyritic texture on which mashing has 
 superposed a gneissoid texture. 
 
 The only essential differences between the Thomaston granite 
 gneiss and the Danbury granodiorite gneiss are that the former con- 
 tains little or no hornblende and the porphyritic texture is less 
 
 1 Gregory, H. E., ami Robinson, H. H., Preliminary geological map of Connecticut : 
 Connecticut Geol. and Xat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 1907. 
 
 = Gregory, U. E., and Rice. W. N., Manual of the geology of Connecticut : Connecticut 
 Geol. and Nat. Flist. Survey Bull. 6, p. 108, 1906. 
 
NORWALK. 
 
 87 
 
 pvoiuinent. Both are probably younger than the lieckel jirf'.nhe 
 gneiss, lor they have been altered les.s by metamorphinnu 
 
 The capacities of the three types of bedrock for carrying N\ater are 
 substantially the same. Igneous rocks have only negligible amounts 
 of pore bpace. Moreover, the effect of dynamic metamorphism is to 
 reduce the porosity still more. Therefore we expect to hud and 
 actually do fuid no appreciable amounts of interstitial >vater in these 
 rocks. It is possible that the minute flat openings betvveen mica 
 ilakes in the more schistose phases may contain a little water, but 
 the.-e openings arc so small and circvdation is so retarded by friction 
 that no valuable supply of water can be obtained from them. Open- 
 ings of another kind do exist in these rocks and are capable of taking 
 in. transmitting, and again giving out some ground water. These 
 are the rather extensive joints and fissures formed in part by shrink- 
 age of the rock and in part by the mechanical forces which have acted 
 on the rocks. They fonn a very complicated network of intercon- 
 necting fissures better developed near the surface of the bedrock than 
 in depth. The base of the overlying mantle of unconsolidated rock 
 is saturated in most places with water. This water, derived pri- 
 marily by absorption of rain, works its way through and fills the 
 network of fissures and may be recovered by means of drilled Avells. 
 Detailed data concerning a number of such wells in Xorwalk are 
 «jii\ en in the table on page 94:. The following table summarizes these 
 
 data : 
 
 ^^luiiiiinrii of ihiUcd ireUs in XonraJk. 
 
 Maxiniiim. 
 Miniiniim. 
 
 Average... 
 
 Total 
 
 Depth to 
 
 Depth to 
 
 depth. 
 
 rock. 
 
 water. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 250 
 
 12 
 
 20 
 
 45 
 
 SO 
 
 
 
 166 
 
 35 
 
 12 
 
 Yield in 
 gallous 
 
 per 
 miniito. 
 
 7//7,_Tliere are two types of mantle rock in Xorwaliv from which 
 water is obtained— till and stratified drift. In addition there are the 
 deposits of the salt marshes and beacli sands, which would give only 
 salt water. Well No. 95 (see map, PL II) is of this type. 
 
 The till, which is also called boulder clay and " hardpan/' overlies 
 the bedrock of the more elevated portions of the town. The name 
 '^ hardpan " is descriptive of the physical properties which make it 
 difficult to excavate. The till consists of an intimate and thoroughly 
 heterogeneous mixture of glacial debris, which includes fragments of 
 all conceivable sizes and shapes derived from all the varieties of rock 
 overridden by the ice. Boulders, cobbles, and pelibles torn and 
 scraped off the ledges were carried along by the ice sheet. They were 
 
o8 GEOUXD WATER IX ISTOE WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONISI'. 
 
 rubbed against one another and polished, grooved, and broken. 
 Eventually they were embedded in a matrix composed in part of 
 their minute fragments, in part of scrapings from the bedrock, and 
 in part of the soil which had covered the region in preghxcial time. 
 The weight of the overlying ice sheet helped to compact the deposit. 
 There are, however, manj^ minute pores in the till, and it is capable 
 of absorbing considerable amounts of rain water, which percolates 
 downward until it reaches the surface of the bedrock. Then part 
 of it may enter the joints of the rock, and part of it may move more 
 or less horizontally along the rock surface. Water may be recovered 
 from the till by means of dug wells into which it will slowly seep. 
 The most abundant supplies are found in a zone a few^ feet thick 
 just above the bedrock or in lenses of partly washed material which 
 is more porous. Sixty-nine wells dug in till were visited in Norwalk 
 early in October, 1916. Two were found to be dry, and 13 more were 
 said to fail. The dependability of 10 could not be ascertained, but 
 the remaining 41 were said to be nonfailing. The data collected con- 
 cerning these wells are given in detail in the table on pages 92-93, and 
 are summarized in the following table : 
 
 Sinnmarif of uyells duff in fill in Nnrtralk. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 water. 
 
 Depth of 
 water. 
 
 
 Feet. 
 40.1 
 
 8.4 
 19.4 
 
 Feet. 
 29.9 
 5.3 
 15.0 
 
 Feet. 
 13.8 
 
 Minimum 
 
 .9 
 
 
 4.2 
 
 
 
 ^Stratified r/H/Y.— Deposits of stratified drift are found in the val- 
 leys of the streams of Norwalk and are shown on the map (PL II). 
 Most of the deposits are narrow, but in the valley of Norwalk River 
 below Winnipauk and in the vallej'' connecting Cranberry and Nor- 
 walk there are wider areas. At the seaward margin these deposits 
 blend into the salt-marsh deposits. For the most part they are 
 .stream deposits, but some of the more southerly stretches may be 
 beach sands and gravels. Whether of marine or fluviatile origin, 
 these deposits differ from the till described above in that they are 
 well washed and sorted and are laid in separate beds. The elimina- 
 tion of smaller particles from the chinks between the larger ones 
 makes stratified drift highly porous, so that it absorbs and transmits 
 more watei'. Unless unfavorably situated, as, for example, near the 
 edge of a terrace, wells in stratified drift yield good supplies of 
 water. Measurements of 24 such wells in Norwalk were made and 
 are given in the table on page 93. The reliability of 19 of these 
 wells was ascertained. Only two were said to fail. The data con- 
 
X or. WALK. 
 
 89 
 
 coniiiiir (lie (l(>pflis of tliesc Avolls aro Mimmari/cd in the followinj^ 
 tal.U-:' 
 
 Siiiiiiiiinii (if irclls (fiiff ill .stratified drift in \orinill,-. 
 
 
 Tol al 
 
 Depth to 
 wilier. 
 
 Depth of 
 water. 
 
 Afaximiim 
 
 Feel. 
 29.0 
 
 7.7 
 1S..S 
 
 Fed. 
 
 5.3 
 
 1(1. 4 
 
 Fffi. 
 ■t.O 
 
 Miiiiuium 
 
 1 
 
 A vet uj,'u 
 
 1'. 4 
 
 
 
 «^)i:.\LnY OF <;i;oiM) watku. 
 
 The subjoined table gives the results of two analyses and three 
 assays of samples of ground water collected in Xorwalk in December, 
 U)U). All are low in mineral content except No. -ilA, which is moder- 
 atel}^ mineralized. Nos. i? and 4TA are soft waters, and the other 
 three are verA* soft. All are acceptable for domestic use so far as 
 their mineral content and chemical character are concerned. Xo. 
 iTA will give a little trouble with formation of scale if used in 
 Ijoilersj but the rest are classed as good for boiler use. Xo. 47 is from 
 a well drilled into gneiss and situated very close to the dug well 
 in till from which Xo. 4TA was obtained. A comparison of the two 
 analj'ses will show that because of the minute character of the par- 
 ticles composing the till, greater opportunity is given for the ground 
 water to take mineral matter into solution. The waters are sodium 
 carbonate in type except Xo. 47, which is a calcium-carljonate water. 
 
 Cucniicdl roiitpositioii and classification of (jround tratcr-s in Xonralk." 
 
 [Parts per milUon; collected Dec. 9. lOltJ; analyzed by Alfred A. Chamber? and C. H. Kidwtll. Numbers 
 ol analyses and assays correspond to those used on 11. 11.] 
 
 Snica(Si0,,) 
 
 Iron(Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magnesium (Ms;) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+K)« 
 
 Carbonate radicle (CO3) 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle { HCO3) 
 
 SiUphate radicle ( SO4) 
 
 Chloride radicle CCl) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 180° C. . 
 
 Totalhardness as CaCO., 
 
 Scale-forminj; constituents f 
 
 Foaming constituents « 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 Probability of corrosion/. 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic use. 
 
 Analyses.'' 
 
 18 
 
 .90 
 17 
 3.7 
 7.3 
 .0 
 44 
 29 
 5.1 
 Trace. 
 101 
 c58 
 74 
 20 
 
 Ca-COa 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 21 
 
 11 
 
 2.j 
 .0 
 127 
 
 ].j 
 
 22 
 
 1.7 
 
 180 
 
 «98 
 
 110 
 
 U8 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 Trace. 
 
 f 03 
 17 
 40 
 20 
 
 Na-COa 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 11 
 
 .0 
 41 
 
 s.o 
 1;. 1 
 
 f S2 
 2S 
 
 30 
 
 Na-COs 
 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 
 Good. 
 
 «120 
 42 
 05 
 00 
 
 Na-COj 
 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 
 Good. 
 
 " Fnrlocatioji and other descriptive information sec pp. 92-94. 
 
 '' For methods u.sedin analyses and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 ' Appro.ximations: for methods used in assays and reliability of results see pp. 52-0<l. 
 
 d Collected Dec. 1, I9u;. 
 
 f Computed. 
 
 / Based on computed quantity; (?)=corrosion uncertain, N=noucorrosive. 
 
VO GEOUiS^D Vv'ATER IIS^ jSTOEWALK Aj^D OTHER AEEAS^ CONE". 
 
 PUBLIC Wx^TEK SUPPLIES. 
 
 Separate waterworks are maintained by Norv/alk and South 
 Norwalk. The Xorwalk system, operated by the incorporated first 
 taxing district, was started in 18T2. There are three storage 
 reservoirs on Silvermine River, and a distributing reservoir of 
 4,500,000 gallons capacity in the city at an elevation of 197 feet 
 above sea level. The lowest of the storage reservoirs, known as tlie 
 Grupe reservoir, is in the northeast corner of the town, of New 
 Canaan. It is formed by a stone dam 250 feet long and 28 feet 
 high, v/hicli stores 62,000,000 gallons. Its elevation is 297 feet 
 a,bove sea level. The Brown reservoir, a quarter of a ruile north 
 of the Nev7 York State line, has a capacity of 201,000,000 gallons. 
 The dam is of the core-wall type, 1,300 feet long, 43 feet high, and 
 has a spillwa}' elevation of 420 feet abova sea level. The Scott 
 reservoir, IJ miles north of the State line, with its spillway 500 feet 
 above sea level, has a capacity of 58,000,000 gallons. The dam of 
 this reservoir is 150 feet long and 25 feet high and is built of stone. 
 The V7ater is distributed by gravity tlirough 44. miles of mains to 
 229 hydrants and 2,250 service taps. The pressure is from 60 to 80 
 pounds to the square inch. The consumption is said by the com- 
 missioners to average 2,500,000 gallons a day. It is said that \\e\r 
 measurement, the records of which have been lost, indicated an 
 average discharge of 10,000,000 gallons a day for Silvermine River. 
 The area of the tributary drainag'e basin is about 10 square miles. 
 The water is treated in a liquid chlorine purification plant at the 
 Grupe reservoir.^ 
 
 The South Norwalk waterworks,^ which also serve East Nor- 
 walk, are operated by the second taxing district of the city. Con- 
 struction was -begun in 1875, and later in that year service v/as 
 commenced. About 189 mains were laid across the river to East 
 Worwalk. There are at present four reservoirs and a fifth is 
 planned. All are in the town of Wilton. 
 
 Silvermine reservoir (No. 1) is on a small tributary of Silvermine 
 River, near the southwest corner of Wilton. The overflow is at an 
 elevation of 223 feet above sea level. It has an area of 9 acres and a 
 capacity of 12,000,000 gallons. This reservoir is no longer in use 
 except in emergencies, as it is below the level of the filtration plant. 
 A mile farther up the same stream is the dam of the Wilton reser- 
 voir (No. 2) with its spillway 266 feet above sea level. This reservoir 
 has an area of 135 acres and a capacity of 500,000,000 gallons and is 
 
 ^ Ora.1 communication from commissioners. 
 
 2 Second Taxing District of tlie City of Norwalk Sixth Ann. Rept., 1919. 
 
NOin\ALK. 91 
 
 the largest of the system. Near its lower oiul it is crossed bv a gravel 
 causeway Avhich elTetts a j)aiiial liltratioii of the water. A short 
 distance above the Wilton reservoir is the Huckleberry reser\oir 
 (No. :'.)• It lias an area of 2V) acres and a capacity of 1C)lMJ()-I,0'»() 
 gallons, and its spillway is 327 feet above sea level. 
 
 On a stream Mowing through North "Wilton and aljout midway 
 between North AVilton and AVilton is the North Wilton leserxoir 
 (No. 4). It covers only 3 acres and has a capacity of only 
 2,000,000 gallons. This reservoir is used merely to divert water to 
 the Wilton reservoir to which it is connected by a large pipe line. 
 Its spillway is 302 feet above sea level. A fifth reservoir is planned 
 on this stream. It will have a capacity of 800.000,000 gallons, an 
 area of 110 acres, and a spillway elevation of 100 feet above sea level. 
 
 Just below the Wilton reservoir is a double sand Hltration plant 
 built to eliminate objectionable odor-producing and taste-producing 
 organisms. The primary filter consists of five roofed concrete coui- 
 i)artments, each covering about 11,000 square feet. At the bottom 
 are lateral lines of 10-inch split vitrified tile tributary to a large 
 central effluent channel. The underdrains are covered with 18 inches 
 of graded gravel, above which is 3 feet D inches of sand Avith an 
 etfective size of 0.35 to 0.38 millimeter. Before entering the primary 
 filters the water is aerated by running it through a steel box 9 feet 
 3 inches long by G feet 6 inches v/ide and 4 feet deep, in the bottom 
 of which are (>,836 holes three-sixteenths of an inch in diameter. In 
 a drop of about 3^ feet the streams of water twist and break and the 
 water becomes thoroughly aerated. 
 
 From the primary filter the water passes through Venturi meters, 
 one for each bed, whieh record the rate of filtration. The water is 
 then run through a secondary aeration l)ox and a secondary filter. 
 The construction of these is the same as in the primary set. except 
 tha.t there is only one filter bed. The primary filtration effectually 
 eliminates the organic matter, and the secondary filtration the objec- 
 tionable mineral matter (iron and manganese). The daily average 
 of the primary filters was 2,540,233 gallons for the yeixv ending May 
 1, 1919. The beds were run 18 days on the average betvreen clean- 
 ings, but the time varied wath tlie season of the year from 9 to 51 
 days. The secondary filter was run at a rate about four times as 
 high and with a longer interval between cleanings. 
 
 The water is distributed by gravity through 49 miles of main 
 l.'i])e to 266 hydrants and 2,874 house taj^s. Tlie domestic consump- 
 tion is about 130 gallons per capita per day, but this is increased by 
 the consumption in factories, hotels, and other establishments to 
 about 190 gallons a day. This consumption is excessive, and the 
 
92 
 
 GROUND WATER IIT iS^ORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN, 
 
 Avater Uised by the 14,000 consumers could by metering be made to 
 suffice for 20,000 people. The projected reservoir, the site and rights 
 for which have already been procured, will provide water enough for 
 a population of 60,000. 
 
 RECORDS OF WELLS. 
 
 WcJifi (Jug in till in Noriralk. 
 
 No. 
 
 42 
 
 43 
 
 44 
 45 
 47A 
 
 57 
 
 58 
 60 
 60A 
 61 
 
 Owner. 
 
 W. S. Stewart... 
 
 J. R. Conuor. 
 
 Topo- 
 
 p-aphic 
 
 situation. 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope. . .. 
 Plateau . . 
 Slope. . .. 
 Knoll... - 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 Plateau 
 
 Slope. . 
 do. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do. . 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plateau. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Slope. . . 
 Plateau . 
 Slope. . . 
 
 .do. 
 
 Swale . 
 SIoDe. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Plain.. 
 
 Ridge. 
 
 Ele- 
 vation 
 above 
 
 sea 
 level. 
 
 Slope. . 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Feet. 
 140 
 120 
 125 
 120 
 175 
 190 
 
 145 
 205 
 
 230 
 
 230 
 240 
 
 225 
 117 
 175 
 145 
 
 125 
 110 
 120 
 195 
 170 
 120 
 145 
 170 
 210 
 165 
 95 
 125 
 150 
 175 
 150 
 
 180 
 
 170 
 
 105 
 
 115 
 140 
 
 85 
 
 60 
 110 
 195 
 165 
 160 
 
 200 
 175 
 170 
 150 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Feet. 
 27.8 
 27.1 
 28.1 
 18.4 
 28.1 
 15.7 
 
 24.4 
 11.5 
 
 16.0 
 25.0 
 
 18.0 
 30.0 
 
 24.7 
 14.5 
 25.1 
 21.7 
 
 16.8 
 11.9 
 17.9 
 14.0 
 10.9 
 19.3 
 17.9 
 12.8 
 19.0 
 19.1 
 17.4 
 18.5 
 18.9 
 40.1 
 14.3 
 
 20.7 
 
 12.7 
 
 17.7 
 
 20.1 
 20.1 
 28.3 
 
 19.1 
 18.8 
 19.4 
 14.8 
 14.2 
 
 24.3 
 
 31.7 
 27.0 
 32.0 
 12.1 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Feet. 
 25.8 
 25.7 
 26.9 
 15.1 
 24.4 
 9.6 
 
 18.0 
 8.9 
 
 14.3 
 17.0 
 
 15.2 
 27.0 
 
 19.6 
 13.6 
 19.1 
 
 14.4 
 9.9 
 
 16.5 
 
 8.0 
 
 9.2 
 
 10.6 
 
 12.9 
 
 9.8 
 
 13.3 
 
 18,1 
 
 15.6 
 
 15.8 
 
 12.9 
 
 29.9 
 
 iO.8 
 
 17.6 
 
 10.0 
 
 16.0 
 
 14.6 
 13.9 
 26.1 
 
 15.2 
 14.5 
 18.3 
 10.2 
 11.9 
 
 17.6 
 
 28.8 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Feet. 
 2.0 
 1.4 
 1.2 
 3,3 
 3.7 
 6.1 
 
 6.4 
 2.6 
 
 1.7 
 8.0 
 
 2.8 
 3.0 
 
 5.1 
 
 0.9 
 
 6.0 
 
 Dry. 
 
 2.4 
 2.0 
 1.4 
 6.0 
 1.7 
 8.7 
 5.0 
 3.0 
 5.7 
 1,0 
 1.8 
 2.7 
 6.0 
 10.2 
 3.5 
 
 3.1 
 
 1.7 
 
 5.5 
 6.2 
 2.2 
 
 3.9 
 4.3 
 1.1 
 
 4.6 
 2.3 
 
 2.9 
 
 17.0 
 3.3 
 
 Ris 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig.. . 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 AVindlass rig 
 
 Air-pressure sys- 
 tem. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Windlass rig and 
 house pump. 
 
 Windlass rig.." 
 
 Chain pump and 
 electric pump. 
 
 Windla.ss rig 
 
 Deep-well pump 
 and hot-air en- 
 gine. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig.. . 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . . 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do ': 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rii; . . . 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig.. . 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Gasoline engine . . 
 
 Two - bucket r i g 
 
 and house piimp. 
 
 Two- bucket rig.. , 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Two - bucket r i g 
 and house pump 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Two- bucket rig . . . 
 Chain pump 
 
 Tv/o-bucket rig. . . 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 House pnmp 
 
 Sweeping and 
 
 house pump. 
 Two - bucket rig 
 
 and house pump 
 Two-bucket rig . . . 
 Deep- well pump . , 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Nonfailin" 
 Do. ' 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. Rock 
 
 bottom. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. Rock; 5 
 
 feel. 
 Fa i 1 s . Rock 
 
 bottom. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. For 
 
 analysis seo 
 
 p. 89. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
XOinVALK. 
 
 IVf //.s- (Inn ill till ill Xdiirall,- — ( "om iiiuiMl. 
 
 «J3 
 
 No. 
 
 Topo- 
 
 prnphii; 
 
 si t mi t ion. 
 
 Plain. . 
 
 Sloiie. . 
 
 Plain.. 
 
 ' do. 
 
 I Slope.. 
 
 Stephen riwe...l Hill — 
 
 Slope. 
 
 '.IP) 
 
 101 
 103 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Swale.. 
 
 Slope. . 
 
 Hill.... 
 
 Slope.. 
 do.. 
 
 Hilltop. 
 
 Phiin.. 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Plateau.... 
 
 Island (?)., 
 
 Flo- 
 
 \a!iiin 
 
 above 
 
 sea 
 
 le\cl. 
 
 Tolal 
 doplli 
 
 Feet. 
 125 
 115 
 120 
 210 
 65 
 105 
 
 100 
 ti5 
 40 
 65 
 00 
 fiO 
 70 
 55 
 
 Fed. 
 15. 1 
 15.7 
 11.5 
 15.5 
 10.5 
 24.1 
 
 IS. 9 
 17.1 
 18.4 
 27. 5 
 10. S 
 23.0 
 8.4 
 9.8 
 18.7 
 9.5 
 22.0 
 31.7 
 
 40, 10.3 
 
 85 I 17.6 
 
 75 14. 6 
 
 130 19. 6 
 
 I>C)llll 
 
 to 
 w'alor. 
 
 Ffct. 
 12.7 
 14.3 
 9.1 
 10.1 
 13.8 
 16.1 
 
 16.1 
 16.0 
 15.8 
 23.7 
 
 5.3 
 IS. 3 
 
 6.0 
 
 7.7 
 15. 
 
 5.4 
 14.5 
 17.9 
 
 Depth! 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in I 
 well. 
 
 licniarks 
 
 Feet. 
 2.4 
 1.4 
 2.4 
 5.4 
 5.7 
 N.O 
 
 2.8 
 1.1 
 2.6 
 3.8 
 5. 5 
 4.7 
 2.4 
 2.1 
 3.7 
 4.1 
 7.5 
 13.8 
 
 Chain pump. 
 
 Sweep ris 
 
 Windlass ri}; 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket ri;,' 
 and tioiiseputnp. 
 
 Two-l)iieket rif,'.. . 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-liiiekei rig.. . 
 
 House pump 
 
 Two-bueket rig. . . 
 
 Nori.i; 
 
 Two-bucket ri;;.. . 
 do 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . . 
 
 Windmill 
 
 6.8 
 
 3.5 
 
 11.5 
 
 6.1 
 
 13. 5 
 
 1.1 
 
 13.3 
 
 6.3 
 
 Chain ptimp. .. 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 Windlass rig. . . 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Never used; 
 water salty. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 lIVZ/.s (lug in f^traiifivd drift in Xonrall:. 
 
 No. on 
 J 1. 11. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 Ele- 
 vation 
 above 
 sea 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Kcmarks. 
 
 23 
 
 
 Slope 
 
 I'lain 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Feet. 
 115 
 90 
 75 
 90 
 60 
 50 
 70 
 
 50 
 35 
 130 
 125 
 
 120 
 110 
 25 
 70 
 70 
 75 
 00 
 50 
 30 
 25 
 25 
 10 
 
 Feel. 
 11.0 
 22.3 
 22.3 
 20.8 
 27. 1 
 15.3 
 20.7 
 
 27.3 
 10.5 
 21.8 
 22 
 
 12.8 
 16.9 
 11.6 
 22.0 
 21.0 
 22.1 
 15.7 
 
 7.7 
 29.0 
 21.3 
 20.9 
 
 8.4 
 
 Fat. 
 8.2 
 19.4 
 19.1 
 18.6 
 25.4 
 13.6 
 IS. 2 
 
 25.0 
 ti. 7 
 19.1 
 18 
 
 11.8 
 15.7 
 10.0 
 19.3 
 19.4 
 18.2 
 13.9 
 
 5.3 
 26. 6 
 21.5 
 17.7 
 
 6. 8 
 
 Fed. 
 2.8 
 2.9 
 3.2 
 2.2 
 2.0 
 1.7 
 
 2,3 
 
 3.8 
 2.7 
 4 
 
 1.0 
 1.2 
 1.6 
 2.7 
 1.6 
 3.9 
 1.8 
 2.4 
 2.4 
 2.8 
 3.2 
 1.6 
 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 .do 
 
 
 2i 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 32 
 
 
 do 
 
 31 
 
 Two-bucket ri.a; 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 35 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 36 
 37 
 
 Miss M. A. Mc- 
 Carthy. 
 
 I'lain 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Fails. For assay, 
 see p. 89. 
 
 •18 
 
 ,!n 
 
 Chain piunp — 
 
 Windlass rig. . . 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing: will 
 
 66 
 63 
 
 Clover .Manufac- 
 turing Co. 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 Plain 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do.;... 
 
 ... .do 
 
 f.6 
 
 Chain pump — 
 do 
 
 yield 50 gallons 
 a minute. For 
 assay see p. 89. 
 Fails. 
 
 117 
 
 
 
 
 
 ;;;;;;;;;;;;;; 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 ii9 
 
 .. do 
 
 Do. 
 
 72 
 72.V 
 
 Tw -bucket rig 
 . do 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 73 
 
 .. ..do 
 
 Do. 
 
 74 
 
 Chain puni:>... 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 
 Swale 
 
 Plain 
 
 Terrace 
 
 Slope 
 
 Terrace 
 
 
 >-7 
 
 '.t;w. Marvin.".'; 
 
 Do. 
 
 SS 
 
 ..do 
 
 Do. 
 
 89 
 'Jl 
 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 House pump... 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing; fresh 
 water. For as- 
 say see p. 89. 
 
94 GEOUXD WATER IX jN'OEWAiK A^D OTHER AREAS, COXN, 
 
 Drilled icells in Nonralk. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. II. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situa- 
 tion. 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 rock. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water 
 
 in 
 ■well. 
 
 Di- 
 ame- 
 ter. 
 
 Yield 
 per 
 min- 
 ute. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 6 
 
 Fathers of the Holy 
 
 Ghost. 
 .....do 
 
 Slope .. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 136 
 
 108 
 260 
 
 197 
 
 45 
 168 
 
 Feet. 
 12 
 
 20 
 
 80 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 16 
 
 Feet. 
 10 
 
 20 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 In. 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 J 
 
 
 6A 
 
 .. do-. 
 
 
 
 •16 
 
 47 
 
 Norwalk Iron Works 
 Co. 
 
 Valley.. 
 Slope... 
 
 --.do..-- 
 .. do -- 
 
 &5 
 
 60 
 
 40 
 
 210 
 
 4 
 
 110 
 110" 
 30 
 
 8 
 5 
 
 Water hard. 
 
 Water from gneiss. 
 For 'analysis see 
 p. 89. 
 
 49 
 50 
 
 Samuel R . Weed 
 
 School. 
 
 59 
 
 H. A. Beach 
 
 ...do...- 
 
 
 70 
 
 81 
 
 Meeker's Union 
 
 Foundry Co. 
 
 To^vnfarm 
 
 St. James" Homes 
 
 Mrs.R.L.Luckpy ... 
 
 Manresi institute 
 
 South N r w a 1 k 
 
 Oyster Farms Co. 
 Jos. Burns 
 
 Valley . 
 
 Slope... 
 ...do.... 
 Ridge.. 
 Island.. 
 Plain... 
 
 ^'aIlev 
 
 107 
 152 
 
 40 
 
 5 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 
 sr^ 
 
 
 
 
 97 
 100 
 102 
 
 188 
 125 
 258 
 
 247 
 
 23 
 
 75 
 
 20 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 Large 
 
 25 
 
 Vratcr salty.ii 
 
 (*) 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 « For analvsis see U. S. Cleol. Survev Water-Supplv Paper 102, p. 142, 1904. 
 
 i) Not plotted on map. Data from U. S. GeoL Survey Water-Supply Paper 232, p. 82, 1909. 
 
 BIDGEFIEXD. 
 
 AREA, POPTJLATIOX, AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Eiclgefield, a town typical of the western highlands of Connecticut. 
 is near the middle of the west bonndary of Fairfield County. Dan- 
 bury adjoins it on the north and Norwaik is 15 miles south on Long- 
 Island Sound. To the west is part of Westchester County, N". Y. 
 The town has an area of 35^ square miles. There are several exten- 
 sive stretches of woodland and many small wood lots. These woods 
 are uniformly distributed over the town on the hills and steeper 
 slopes and aggregate 14 square miles or 40 per cent of the total 
 area. The valleys are for the most part cleared. 
 
 Ridgefield was incorporated in 1709, and in 1901 the village was 
 made a borough. There have been no additions to or cessions of the 
 original territory. In 1910 the population was 3,118, an increase of 
 492 over the 1900 population. The density of population averages 
 88 to the square mile. The follovring table shows the population at 
 each census and the i>er cent change in the preceding interval : 
 
 Population of Eirhjefiehl, 115G-W10:- 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 1756 
 
 1,115 
 1,708 
 1,697 
 1,947 
 2,025 
 2,103 
 2,301 
 2,305 
 
 
 1840 . .. 
 
 2,474 
 2,237 
 2, 213 
 1,919 
 2, 028 
 2,235 
 2,626 
 3,118 
 
 -)- 7 
 
 1774 
 
 -1-53 
 - 1 
 
 + 15 
 + 4 
 H- 4 
 
 -:- 9 
 
 
 
 1850 
 
 — 10 
 
 1782 
 
 1860 
 
 — 1 
 
 1790 
 
 1870 - - 
 
 -13 
 
 isoo 
 
 1880..... 
 
 -f 6 
 
 1810 
 
 1890 
 
 -MO 
 
 1820 
 
 1900 
 
 -1-17 
 
 1830 
 
 1910 
 
 -1-19 
 
 
 
 
 a Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 640. 
 
EIDGKFIl'lLU. 05 
 
 H'hore \\:i> in gvneral a JiuxloiaLi' oiowili u[> to Is-k), a marked de- 
 crease from 1840 to 1870, and a rapid growth from 1870 to the 
 present time. The decrease was due to the general eniigTation from 
 (he agricultural districts of New Knglaml but may have been ac- 
 centuated by tiio distance of the town from the first railroads. The 
 subsequent groM-th is I he result of the completion of the railroad in 
 1870 and of the development of the region as a district of country 
 residences. This development will probably continue and will be 
 greatly stimulated if a projected railroad to connect ^vith the main 
 line of the New York, Xew Haven & Hartford Railroad at Green- 
 wich is eventually constructed. 
 
 The principal settlement is the centrally located borough of Ridge- 
 iield. There is also a small settlement, Titicus, a mile northwest of 
 the borough. Branch ville is in part in the southeast corner of Ridge- 
 field but spreads over into Redding and Wilton. Ridgebury is a 
 small village in the north part of the town. There is a post office at 
 Ridgefield and rural- delivery service to the outlying sections. There 
 is also a post office at Branchville in Redding. The Danbury branch 
 of the New York, New Haven t*c Hartford Railroad, opened in 1852, 
 runs north and south along the east boundary and has stations at 
 Brauch\ille and Sanford. The Ridgefield branch, a little less than 
 4 miles long, connects Ridgefield and Branch\'ille, and has stations 
 at Florida and Cooper. An automobile stage line connects Ridgefield 
 with Danbury. 
 
 Tlie principal industry of Ridgefield is agriculture, and dairy 
 products for the New York market form a specialty. The quarrying 
 and grinding of feldspar and quartz have been carried on intermit- 
 tently. Formerly there was also some manufacturing of cabinet 
 work, shoes, hats, and tinware, but these industries died out about 
 1850 M'ith the oreneral change of industrial conditions. 
 
 SFr.FACK FEATTEES. 
 
 The characteristic features of the western highlands of Connecti- 
 cut are better developed in Ridgefield than elsevdiere in the Norwalk 
 area, because it is the most remote from the S'ound. In the south 
 part of the town the broad, flat-topped hills are approximately 800 
 feet above sea level. Farther north the hilltops are approximately 
 1,000 feet, but in the extreme north part. of the town the hills are 
 somewhat lower. The valle3^s between the hills are cut to different 
 depths. It seems probable that this region was once eroded to a 
 nearly flat surface. Subsequent uplift of the region rejuvenated 
 the streams so that valleys have been cut below the old erosion sur- 
 faces. Tlie valley north of Round Mountain and the valley of 
 Titicus River, v.hich join just north of the village of Ridgefield, 
 
96 
 
 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 0) o 
 
 
 
 and their southwestwarcl continuation are underlain by limestone, 
 which is relatively soluble, so that these zones have been deeply 
 eroded. These valleys are characterized by wide and nearly level 
 floors above Avhich rise st«ep w^alls with many bare outcropping 
 ledees. The other valiej^s have only narrow valley floors. The 
 valley south of Eound Pond is also of the 
 broad-floored type and is underlain by lime- 
 stone. Figure 15 shows a profile across Eidge- 
 field drawn along a line bearing northeast 
 which is indicated on the maps (Pis. II and 
 III) by the line C\ It shows the two lime- 
 stone, vallej^s cut below the upland areas of 
 gneiss. 
 
 The highest point in Eidgefield is Pine 
 Mountain, the crest of which is 1,060 feet above 
 sea level, and the lowest point is where Norwalk 
 River crosses the south boundai^y at an eleva- 
 tion of 330 feet. 
 
 Mamanasco Lake occupies a depression on 
 the flank of the valley of Titicus River at the 
 foot of the north slope of Scott Ridge. Some- 
 what similar depressions are to be found else- 
 where in the limestone area but have been filled 
 in. Most of the filling was probably done in 
 late glacial times by debris carried by the great 
 volumes of melt water from the glacier. Wells 
 sunk by the Ridgefield Water Supply Co. in 
 the swamp south of Round Pond gave the fol- 
 lowing section: Alluvium, 40 to 60 feet; clay, 
 10 feet ; sand and gravel, 230 to 250 feet. This 
 section may indicate that the melt water washed 
 in 250 feet of sand, after which the supply of 
 sediment decreased, and the basin became a 
 lake, in the bottom of which 10 feet of clay was 
 deposited. Finally 40 to 60 feet of alluvium 
 has been carried in and the lake filled up. 
 The clay layer must extend under all or nearly 
 all of the swamp, as it effectually prevents any 
 ° ^ entrance of water into the sands below it. 
 
 Eidgefield occupies parts of six drainage basins. An area of about 
 half a square mile in the northwest corner is drained by a small 
 brook tributary to Still River which flows northward and enters 
 Housatonic River near New Milford. The run-off of about 8 square 
 miles in the northeast part of the town reaches Saugatuck River. Ten 
 
 ^ oi 
 
BIDOKFIELD. 97 
 
 square miles in the east-central and southeast parts of Ridscficld :.ro 
 included in the headwaters of N(irwalk River. The headwaters of 
 Silverinine River drain about 3 square miles in the southwest part of 
 the town, and just north is an area of 2 square miles tributary to Mill 
 Jviver. which enters Long Island Sound at Stamford. Three square 
 miles at the middle of the western margin of Ridgefield is drained 
 by Waccabuc River, which flows into Cross River and so to Croton 
 River and the Hudson. The west-central and northwest parts of the 
 town are drained by Titicus River, which also is tributary to Croton 
 and Hudson rivers. The borough of Ridgefield, then, includes paiiis 
 of the basins of Housatonic, Saugatuck, Xorwalk, Silvermine, Mill, 
 and Hudson rivers. 
 
 ■WATKR-HEARING FORMATIONS. 
 
 BefJrock. — Four varieties of bedrock have been recognized in 
 Ridgefield.^ About 18 square miles in the north part of the town 
 is underlain by the Becket granite gneiss. The original character of 
 this rock is not certain, but it is probably essentially a metamorphic 
 rock of igneous origin. It is a banded gray rock, composed of layers 
 rich in biotite wdiich alternate with layers rich in the lighter-colored 
 (ju.artz and feldspar. The segi-egation is due to the flowage under 
 intense metamorphism and realinement of the grains under pressure. 
 This structure is more developed in some places than in others, and 
 there makes the rock readily cleavable. 
 
 The bedrock of an area of 2 square miles in the southeast corner 
 of the town is the Danburj^ granodiorite gneiss. It is a gray rock 
 composed substantially of quartz, feldspar, and hornblende. Other 
 minerals are present in minor amounts, and in some phases biotite 
 (black mica) replaces more or less completely the hornblende. In 
 one phase of the rock certain of the feldspar crystals are much larger 
 than the other mineral grains and give the rock a porphyritic texture. 
 The rock is massive but has a distinct gneissoid texture formed by 
 the flowage concomitant with mashing during regional meta- 
 morphism. 
 
 Underlying an area of 7 square miles in the southwestern part of 
 Ridgefield, and including most of the borough, is the Thomaston 
 granite gneiss. It is similar to the Danbury gi^anodiorite gneiss 
 except that hornblende is nowhere prominent, and the por]3hyritic 
 texture is absent. 
 
 The features of the Becket, Danbury, and Thomaston gneisses that 
 relate to their carrying water are similar, and may be discussed 
 
 1 Oi-pgory, H. E., and Robinson, H. H., Preliminary geolosrical map of Connecticut: 
 Connofticut Geol. and Nat. Hist. Bull. 7, 1907. 
 
 154444"— 20 7 
 
98 GROUND WATER IN JSTOEWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 together. A little water may be contained in the minute openings be- 
 tween the mineral grains, but its amount is negligible. These rocks 
 have been subjected to great and violent crustal movements which 
 have opened fissures that in general form parallel systems whose 
 directions depend on the direction in which the stresses acted. One 
 system is horizontal or onlj^ slightly inclined, and is cut by one or 
 more systems of steeply inclined or nearl}- vertical fissures. The 
 rock is thus cut into polygonal blocks by the intersecting fissures and 
 joints. Some rain water finds its way through the mantle of over- 
 lying unconsolidated material into the intricate network of joints 
 and crevices. Wells drilled into these rocks are apt to intersect, 
 within a reasonable depth, one or more of these water-bearing fis- 
 sures and thus obtain a moderate to abundant supply of water. 
 Data on five such wells are given in the table on page 103. 
 
 The Stockbridge dolomite underlies several valleys half a mile 
 to a mile wide that aggregate 9 square miles in area. This rock is 
 a light gray magnesiau limestone and is no doubt of marine origin. 
 Much of the rock has been metamorphosed to a medium-grained, well- 
 crystallized marble. The calcite and dolomite, of which the rock 
 is essentially composed, yield under metamorphism and recrystallize 
 as roughly equidimensional grains that are unlike the elongated 
 minerals formed from sandstones, shales, or igneous rocks. The 
 resulting texture is more massive. The marble is relatively soluble, 
 so that solution channels are veiy apt to be made hj water circu- 
 lating along joint planes and bedding planes. Water gets into such 
 channels by percolation from the overlying soil and may in many 
 places be recovered by drilled wells. The well of Mr. S. L. Pierponi: 
 and the well at the Town Farm are of this type. Interstitial water 
 plays only a minor part in marbles. 
 
 Till. — Overlying the bedrock of Eidgefield is till, except where 
 it is replaced by stratified drift or where ledges crop out. When the 
 glacier overrode New England in the ice age it scraped up the 
 mantle of decayed rock over the fresh, unweathered rock below. It 
 also broke off and ground away a good deal of the firm bedrock. 
 These materials were carried along by the ice sheet in its southerly 
 movement and were eventually deposited as till in part in de- 
 pressions and in part over the flat surfaces of the bedi^ock. The till 
 is an intimate and heterogeneous mixture of all this debris. Pebbles 
 and cobbles and even large boulders are embedded in a matrix of the 
 finer materials — sand, silt, clay, and rock flour. The till is very 
 compact because of the great weight of the overlying ice sheet which 
 pressed it down. Part of the water that falls as rain soaks into tlse 
 ground and percolates downward through it until an impervious 
 
RIDGEFIELD. 
 
 99 
 
 ■/.onQ is reached or a zone of pervious material completely saturated. 
 Some of the water will get into fissures in the underlying bedrock, 
 s(nae of it will moxo laterally and evputually bo roiurned to the sur- 
 face in springs or swamps at a lower elevation, and some may lie 
 withdrawn by wells. There are in some places bodies of partly 
 washed and stratified materials in the till, and these greatly further 
 tlie cireulntion of water. AVells dug iu till will furnish moderata 
 supplies of water that slowly percolates into them. Such a supply 
 is fairly dependable in times of drought unless the well is unfavor- 
 ably situated, as on a steep slope from which the water may drain 
 away. Wells that intersect rather more porous lenses in the till 
 or that reach the watcrbed or saturated zone just above tlie bedrock 
 are apt to yield the most abundant supplies. During the later part 
 of November, lOlG. measurements were made of 57 wells dug in till 
 in Ridgefield. At that time 3 were dry, 13 more were said by the 
 owuers to fail, and 3- were said to be nonfailing. The data collected 
 are given in detail in the table on page 102 and are summarized in 
 the following table. The wells that were dry have been neglected 
 in computing the depth to water and the depths of water in the wells. 
 
 SininiKinj of iccUh duy in till hi Hidf/ejichl. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 
 water. 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water 
 in well. 
 
 Maximum . .. 
 
 Feet. 
 33.0 
 9.3 
 
 ISI.8 
 
 Feet. 
 29.9 
 5.9 
 14.7 
 
 Feci. 
 12.3 
 
 Miuimnm 
 
 .4 
 
 \ TPFafw ... 
 
 3.& 
 
 
 
 
 
 Strntiftcd drift. — Stratified drift is the mantle rock of a con- 
 siderable part of the valleys of Eidgefield that are underlain by the 
 Stockbridge dolomite, and of parts of the valley of Xorwalk River. 
 It is a well-washed and sorted stratified deposit formed in large part 
 from till by the action of running water. It is an older alluvium 
 and on the map (PI. Ill) it is not differentiated from recent al- 
 luvium. The only differences are, first, that stratified drift was laid 
 down at the end of the glacial epoch by the streams of melt water 
 that issued from the ice sheet, whereas alluvium is more recent and 
 is still being laid down, and, second, that stratified drift is apt to be 
 but is not necessarily the coarser. Owing to the sorting action of the 
 water the interstices between the larger particles are not filled by 
 smaller particles as in till, so that the porosity is greater. Moreover, 
 the pores individually are larger and present less frictional resistance 
 to the circulation of v/ater. Wells in stratified drift get w^ater in the 
 
100 GKOTJND WATER. IIST NOR WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 same way as wells in till but with greater abundance. Seven such 
 wells w^ere measured in Eidgefield. Two were said to fail, and three to 
 be nonfailing, but the reliability of the other two could not be ascer- 
 tained. The data collected concerning these wells are given in de- 
 tail in the table on page 103 and are summarized in the following 
 table : 
 
 Nummary of wells duff in stratified drift hi RidgefieJd. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 water. 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water 
 in well. 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Feet. 
 15.9 
 14.0 
 11.4 
 
 Feet. 
 13.3 
 
 7.7 
 11.8 
 
 Feet. 
 5.5 
 
 Minimum 
 
 .9 
 
 Average 
 
 2.7 
 
 
 
 QUALITY OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 The following table gives the rCnSults of t"^'o analyses and four 
 assays of samples of ground water collected in the town of Kidge- 
 fielcL The waters are moderately mineralized except Nos. 15, 72, 
 and 74, which have a low mineral content. Nos. 72 and 74 are very 
 soft, in contrast with No. 15, which is a soft water, and Nos. 16, 48, 
 and 57, which are hard waters. The reason for this contrast is 
 presumably that wells Nos. 72 and 74 lie in situations where the 
 glacier brought no debris derived from the Stockbridge dolomite, 
 whereas the till around the other wells contains a considerable pro- 
 portion of the relatively soluble dolomitic material. A comparison 
 of analysis No. 15, which represents a sample from a well drilled into 
 the dolomite, v/ith analysis No. 16, which represents a samjple from 
 a near-by shallow well dug into the till, also suggests that the 
 grouncl-up dolomitic material is especially siisceptible to solution 
 and tends to make highly mineralized waters. The solid, firm dolo- 
 mite, on the other hand, is less easily dissolved, by reason of its 
 mechanical condition and therefore yields less highly mineralized 
 waters. 
 
 The waters represented by analyses Nos. 15, 72, and 74 are good 
 for domestic purposes so far as may be judged from their mineral 
 content, but the other waters are rated as fair because of their hard- 
 ness. Nos. 15, 72, and 74 are also acceptable for boiler use, but the 
 other waters are rated as poor because of excessive amounts of scale- 
 forming ingredients. All are calcium-carbonate in type except the 
 very soft waters, Nos. 72 and 74, which are sodium-carbonate waters. 
 
RlDtiKFIKLl). 
 
 101 
 
 Vhcinmil i<jiiii)i)f<itMii (IikI < Id.^si/icdtidii >,( yiouinl irdltin in h'itlffefield.'^ 
 
 I Parts ]H>r million; analyzod by Alfred A. Chambris and C. 11. Kidw.ll. Nuinlici-s of 
 analyses and assays corrcsjiond to those used on I'l. 11. J 
 
 Analyses. 6 
 
 Silica (SiOs) 
 
 Iron (Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca ) 
 
 Magiiesiiiiii ( Mg) 
 
 Sodium (Xa) 
 
 I'otiissinm (K) 
 
 ( "all ■Dim le radicle (CO3) 
 
 Bk-arboi.ate radicle (IICO3) ... . 
 
 Snlphate radicle (SOj) 
 
 ( hloride racUcle (CI) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total d ssolved solids at 180° C. 
 
 Total liardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale-formins constituents/ 
 
 Foaming constituents / 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 I'rol lability of corrosion h 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic use.. 
 
 17 
 
 .14 
 IS 
 
 4.6 
 11 
 
 6.9 
 
 77 
 
 14 
 
 6.2 
 
 .08 
 
 114 
 
 /64 
 
 78 
 
 49 
 
 Ca-COs 
 (?) 
 
 Oood. 
 Good. 
 
 dl6 
 
 IS 
 
 .40 
 
 r.7 
 17 
 12 
 C.4 
 7.0 
 230 
 22 
 6.8 
 4.1 
 253 
 /212 
 210 
 49 
 
 Ca-COa 
 (?) 
 Poor. 
 Fair. 
 
 -Vssays.c 
 
 0. 13 
 
 Trace. 
 
 7.2 
 2."d 
 11 
 3.6 
 
 /2S0 
 244 
 270 
 
 (?) 
 
 Ca-CO, 
 (?) 
 I'oor. 
 Fair. 
 
 /22 
 
 4.S 
 334 
 27 
 14 
 
 /3S0 
 
 2S5 
 
 310 
 
 60 
 
 Ca-COa 
 (?) 
 I'oor. 
 Fair. 
 
 'I'race. 
 
 /14 
 
 .0 
 62 
 6.0 
 2.2 
 
 / 91 
 33 
 60 
 40 
 
 Xa-COs 
 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 
 (iood. 
 
 no 
 
 .0 
 34 
 9.0 
 3.2 
 
 /73 
 22 
 
 30 
 
 Na-COa 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 a For location: and other descriptive information see pp. 102-103. 
 
 6 For methods used in analyses and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 c Approximations; for methods used in assays and reliability of results ; ee pp. 52-GO. 
 
 d Collected Nov. 28, 1916. 
 
 e Collected Dec. S, 1916. 
 
 /Computed. 
 
 g Less than 10 parts per million. 
 
 A Based on computed quantity; (?)=corrosion uncertain, N=noncorroslve. 
 
 PUBLIC ^^'ATER SUPPLY. 
 
 The Ridgefield Water Supply Co. has been serving its customers in 
 and around tlie borough since 1900. Water ^vas first obtained from 
 five driven wells in a svvamp a mile south-southwesl of Round 
 Pond. These wells were GO feet deep; two were G inches and three 
 were 3 inches in diameter. They drew moderate amounts of water 
 from gravel, but the water was under veiy slight head and had to 
 be lifted 50 feet. Subsequently three wells were vS.unk at the same 
 l)Iace to depths of about 300 feet. They went through 10 to 50 feet 
 of alluvium, 10 feet or so of clay, and finally through more than 200 
 feet of sand. Xo water was obtained below the cla}- and only 
 moderate amounts above it. 
 
 At present all the wells are abandoned and water is pumped from 
 Round Pond to a steel standpipe of 188,000 gallons capacity located 
 on a ridge 1^ miles south-southeast of the pond. There are two 
 triplex single-acting pumps, 10 by 10 inches, driven by two 35-horse- 
 power electric motors and working against a pressure of 75 pounds 
 to the square inch. The water is distributed by gravity fi'om the 
 .standpipe through 11 miles of mains to 70 hydrants and 383 service 
 taps, of which 311 are metered. The pressure ranges from 75 to 90 
 pounds per square inch. Tlie 2,500 peojjle served consume on the 
 average about 118,000 gallons a day, Roi.nd Pond is presumably 
 
102 GROlTTs^D WATER IB NOEWALK AjSTD OTHER AREAS, CONX. 
 
 fed by subaqueous springs.^ The water in the pond has heretofore 
 been abundant, and a much larger quantity coukl be furnished. 
 
 RECORDS or WELLS AKD SPRINGS. 
 
 Wells dug in till in li. id fje field. 
 
 No. 
 
 on PI. 
 
 11. 
 
 0\vncr. 
 
 Topogra- 
 phic situa- 
 tion. 
 
 Ele- 
 va- 
 tion 
 above 
 sea 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth 
 
 Depth Depth 
 to of 
 
 water. 'water. 
 
 Rix. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 2 
 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 Feci. 
 620 
 500 
 
 500 
 560 
 610 
 685 
 785 
 665 
 795 
 670 
 620 
 540 
 
 565 
 650 
 605 
 595 
 695 
 
 610 
 780 
 590 
 825 
 730 
 
 715 
 630 
 700 
 070 
 720 
 670 
 765 
 745 
 790 
 575 
 470 
 550 
 575 
 
 590 
 600 
 635 
 750 
 755 
 770 
 790 
 
 740 
 
 785 
 
 780 
 765 
 745 
 615 
 630 
 
 703 
 525 
 040 
 690 
 
 500 
 550 
 430 
 
 4S0 
 
 Feef. 
 9.4 
 18.5 
 
 12.7 
 
 17.9 
 
 21.6 
 
 19.2 
 
 30 
 
 25.2 
 
 13.4 
 
 12.3 
 
 22.9 
 
 15.4 
 
 24.6 
 25.7 
 13.5 
 10.6 
 23.3 
 
 21.2 
 25.7 
 24.6 
 21.0 
 22.0 
 
 24.0 
 10.1 
 19.9 
 13. 5 
 17.0 
 9.3 
 10.4 
 20.8 
 11.0 
 14.9 
 18 
 
 30.0 
 33.0 
 
 17.1 
 14.8 
 
 9.3 
 25.2 
 18.9 
 19.7 
 
 9.6 
 
 25.6 
 
 14.4 
 
 20.8 
 25.9 
 20.5 
 16.6 
 25.6 
 
 15.0 
 17.3 
 18.2 
 14.0 
 13.2 
 13.2 
 14.0 
 
 24.9 
 
 Feel. 
 5.9 
 14.2 
 
 7.7 
 11.1 
 
 14.8 
 13.8 
 
 'i2.'2' 
 
 13.3 
 
 23.5 
 24.4 
 11.2 
 13.9 
 
 19.8 
 
 19.0 
 24.4 
 10.0 
 19.6 
 21.7 
 
 20.5 
 9.6 
 17.4 
 12.0 
 10.0 
 6.0 
 8.9 
 15.0 
 9.7 
 14.0 
 3 
 
 29.9 
 29.8 
 
 15.5 
 12.4 
 
 7.0 
 19.4 
 13.3 
 11.7 
 
 8.0 
 
 13.3 
 
 10.3 
 
 12.5 
 23.5 
 13.6 
 13.3 
 15.5 
 
 13.6 
 14.7 
 12.9 
 12.9 
 10.6 
 12.1 
 12.7 
 
 24.5 
 
 Feet. 
 3.5 
 4.3 
 
 5.0 
 
 6.8 
 
 6.8 
 
 5.4 
 
 Dry 
 
 Dry 
 
 1.2 
 
 Dry 
 
 2.2 
 
 2.1 
 
 1.1 
 1.3 
 2.3 
 2.7 
 3.5 
 
 2.2 
 1.3 
 
 8.6 
 1.4 
 0.3 
 
 3.5 
 0.5 
 2.5 
 1.5 
 0.4 
 3.3 
 7.5 
 5.8 
 1.9 
 0.9 
 15 
 0.7 
 3.2 
 
 1,6 
 2.4 
 2.3 
 5.8 
 5.6 
 8.0 
 1.6 
 
 12.3 
 
 4.1 
 
 8.3 
 2.4 
 6.9 
 3.3 
 10.1 
 
 1.4 
 2.6 
 5.3 
 1.1 
 2.6 
 1.1 
 1.9 
 
 0.4 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Chain prnnp and 
 house piunp. 
 
 Chain piunp 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 Deep-well pump. . 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 No rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 Chain piunp 
 
 House piunp 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 do 
 
 Non failing. 
 
 3 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 4 
 
 
 do...... 
 
 Do. 
 
 5 
 6 
 7 
 8 
 9 
 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 ;;:::::::::::... 
 
 Hill 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 
 
 Fails. 
 
 
 Hill 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 10 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 12 
 13 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Nonfaiiing. For 
 
 analv.sis s?e p. 
 
 101.' 
 Do. 
 
 16 
 17 
 
 S. L. Pierpont 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 19 
 
 1 do 
 
 Fails. 
 
 20 
 
 1 do 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 
 92 
 
 1 . do 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 do 
 
 do.... 
 
 Nonl'aiUng. Rock 
 
 25 
 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 do.. 
 
 bottom. 
 Do. 
 
 26 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 27 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 29 
 
 
 Ridge 
 
 Slope 
 
 Swale 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Fails. 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 31 
 
 
 torn. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 
 33 
 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 Windia.s.s rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 34 
 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 
 3S 
 
 
 do 
 
 36 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 39 
 
 
 do 
 
 NonfaiEng. 
 Fails. 
 
 42 
 43 
 
 
 do 
 
 . do 
 
 44 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 
 45 
 
 
 do 
 
 Two- bucket rig 
 
 46 
 
 L. D.Conley 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 
 47 
 
 Two-bucket rig — 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Fails. 
 
 48 
 49 
 
 JohnH. Pinch... 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 assav seo p. 101. 
 Fails. 
 
 50 
 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 51 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 52 
 
 
 . . do 
 
 do 
 
 Fails. 
 
 54 
 
 The Bailey Inn... 
 
 Ridge 
 
 Plateau — 
 do 
 
 .. do 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 55 
 
 do 
 
 56 
 
 Sweep rig and 
 
 house pump. 
 Chain pump 
 
 House pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing- 
 Abandoned. 
 
 57 
 
 E. S. Conch 
 
 ....do 
 
 58 
 
 
 do 
 
 assay see p. 101. 
 Nonfailing. Rock 
 bottom. 
 Do. 
 
 59 
 
 
 Slope....... 
 
 Ridge 
 
 Plateau — 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 62 
 
 
 Wheel and axle rig. 
 
 Wheel and axle rig 
 
 and house pump. 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 do 
 
 Do 
 
 63 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 64 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 65 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 66 
 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 
 67 
 
 
 .... do 
 
 Do. 
 
 68 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 71 
 
 
 Slope 
 
 Knoll 
 
 Slope 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Sweep rig and 
 
 house piunp. 
 Wheel and axle rig. 
 
 
 72 
 73 
 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 assay see p. 101. 
 
 
 
 
 1 Rept. Connecticut Public Utilities Commission, 1917 
 
lULHiEFlELI>. 
 WcU^ dun '» lilrati/'ud drifl in lililuvficUL 
 
 103 
 
 N<\ (111 
 
 ri. 11. 
 
 L.D.Conley. 
 
 Seth Heer.^ 
 
 Ti)ii(i;ra]iiru 
 .-;il:;;iti()ii. 
 
 Slope.. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Plain.. 
 Slope . . 
 Plain.. 
 Slope. . 
 
 Kleva- 
 
 
 
 
 1 ion 
 
 Tol;il 
 
 Dopdi 
 
 Depth 
 
 aliove 
 
 sea 
 
 Unol. 
 
 depth. 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 of 
 water. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 575 
 
 14.4 
 
 13.0 
 
 1.4 
 
 640 
 
 ■ 14. S 
 
 13.1 
 
 1.7 
 
 OoO 
 
 14.2 
 
 13.3 
 
 0.9 
 
 470 
 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 15 
 
 455 
 
 15.0 
 
 11. S 
 
 4.1 
 
 445 
 
 13.2 
 
 7.7 
 
 .5.5 
 
 ' 330 
 
 14.0 
 
 11.6 
 
 2.4 
 
 Two-bucket rig .... Fails. 
 
 Windlass ri? Do. 
 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 
 («) Nonfailinc. 
 
 Chain pump. . . . 
 
 AVindlass rig \ Do. 
 
 Two-bucket rig i Konfaiiing. For 
 
 I assay see p. 101. 
 
 o Tiiis well was originally a sprine and was Improved by means of a drive pipe. Yields 1,500 gallons 
 an liom- or 25 gallons a minute. 
 
 Drilled ;rr?/.s' in Ridficfirld. 
 
 c 
 
 c 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situa- 
 tion. 
 
 o 
 
 ft 
 
 ■a 
 
 O 
 
 .is 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 
 ft 
 
 p 
 
 °| 
 
 ft" 
 
 1 
 
 a 
 S 
 
 ft-g 
 
 Kind ofroc-k. 
 
 Ilomarks. 
 
 1 
 
 M 
 
 Ben .Xichols 
 
 Kidgcfield School. 
 S. L. Pierpont — 
 
 Town ''arm 
 
 Slope.... 
 
 ...do 
 
 ...do 
 
 do. . . . 
 
 Fed. 
 590 
 720 
 560 
 
 640 
 
 530 
 
 800 
 800 
 720 
 
 Feet. 
 
 t05 
 
 210 
 
 389? 
 
 4.50 
 
 300 
 
 537 
 
 551 
 
 03(1 
 
 75 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 Feet. 
 13 
 
 In. 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 GaU. 
 15 
 
 (a) 
 30 
 
 (ineiss 
 
 do 
 
 Limestone .... 
 
 . .do 
 
 J>ored well. 
 Do 
 
 15 
 
 1'^ 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 Bored well. 
 For analysis 
 see p. 101. ft 
 
 Water very 
 hard. 
 
 Abandoned. 
 
 9S 
 
 Ridgefield Water 
 Supply Co. 
 
 A. B. 'Hepburn 
 
 Mrs. Wra. Jenner. 
 
 Lawi-ason Riggs . . 
 
 Connecticut Con- 
 struction Co. 
 
 Plain.... 
 
 Plateau. 
 
 ...do 
 
 ...do 
 
 300-h 
 
 40 
 
 40 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 50 
 50 
 
 (0 
 
 Oranitegneiss. 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 40 
 41 
 53 
 (/) 
 
 25 
 25 
 
 s 
 s 
 
 8 
 
 Sf^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 " -\bundant. 
 
 .'i.Vnumberoizonesof dark limestone were found in tlie liglit-eolored limestone. Eac'a of tliese beds 
 yielded some water. 
 
 cTliree wells, each about 300 feet deep, were attempted. The section encountered was in general 40 
 to 60 feet of alluvium, 10 feet of clay, and the rest sand. No water was found beneath the clay. 
 
 rf These wells, Nos. 40 and 41, probal>ly draw their water from the same fissure as pumping in one draws 
 do'WTi the level of tlie water in the other. 
 
 eThe water stands at from 130 to 250 feet below the surface and varies with the seasons. 
 
 / Not recorded on map. Data from U. S. Geoi. Survey Water-Supply Paper 102, p. 12S, 1904, said to 
 flovv with head of 2 feet. 
 
 Spri>ui-'< iu h'idf/fficJd. 
 
 No. 
 
 on 
 
 PI. II. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topogi-aphic 
 situation. 
 
 Elevation 
 
 above 
 sea level. 
 
 Tempera- 
 ture. 
 
 Yield per 
 mmute. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 11 
 
 
 Slope 
 
 Swale 
 
 Brookside 
 
 Feel. 
 620 
 635 
 6.50 
 
 "F. 
 
 Oallons. 
 
 i 
 2 
 
 i 
 5 
 
 Piped to horse trough. 
 
 23 
 
 
 
 Supplies four houses. 
 
 32 
 
 
 49 
 40 
 
 48 
 
 («) 
 
 R. A. Bryan 
 
 1 
 
 Water from granite. 
 Water from granite. » 
 
 (a) 
 
 Chas. Holly 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 a Not shown on map. Data from U. S. Geol. Survey AVater-Supply Paper 102, p. 150, 1904. 
 tiFor analysis see U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 102, p. 154, 1904. 
 
104 GEOUND WATEE IIsT XOEWALK AND OTHEE AEEAS, CONN. 
 
 WESTON. 
 AREA, POPULATIOX, AND IXDUSTRIES. 
 
 Weston is an agricultural town situated in the western highlands 
 near the center of Fairfield County, Conn., and in the second tier of 
 towns north of Long Island Sound. The town is roughly rectan- 
 gular in shape, 3| b}^ 6 miles in dimensions, and has an area of a 
 little o^er 20 square miles. About 11 square miles, or 55 per cent, 
 of the total area is wooded. Most of the woodland is in small 
 patches, but in the northeastern part of the town there is one nearly 
 continuous area of woods covering about 8 square miles. 
 
 The territory of ^^'^eston was taken from the town of Fairfield in 
 1787 and incorporated as a separate town. In 1910 Weston had 831 
 inhabitants, and the density of the population is 42 to the square 
 mile. The following table shows the fluctuation of population since 
 the organization of the town, and the per cent of change of each 
 census period. 
 
 Population of, Weston, 1790-1910.'^ 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 Tear. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 1790 
 
 2,469 
 2,680 
 2,618 
 2,767 
 2,997 
 2,561 
 1,0,56 
 
 
 1860 
 
 1870 
 
 1880 
 
 1890.. 
 
 1900 
 
 1910 
 
 i,n7 
 
 ! 1,054 
 
 918 
 
 772 
 
 840 
 
 ! 831 
 
 -1- 6 
 
 1800 
 
 +9 
 _2 
 
 + & 
 + 8 
 
 — 6 
 
 1810.. 
 
 1820 
 
 -13 
 —16 
 
 1830 
 
 + 9 
 
 1840 
 
 — 1 
 
 1850 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 641. 
 
 The decrease in the decade from 1830 to 1840 was due to the ces- 
 sion of territor}^ to form part of Westport, and the further decrease 
 in the following decade was due to the separation and incorporation 
 of the whole of Easton. Barring these two irregularities, the popu- 
 lation has shown onh^ slight gains or losses. In the last 50 years 
 the losses have preponderated, probably owing to the general shift 
 of people from the agi'icultural portions of New England to manu- 
 facturing toAvns and to western farming regions. It is probable 
 that when Wilton and Westport have been more fully developed 'as 
 country-residence districts dependent on New York, Weston will fol- 
 low a like course of evolution. This development may begin in 10 
 or 15 years, and a considerable gain in population may be shown 
 for some time. The population will probably never be large as long 
 as the present lack of transportation facilities continues. At present 
 there are four small villages in the town — Weston, in the valley of 
 the West Branch of Saugatuck Eiver near the west boundary; 
 Northfield, on the hill a mile east of Weston; Lyon Plain, stretched 
 
WESTON. 105 
 
 out along 2 miles of the valley of Saiioatuck Eiver near the south 
 boundary; and Valley Forge, near the northeast corner and also on 
 Saugatuck River, There are about TO miles of roads in the town. 
 Railroad connection is made at Wilton and (leorgetown on the Dan- 
 bury branch of the New York, New llavcn it Hartford llailroad. 
 Mail is carried by rural delivery from Westport. 
 
 SURFACE FEATURES. 
 
 The western highland of Connecticut, of which Weston is a part, 
 is the product of two cycles of erosion. In the first cycle, which was 
 nearly complete, the region was reduced to a nearly fiat plain. In 
 the second cycle, caused by uplift and tilting of the plain, rather deep 
 and narrow valleys have been cut below the old erosion surface. The 
 valleys of Saugatuck River and its West Branch and of Aspetuck 
 River are of this type. The flat-topped hills, which in the south part 
 of the town are 340 to 380 feet above sea level and in the north part 
 r-00 to 600 feet above sea level, are remnants of the plain that was 
 eroded in the first cycle. These to]3ographic features are the prod- 
 ucts of erosion, but the flat flood plains along Saugatuck River at 
 Lyon Plain and above Yalley Forge and along West Branch north 
 of Weston village are depositional features. 
 
 The greatest elevation in Weston is 620 feet above sea level and is 
 found at two points on the north boundary. The least elevation is 
 where Saugatuck River crosses the Westport town line at 45 feet 
 above sea level. With the exception of a small area in the northwest 
 part of the town that is tributary to Norwalk River, all of Weston 
 l>elongs in the drainage basin of Saugatuck River. A strip three- 
 quarters of a mile wide along the east border is drained by Aspetuck 
 River, which joins Saugatuck River half a mile below the Westport 
 boundary. A strip 2 miles wide in the west part of Weston which 
 comprises 7| square miles is drained by the West Branch of Sauga- 
 tuck River, which flows into its master stream just below xVspetuck 
 River. The main branch of Saugatuck River drains a strip 1 to 2 
 miles wide through the center of the town, which has an area of 10^ 
 square miles. A number of brooks, including Kettle and Beaver 
 brooks, enter the Saugatuck from the w^est, but only a few from the 
 east. 
 
 W^ATER-BEARING FORMATIONS. 
 
 Gneiss and schist. — Most of the bedrock of Weston is a gneiss of 
 igneous origin. In the northeast corner there is some Berkshire 
 schist, but it is of negligible extent. Waterbury gneiss underlies a 
 strip half a mile wide along the divide between Saugatuck River and 
 the Aspetuck. This rock is a light to medium gray schist into 
 
 i 
 
106 GROUND WATER IK Is'ORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 which igneous intrusions have been made in great profusion. There 
 are thin bands of the schist separated and cut by intruded sheets and 
 diJvelets of igneous material. The Thomaston granite gneiss under- 
 lies a strip half a mile wide south of Aspetuck village along Aspe- 
 tuck River, and also most of the area west of Saugatuck River, It is 
 a medium-grained granite and a typical one in that it is composed 
 essentially of quartz, feldspar, and black mica, with small amounts 
 of other minerals. Metamorphism has given it a gneissic texture 
 that is marked by the concentration and parallel orientation of the 
 mica flakes in certain planes. The Danbui';\- granodiorite gneiss 
 underlies part of the valley of the West Branch of Saugatuck River 
 and a small area west of Aspetuck River and north of the village of 
 Aspetuck. It is similar to the Thomaston granite gneiss except 
 that hornblende rather extensively replaces the mica. 
 
 All the bedrock of Weston carries water in the same way. 
 The rocks are very compact, and no interstitial water is to be obtained 
 from them. However, they are traversed by intricate networks of 
 fissures that cut and connect with one another. These fissures are 
 far more abundant in the upper 200 feet than below. It is to be 
 expected that wells drilled 200 or 300 feet into rock will cut one or 
 more fissures and obtain fair supplies of water that has percolated 
 down from the overlying mantle of earth. No such wells have been 
 made in Weston as far as the present investigation shows. 
 
 Till. — ^^The bedrock of Weston is everywhere covered with till ex- 
 cept in small areas where the bedrock outcrops in ledges, and along 
 some of the streams where there are deposits of stratified drift. Till 
 is a dense, compact deposit composed of the debris scraped up, ground, 
 and transported by the glacier. Rock flour, clay, silt, and sand form 
 a matrix in which are embedded pebbles, cobbles, and boulders. 
 In general there is no systematic arrangement of the material, and it 
 is perfectly heterogeneous. In some places there are lenses from 
 which the finer particles have been washed away, increasing the po- 
 rosity of the residue. Water that has fallen as rain or melted from 
 snow in part soaks into the ground and tends to saturate it by filling- 
 all the pores. There also is a tendency, particularly on steep slopes, 
 for the water to seep away, leaving the upper part of the till dry. In 
 general wells dug in the till to a reasonable depth will jdeld moderate 
 supplies that will fail only rarely. Those wells that intersect porous 
 lenses in the till are apt to be the more satisfactorj". Unfortunately 
 there is no way of detecting the presence of such lenses except by 
 actual excavation. During October, 1917, 33 wells dug in till were 
 measured in Weston. One was found to be dry, 11 more were said to 
 fail, and 18 to be nonf ailing: the reliability of the remaining wells 
 could not be ascertained. The data collected are given in detail in the 
 table on pages 108-109 and are summarized in the following table ; 
 
WKSTON. 
 
 Sum III a III of //•(7/s- ilii[/ in till in Weston. 
 
 107 
 
 
 Tolal 
 depth. 
 
 Deplh 
 to water. 
 
 Depth 
 of water 
 in well. 
 
 
 Fed. 
 2H.7 
 H.O 
 17.7 
 
 Feet. 
 2:i. H 
 (i.2 
 14.4 
 
 Feel. 
 
 s.o 
 
 
 .a 
 
 
 3.0 
 
 
 
 ^Sti'af'/fed (Jr/ff. — The areas of stratified drift in Weston are shown 
 on the map (Ph II). These water-hiid deposits are compo.sed of the 
 leworked and sorted constituents of the till and are to be considered 
 as the products of the stream in whose valle^^ tliey lie. The particles 
 composing- the till have been sorted out. The boulders and bigger 
 stones have been left in place, but the sand and still finer grains have 
 been carried away. Most of the finest materials, the clay and silt, 
 have been carried out to sea, but the others have been deposited at 
 points where the current was slow. The larger pebbles and cobbles 
 were deposited with less slowing of the current than were tlie smaller 
 ones. Inasmuch as the velocit}^ varied not only from place to place 
 but also from time to time at any one place, lenses and beds of differ- 
 ent-sized material were laid one on another in very irregular succes- 
 sion. Stratified drift carries water in the same manner as till, but 
 because of the elimination of the smaller particles it has a greater 
 percentage of pore space and the pores are hirger. The ground- 
 water circulation is therefore much more rapid, and stratified drift 
 Avells yield more abundant supplies. Six such wells were visited in 
 AVeston. Five of them are said to be nonf ailing and only one to fail. 
 The data collected are given in detail in the table on page 109 and are 
 summarized in the folloM'ing table: 
 
 tSuiiriHuri/ of ivcUs diitj in stratified drift in Weston. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 ^- ^^^^- : in well. 
 
 
 Feet. Feet. Feci. 
 33.7 30.7 3.0 
 
 
 15.6 13.7 j 0.3 
 
 
 25.1 23.4 1 1.7 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 QUALITY OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 The subjoined table gives the results of two analyses and four 
 assays of samples of ground water collected in the town of Weston. 
 The waters are all low in mineral content, very soft, good for use in 
 boilers, and, so far as may be determined by their mineral content, 
 acceptable for domestic use. All are sodium-carbonate in type. 
 
108 GROUIsTD WATER IN NOEWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONIT. 
 Chemical composition and classification of ground ivaters in Weston.'^ 
 
 [Parts per million. Collected Dee. 8, 1916; analyzed by Alfred A. Chambers and C. H. Kidwell. Num- 
 bers of analyses and assays eorresiiond to those used on PI. II.] 
 
 Analvses.'' 
 
 Assays. < 
 
 30 
 
 34 
 
 Siliea(SiOo) 
 
 Iron (Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magnesium (Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+K)'' 
 
 Carbonate radicle (CO3) 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 
 
 Sulphate radicle (SO4) 
 
 Chloride radicle (CI) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 180° C 
 
 Total hardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale-forming constituents d 
 
 Foaming constituents^ 
 
 Chemical character ■. . 
 
 Probability of corrosion e 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic use 
 
 17 
 Trace. 
 6.6 
 2.0 
 9.8 
 .0 
 28 
 15 
 2.3 
 5.0 
 75 
 (i25 
 40 
 26 
 
 Na-COs 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 25 
 
 .18 
 3.9 
 2.0 
 14 
 
 .0 
 30 
 6.6 
 12 
 
 .18 
 
 67 
 
 dl8 
 
 40 
 
 38 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 0.14 
 
 0.10 
 
 Trace. 
 
 Trace. 
 
 12 
 .0 
 
 38 
 6.0 
 2.6 
 
 6.0 
 3.4 
 
 .0 
 34 
 6.0 
 3.0 
 
 10 
 
 .0 
 32 
 7.0 
 
 2.8 
 
 d71 
 
 18 
 45 
 30 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 d64 
 16 
 40 
 20 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 20 
 
 4c 
 20 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 <i67 
 18 
 45 
 30 
 
 Nat-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 "For location and other descriptive information see pp. 108-109. 
 
 ''For methods used in analj'ses and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 c Approximations; for methods used in assays and reliability of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 d Computed. 
 
 « Based on computed quantity; (?)=eorrosion uncertain, N=noncorrcsive. 
 
 RECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 
 
 Only one spring (No. 11, PL II) was visited in Weston. It is on 
 a hillside and its water is piped by gravity to the house below. 
 
 WcUs dug in till in Weston. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. TI. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topographic 
 situation. 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 above 
 sea 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 1 
 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 Feet. 
 360 
 390 
 340 
 370 
 425 
 310 
 315 
 270 
 330 
 400 
 380 
 425 
 425 
 350 
 250 
 215 
 
 315 
 155 
 
 295 
 190 
 
 300 
 
 420 
 
 360 
 315 
 
 Feet. 
 8.9 
 22.5 
 22.6 
 24.8 
 15.3 
 22.5 
 16.6 
 11.7 
 11.6 
 10.9 
 28.2 
 21.5 
 13.7 
 15.6 
 13.8 
 11.5 
 
 11.6 
 16.3 
 
 11.8 
 17.2 
 
 18.4 
 
 21.0 
 
 28.7 
 17.7 
 
 Feet. 
 
 6.9 
 
 21.8 
 
 18.9 
 
 'i4V4' 
 21.7 
 14.8 
 9.0 
 7.4 
 6.2 
 23.2 
 18.4 
 1L2 
 15.3 
 12.0 
 7.9 
 
 9.7 
 14.6 
 
 7.7 
 14.9 
 
 15.1 
 
 16.4 
 
 23.8 
 12.3 
 
 Feet. 
 2.0 
 0.7 
 3.7 
 
 Dry. 
 0.9 
 0.8 
 1.8 
 2.7 
 4.2 
 
 ■ 4.7 
 5.0 
 3.1 
 2.5 
 0.3 
 1.8 
 3.6 
 
 1.9 
 L7 
 
 4.1 
 2.3 
 
 3.3 
 
 4.6 
 
 4.9 
 
 5.4 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Fails. 
 
 2 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 3 
 
 
 ...do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 
 4 
 
 
 ....do 
 
 5 
 
 
 . ...do 
 
 Do. 
 
 6 
 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 7 
 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Nonfailirig. 
 Do. 
 
 8 
 
 
 .do 
 
 do 
 
 9 
 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 10 
 
 
 do 
 
 . .do 
 
 Fails. 
 
 12 
 
 
 do 
 
 \Vin41ass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Two bucket rig. . 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 14 
 
 
 . .do 
 
 Do. 
 
 15 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 17 
 
 
 .do 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 18 
 19 
 
 Lafayette Beers 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 House pump and 
 two-bucket rig. 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 For analysis see 
 p. 108. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 20 
 21 
 
 F. W. Hawly.. 
 
 do 
 
 Swale 
 
 Plain 
 
 Knoll 
 
 Slope 
 
 Hilltop 
 
 Slope 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 , 22 
 23 
 
 Mary L. Fanton 
 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 
 House pump and 
 windlass rig. 
 
 M^indlass and 
 counterbal- 
 ance rig. 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 assay see p. 108. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 24 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 26 
 
 
 Fails. 
 
 27 
 
 John R.Cole... 
 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 For analysis see 
 p. 108. 
 
WESTPOKT. 
 
 109 
 
 W<llfi (Itti/ in fill in AVcslon — Continued. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. U. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topographic 
 situation. 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Uig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 2S 
 
 
 do 
 
 Feet. 
 325 
 315 
 
 190 
 
 280 
 100 
 
 225 
 230 
 110 
 
 Feet. 
 21.0 
 21.0 
 
 17.5 
 
 20.8 
 
 m. 4 
 
 15.4 
 14.5 
 24.8 
 
 Feet. 
 10.7 
 
 Feet. 
 
 4 3 
 
 Two-bucket rig.. 
 Wheel and axle 
 
 rig- 
 Two-bucket rig.. 
 
 ..do 
 
 
 29 
 
 ...do. 
 
 17.7 3.3 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. For as- 
 say see p. 108. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 assay see p. 108. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do 
 
 30 
 31 
 
 Mrs. Sutum 
 
 do 
 
 HIateau 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 16.3 
 
 12.8 
 12.8 
 
 12.6 
 10.3 
 23.8 
 
 1.2 
 
 8.0 
 3.6 
 
 2.8 
 4.2 
 1.0 
 
 34 
 
 3:. 
 
 
 
 (!. Jacob! 
 
 Deep-wellpump 
 andhousepump 
 One-bucket rig.. 
 Two-bucket rig.. 
 Windlass rig 
 
 3r> 
 
 
 Ho 
 
 37 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wells dug in stratified drift in Weston. 
 
 ^-™| owner. 
 
 1 
 i 
 
 Topographic 
 situation. 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 13 
 
 25 
 
 
 Slope 
 
 Feet. 
 180 
 ISO 
 80 
 95 
 130 
 
 125 
 
 Feet. 
 15.6 
 31.0 
 2,817 
 33.7 
 21.5 
 
 20.3 
 
 Feet. 
 13.7 
 30.7 
 2.5.8 
 30.7 
 20.1 
 
 19.6 
 
 Feet. 
 1.9 
 .3 
 2.9 
 3.0 
 1.4 
 
 . 7 
 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope 
 
 do 
 
 Plain 
 
 do 
 
 Fails. 
 
 32 
 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. For 
 assay see p. 108. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 33 
 
 38 
 
 Harriet B.Cciey 
 
 39 
 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 
 
 
 
 WESTPORT. 
 
 AREA, POPULATION. AND IXDU.STKIES. 
 
 Westport is one of the shore towns of Connecticut, and is near the 
 middle of the Long Island Sound boundary of Fairfield County, just 
 east of Xorwalk and midway between Bridgeport and Stamford. 
 The area of the town is about 20 sqiuire miles. Most of Westport is 
 cleared, but there are patches of woodland here and there which ag- 
 gregate 1 square miles or a fifth of the total area of the town. The 
 territory was taken from Fairfield, Xorwalk, and Weston and in- 
 corporated as a separate town in 1835. In 1910 the population was 
 4,259, an increase of 242 over the population of 1900. There are about 
 217 inhabitants to the square mile. The following table shows 
 the population at each census since the town was founded and also 
 tlie percentage of change during the preceding decade : 
 Population of Westport, 18.'t0-t910.'^ 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 1.S40 
 
 1,803 
 2,a51 
 3,293 
 3,361 
 
 +47' 
 
 4-24 
 -f 2 
 
 ISSO 
 
 3, 477 -1-3 
 
 1H,50 
 
 1S90 
 
 3,715 -f7 
 
 lSt)0 
 
 1900 
 
 4,017 +8 
 
 1S70 
 
 1910 
 
 4, 259 4-« 
 
 
 
 
 a Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 641. 
 
110 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AKD OTHER x\REAS, CONE". 
 
 For the first 35 years there was a rapid growth, which was due 
 in part to the opening of the New York & New Haven Railroad 
 in 1849, and in part to the establishment of manufactures of cotton 
 and leather. Since then there has been a steady though moderate 
 growth. Westport is now primarily a district of country residences 
 belonging to New York people. It is probable that because of the 
 nearness of New York City and the excellent transportation facili- 
 ties the population of Westport will continue to grow. 
 
 Westport is the principal settlement and is at the head of the 
 estuary of Saugatuck Eirer. Nearer the mouth is the village of 
 Saugatuck. A third settlement, Greens Farms, is on the Sound near 
 the southeast corner of the town. There are about 70 miles of high- 
 ways in the town. About 5 miles of the Boston Post Eoad, one of 
 the State trunk-line highways, lies vrithin the area. There are also 
 3 or 4 miles of roads built with State aid. The grades are in gen- 
 eral moderate, and the road surfaces are vreil kept. There is trolley 
 connection from Westport village along the Boston Post Eoad to 
 Bridgeport and Stamford, and along the west shore of Saugatuck 
 River to Saugatuck, and thence eastward to Compo Beach. The 
 main line of the New York, Nev\' Plaven & Plartford Railroad runs 
 east and west across the town half a mile to a mile from the Sound 
 shore. It has a station at Saugatuck known as " Westport and 
 Saugatuck " and also a station at Greens Farms. There are post 
 offices at Westport, Saugatuck, and Greens Farms, and rural de- 
 livery from Westport to the outlying districts. 
 
 The principal industries of Westport are agriculture and the 
 manufacture of cotton twine, buttons, embalming fluid, undertaker's 
 supplies, mattresses and cushions, hatter's leather, and starch. 
 
 SUEFACE FEATURES. 
 
 The features characteristic of the western higlilands of Connecti- 
 cut are found in Westport in a form modified by nearness to the sea. 
 The hills and ridges show a distinct north-south alinement. The 
 hills a mile or so back from the shore are 100 to 180 feet high. 
 The hills farther inland are higher, and the greatest elevation in 
 the town is on a ridge in the northeast corner, which has its crest 
 240 feet above sea level. The valleys in general trend southward. 
 The valley of Saugatuck River is at least 200 feet deep at Westport 
 village. The rock walls rise 120 feet above the water level, and 
 soundings for abutments for a new bridge showed that in places 
 the rock floor is at least 80 feet below sea level. These facts show 
 that the coast formerly stood higher than it does now and that it 
 has been depressed. In this way the valley of the Saugatuck has 
 been drowned and made an estuary. Mud Brook valley, though 
 smaller, has had a similar history, and Sherwood Pond is its estuary. 
 
WESTPORT. Ill 
 
 Most of Westport is ilraiiied hy Sau^atuck lliver, which enters 
 the town near the northwest corner. Half a mile south of the Wes- 
 ton town line it is joined by Aspetuck Iviver, Avhich flows |)arallel to 
 the north boundary. Several other tributaries, includinjr its West 
 Branch. Stony Brook, and Deadman Brook, enter Sau^atuck River. 
 Sasco Brook. Mud Brook, and two other unnamed short bi'ooks drain 
 the soutlieastern part of the town and dischartje directly into Lon^- 
 Island Sound. 
 
 A\" ATEIt-P.KARIKO FORM A'lION S. 
 
 (7}}els^. — The following bedrock formations liave boon recoirnizcd 
 in Westport:^ The Thonui^^ton granite gneiss, the Danbiny granodio- 
 rite gneiss, and the Waterbury gneiss. 
 
 All of the area west of Saiigatuck Eiver and a strip cast of the 
 river 2 miles wide along the shore and 1 mile wide at the north 
 !)oundary, an area a quarter to half a mile wide extending along vSasco 
 Brook for •! miles above its mouth, and a little area in the northeast 
 corner of the toAvn are underlain by the Thomaston granite gneiss. 
 These areas aggregate over 13 square miles. The Thomaston is a 
 typical granite gneiss composed of medium coarse grains of feld- 
 spar quartz, flakes of black mica, and minor accessor}- minerals. The 
 mic;i is more or less perfectly segregated in narroAv bands. The 
 mica flakes are roughly parallel to one another and give the rock its 
 cleaval'lc character. This rock is in general light gray in color, but 
 some phases of it are pink. 
 
 The Danbury granodiorite giieiss is similar to the Thomaston 
 granite gneiss except that the black mineral is in large part horn- 
 blende insteaid of mica. This formation underlies about 3^ square 
 miles in a strip a mile and a quarter wide and including Prospect 
 Hill. From Prospect Hill the band runs west and north-northwest 
 to the Wilton town line. 
 
 Tlie bedrock of the remainder of the town (3 square miles) is the 
 Wuterbur}- gneiss. One patch, half a mile wide at its north end 
 and a mile and a half wide along the Sound, extends northward 2 
 miles from Greens Farms. A second small patch lies near the north 
 part of the east boundary. Originally this rock was a series of sand- 
 stones and shales but was converted by metamorphism to a schist. 
 Contemporaneouslj- with or subsequently to the metamorphism there 
 was injected into it a great deal of igneous material. Most of these 
 intrusions are thin granitic sheets that follow- the schistose layers or 
 cross them here and there like dikes. About three-quarters of a 
 mile west of Sasco Brook on the Boston post road there is a trap 
 dike about 60 feet wide, which outcrops on both sides of the high- 
 vvay and may be traced a little way beyond. 
 
 'Gregory, n. B., anrt Robinson, II. IT., rrelitninary geological mfi[) of Connecticut: 
 Connecticut Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 1007. 
 
112 GROUJ^^D WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 All the bedrock formations of Westport carry water in the same 
 way and in equal abundance. There are no porous zones of conse- 
 quence, and there is no interstitial water. Water may be recovered in 
 moderate amounts by means of drilled wells, a good many of which 
 have been made in Westport. The water is carried in part in joints 
 formed by the original cooling and shrinkage of the rock, and in 
 part in fissures formed by the compressive stresses to which the 
 rock has been subjected. The ground water of the overlying soil 
 mantle is derived from rain water by absorption and is in part 
 discharged into the maze of intercommunicating joints and fissures 
 in the bedrock. The probability is that a drill hole sunk at any point 
 will cut one or more of these water-bearing fissures within a rather 
 short distance and obtain a satisfactory supply of water. Statistics of 
 a number of such wells in Westport are given in the table on page 117. 
 
 Till. — The mantle rock of the higher portions of Westport, com- 
 prising three-fifths of the total area, is till — a dense deposit com- 
 posed of rock flour, clay, silt, and sand, which form a matrix in 
 which are embedded pebbles and boulders. The distribution of the 
 larger fragments is entirelj^ fortuitous. The till was made by the 
 abrading action of the glacier, which moved over the region in a 
 southerly direction. The mantle of residual soil or decayed rock 
 formed in preglacial time and some of the fresh, unweatliered rock 
 below were scraped away and carried along by the ice. The load 
 of debris was in part carried to the southern edge of the ice sheet, 
 but most of it was plastered like a blanket over the glaciated rock 
 surface. The weight of the ice sheet tended to pack the till, so that 
 the grains interlock and make a dense, tough material. There are 
 many minute interstices that are capable of absorbing part of the 
 rain that falls. The water first soaks downward through the till until 
 it is deflected horizontally, and then it moves along until it is 
 naturally discharged again at the surface in springs or swamps. The 
 water may also be artificially recovered by digging wells in the till. 
 Late in October and early in I^ovember, 1916, 49 such wells were 
 visited in Westport. Of these wells 25 are said by the owners to be 
 nonfailing and 13 are said to fail. The reliability of the other 11 
 wells could not be ascertained. The data collected concerning these 
 wells are tabulated in detail on pages 115-116 and are summarized in 
 the following table : 
 
 Summary of tvells dug in till in Westport. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 water. 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water in 
 
 well. 
 
 
 Feet. 
 31.9 
 10.0 
 18.1 
 
 Feet. 
 24.8 
 6.9 
 14.7 
 
 Feet. 
 11 4 
 
 
 .6 
 
 
 3.4 
 
 
 
WKSTroirr. 
 
 113 
 
 Sfiatifvd drift. — The low-lyino- portions of AVostpoit, !ii;i!;iv<;atin<:!j 
 two-Ht'ths of the total area, are covered \\\\\\ stratified drift, whicli 
 includes all niatoiials that have been sorted and deposited in beds 
 and lenses, in each of which the sand or gravel is of essentially 
 uniform size. 
 
 The stratified drift of the broad valley east of Saugatuck Kiver 
 in the northAvestern part of the town and that west of Saseo Brook 
 seem i)robably to be of glaciofluviatile origin. When the glacier 
 receded from this region many streams of melt water flowed from it 
 and carried heavy loads of debris, which were deposited in front of 
 the glacier. These deposits may, however, bo later deposits analo- 
 gous to the alluvium of the flood plains of the present streams. The 
 principal reason for supposing them to be glacial outwash is 'that 
 they extend 40 or .lO feet above the present stream level. In a zone 
 a mile or so wide along the shore of Long Island Sound are deposits 
 of stratified drift which may be of marine origin and analogous to 
 the present sands and gravels of the beaches. 
 
 In the ])resent discussion the origin of these deposits is of less 
 importance than their character and distribution. The map (PI. Ill) 
 shows the areas of stratified drift. The stratified drift is formed 
 in large part by the reworking of the till. The porosity in terms of 
 tlie percentage of the whole volume not occupied by sand or other 
 grains is greater than in till, and the individual pores are larger, 
 so that the circulation of ground w^ater is greatly stimulated. Wells 
 dug in stratified drift are likely to yield more abundant supplies 
 than wells dug in till. Fourteen such Avells were visited in AYest- 
 port and of these eight were said to be nonfailing. The data col- 
 lected are given in detail in the table on pages 116-117 and are sum- 
 marized in the followinji table : 
 
 fSKJinnari/ of irclls in -^1 ratified drift in U'c-s7po/f. 
 
 MaxiJiium 
 Minimum 
 Average.. 
 
 Total 
 
 Depth to 
 
 depth. 
 
 water. 
 
 Fed. 
 
 Frft. 
 
 27.8 
 
 26.4 
 
 S. .i 
 
 6.4 
 
 17.1 
 
 LVO 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water in 
 
 well. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 3.9 
 1.0 
 2.1 
 
 QUALITY OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 The accompanying table gives the results of two analyses and 
 four assa3s of samples of ground water collected in the town of 
 Westport. Xos. '24. 52, and 56 are very "soft and low in mineral 
 content : the rest are soft and only moderately mineralized. In so 
 far as cliemical analysis may be used as a criterion the waters are 
 acceptable for domestic use. No. 24, however, is so high in nitrate 
 154444°— 20 8 
 
114 GKOUlsTD WATER IN NOEWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 that a sanitary inspection would be warranted. Nos. 49 and 55 are a 
 little high in scale-forming ingredients and are therefore rated as 
 fair for use in boilers, but the rest are probably good for boiler use. 
 
 Nos. 24, 39, and 56 are sodium-carbonate waters, Nos. 49 and 52 
 are calcium-carbonate in type, and No. 55 is a calcium-chloride 
 water. 
 
 Sample 39 was collected from a well dug into sandy soil a few 
 hundred feet from the shore at Compo Beach. It is probable that 
 the relatively high chloride content, 30 parts per million, is due to 
 the proximity to salt water and frequent blowing over of salt spray, 
 and not to pollution by either salt water or sewage. The low value 
 of the nitrates and the cleanly surroundings of the well indicate 
 that the water is not polluted by sewage. Sea water contains about 
 3.3 per cent of dissolved matter, of which about 55 per cent is 
 chloride. This is equivalent to 1.815 per cent, or 18,160 parts per 
 million. A mixture of one part of sea Avater with about 600 parts 
 of pure water would contain about 36 parts per million of chloride. 
 Therefore it seems more reasonable to ascribe the high chloride in 
 this well to salt spray blown onto the surrounding soil and leached 
 out than to infiltration of sea water. 
 
 Cliciiiical coniijositioii and classification of ground iraters in Weslport." 
 
 [Parts per million: collected Dec. S, 1916; analyzed by Alfred A . Chambers and C. H. Kidwell. Numbers 
 , , of analyses and assays correspond to those used on PI. II.] 
 
 Silica (SiOs) 
 
 Iron(Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magnesium (Mg) 
 
 Sodium (Na) 
 
 Potassium (K) 
 
 Carbonate radicle (COi) 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle (HCOs) — 
 
 Sulphate radicle (SCj) - . 
 
 Chloride radicle (Cl) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 180° C , 
 
 Total hardiiess as CaCOs , 
 
 Scale-forming constituents «... 
 Foaming constituents «. 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 Proljability of corrosion / - 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic use. 
 
 Analyses. 6 
 
 19 
 
 .12 
 8.9 
 2.1 
 
 \ t 17 
 
 .0 
 
 34 
 
 18 
 
 7.0 
 
 14 
 
 104 
 
 e31 
 
 49 
 
 46 
 
 Na-COs 
 
 (?) 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 d39 
 
 Assays. 
 
 11 
 
 .32 
 22 
 6.0 
 f 32 
 I 4.7 
 .0 
 90 
 49 
 30 
 4.4 
 218 
 e 80 
 86 
 100 
 
 Na-COs 
 
 (?) 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 0.35 
 
 e23 
 
 100' 
 17 
 10 
 
 « 150 
 68 
 95 
 60 
 
 Ca-COa 
 
 N 
 
 Fair. 
 
 Good, 
 
 0.46 
 
 ell 
 
 .0 
 
 38 
 10 
 
 8.4 
 
 32 
 55 
 30 
 
 Ca-COs 
 
 (?) 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 C17 
 
 27" 
 27 
 49 
 
 « 170 
 
 85 
 110 
 50 
 
 Ca-Cl 
 
 (?) 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 Trace. 
 
 .0 
 
 45 i 
 12 
 
 7.4 
 
 e93 
 32 
 
 40 
 
 Na-COa 
 
 N 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 a For location and other descriptive information see pp. 115-117. 
 
 6 For methods used in analyses and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 c Approximations; for methods used in assays and reliability of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 d Collected Dec. 9, 1916. 
 
 « Computed. 
 
 / Based on computed quantity; (?)= corrosion uncertain, N=noncorrosive. 
 
 PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES. 
 
 The Westport Water Co. has been supplying water since 1892. 
 The source of supply at present consists of two wells (Nos. 66 and 67, 
 
WESTPORT. 
 
 115 
 
 PI. II) dug in the stratified drift of the flood plain of Saugatuck 
 Kiver a little north of tlu' vilhigc Water is pumped from these 
 wells by two Gould triplex, singlo-uotiug pumps vritli 8 by 10 inch 
 cylinders, driven at 40 revolutions a minute by electric motors. 
 There is also an auxiliary direct-acting Blake steam puuip. The 
 water is deliyered to a 240,000-gallon steel staudpipe on a hill half a 
 mile north of the village. From the standpipo the water runs by 
 gi-aA'ity through 20.2 miles of main to 81 hydrants and 544 service 
 taps, of which 370 are metered. The normal pressure is 00 to 65 
 pounds to the square inch, but by pumping direct into the mains it 
 may be increased to 90 pounds for fire sei-vice. Of the 3,400 people 
 in the area served, about 3,200 are supplied and consume about 
 240.000 gallons a day. According to Mr. F, B. Hnbbell, the superin- 
 tendent of the company, the wells are dug in moderately coarse 
 gravel. The "old" well (No. 66) on the east side of the Saugatuck 
 is rectangular, 20 feet wide and 40 feet long, and 10 or 11 feet <leep. 
 It usually contains G or 7 feet of water. The " new '" well {So. 67) 
 is on the west side of the Saugatuck and is connected with the pump- 
 i)ig plant by a suction main a quarter of a mile long. This well is 
 circular, 30 feet in diameter, and about the same depth as the older 
 well. The wells will yield together about 50,000 gallons an hour.^ 
 Both wells are roofed to keep out wind-blown foreign matter and the 
 water is effectually filtered in percolating through the sand and 
 gravel of the flood plain. The water is of good quality and is of suf- 
 ficient abundance to care for a slowly growing population. At all 
 events the flood plain of Saugatuck River can be made to yield muck 
 more water by the construction of additional wells. 
 
 KECoims or wells. 
 Wells dug in till in Westport. 
 
 Xo. 
 
 on 
 
 PI. IT. 
 
 O^vner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 Ele- 
 va- 
 tion 
 above 
 sea 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 1 
 
 
 Slope 
 
 ...do 
 
 Feet. 
 1(50 
 100 
 
 80 
 115 
 230 
 230 
 190 
 205 
 125 
 150 
 
 125 
 135 
 120 
 
 130 
 
 Fat. 
 23.9 
 18.6 
 
 16.0 
 10.8 
 23.0 
 20.5 
 15. 9 
 20.4 
 19.7 
 25. 5 
 
 15.2 
 23.0 
 29.5 
 17.5 
 
 Feet. 
 
 12. 5 
 16.0 
 
 14.6 
 8.3 
 21.4 
 19.2 
 9.7 
 16.6 
 16.8 
 18.4 
 
 13.2 
 21.2 
 24.1 
 
 14.6 , 
 
 Feet. 
 
 11.4 Two-bucket ri^'.... 
 
 2. 6 Two-bucket r i g 
 
 and house pump. 
 
 1. 4 Two-bucket rig. . . . 
 
 2.5 do 
 
 1.6 Windlnssrif 
 
 
 
 
 
 s 
 9 
 
 
 ...do 
 
 ...do 
 
 Xon'.ailing. 
 
 10 
 
 
 ...do 
 
 Fails. 
 
 11 
 
 
 ...do 
 
 1.3 
 6.2 
 
 do .\ 
 
 Do. 
 
 12 
 
 
 Swale 
 
 Plateau 
 
 Knoll 
 
 Plateau 
 
 Slope 
 
 . .. do 
 
 Onp-hnekAt rif 
 
 
 14 
 
 F. L. Church.... 
 
 3.8 . ... T ... 
 
 
 15 
 
 2.9 Windlass rig 
 
 7. 1 Two-hncket. rii? 
 
 Non failing 
 
 16 
 
 
 
 !7 
 
 
 2.0 
 1.8 
 5.4 
 
 do 
 
 bottom. 
 Fails 
 
 IS 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 Plateau 
 
 ...do 
 
 do 
 
 
 20 
 
 
 2.9 1 do 
 
 Abandoned. 
 
 1 Connecticut Public Utilities Commission Kept., 1917 
 
116 GKOUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 Wells (lug in till in West port — Continued. 
 
 G. P. Jennings.. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 Slope. 
 ..do.. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 ..do.. 
 ..do.. 
 ..do... 
 Hill... 
 Slope. 
 ..do., 
 do.. 
 
 .do. 
 
 ..do 
 
 ..do 
 
 Hilltop. 
 
 Plateau. 
 Slope 
 
 .do. 
 
 ..do.. 
 Plain. 
 Slope. 
 Plain. 
 Slope 
 
 ..do.. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 -do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 Ele- 
 va- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level 
 
 Plain. 
 
 Total 
 depth 
 
 Feet. 
 90 
 175 
 
 120 
 
 190 
 120 
 100 
 105 
 95 
 60 
 45 
 80 
 
 .55 
 20 
 30 
 
 140 
 130 
 
 10 
 130 
 
 Feet. 
 24.0 
 16.4 
 
 11.3 
 
 18.4 
 
 17.5 
 
 IS. 9 
 13.6 
 24.5 
 17.9 
 14.1 
 14.8 
 18.3 
 18.4 
 
 26.0 
 12.6 
 31.9 
 
 19.0 
 27.6 
 
 12.1 
 
 14.1 
 12.9 
 11.0 
 16.1 
 10.0 
 
 10.5 
 
 11.0 
 19.8 
 14.8 
 20.0 
 
 11.1 
 
 15.4 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Feet. 
 19.8 
 14.9 
 
 9.0 
 16.9 
 
 13.5 
 
 17.3 
 6.9 
 23.2 
 17.0 
 12.0 
 12.5 
 10.3 
 16.0 
 
 20.8 
 11.9 
 21.2 
 
 15.2 
 24.8 
 
 10.4 
 
 10.6 
 9.6 
 10.1 
 
 13.8 
 8.0 
 
 9.9 
 
 9.7 
 
 17.6 
 12.5 
 14.8 
 
 9.2 
 
 14.4 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 weli; 
 
 Feet. 
 4.2 
 
 1.0 
 
 2.3 
 
 1.5 
 
 4.0 
 
 1.6 
 6.7 
 1.3 
 0.9 
 2.1 
 2.3 
 8.0 
 2.4 
 
 0.7 
 10.7 
 
 3.8 
 
 2.8 
 
 1.7 
 
 3.5 
 3.3 
 0.9 
 2.3 
 2.0 
 
 0.6 
 
 1.3 
 2.2 
 2.3 
 5.2 
 
 1.9 
 1.0 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 and house pump . 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 and air-pressure 
 
 system. 
 Two-bucket r i g 
 
 andhousepump. 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 ....do 
 
 House pump 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 do 
 do. 
 
 Chain pump and 
 house pump. 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . . . 
 •Chain pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 Windlass rig and 
 
 house pump. 
 Chain pump and 
 
 house pump. 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Two-bucket rie 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump , 
 
 do , 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . . 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 Two-bucket r i g 
 
 and house 
 
 pump. 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 and house 
 
 pump. 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Nonfailing. Rock 
 bottom. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 NonfaiUng. Rock 
 
 10 feet. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing 
 
 Fails. 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 assay see p. 114. 
 
 Fails. Rock bot- 
 tom. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Wells- dug in stratified drift in Westport. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. II. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topographic 
 situation. 
 
 Ele- 
 vation 
 above 
 
 sea 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 v/ater 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 2 
 
 
 Plain 
 
 Feet. 
 
 135 
 
 130 
 
 160 
 
 55 
 
 75 
 
 15 
 20 
 55 
 
 25 
 
 Feet. 
 18.5 
 27.8 
 22.5 
 18.9 
 18.6 
 
 10.1 
 
 "ii.'e' 
 ii.fi 
 
 Feet. 
 16.9 
 26.4 
 20.7 
 16.2 
 12.0 
 
 6.4 
 12.0 
 10.6 
 
 7.7 
 22.1 
 
 Feet. 
 1.6 
 
 1.4 
 1.8 
 2.7 
 1.6 
 
 3.7 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . 
 .do 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 4 
 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig and 
 house pump. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 21 
 
 
 Slope 
 
 Ridge 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plain 
 
 Do. 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 (a) 
 
 24 
 34 
 
 G. W. Harris... 
 
 1.0 
 3.9 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . 
 ....do 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 analysis see 
 p. 114. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 37 
 
 
 25 i 23. 3 
 
 1.2 
 
 "Wiudlass rig 
 
 Do. 
 
 a Three attempts to make driven wells have been made on this bar. A little fresh water was obtained 
 in each at 12 to 14 feet, but below this only salt water was found. 
 
WILTON. 
 
 117 
 
 M'rlls (1(1(1 ill ytratifi((l iliijt in ll'r.s7/)or/ — ('(iiitiimcd. 
 
 No. on 
 11. II. 
 
 MciTill (.'ault. 
 
 John Barlow.. 
 B.F.BuUdeyJr 
 
 Westport Wa- 
 
 tiT Co. 
 do 
 
 Topocruphic 
 situation. 
 
 Ploiio . 
 riain. 
 
 Slope . . . 
 Terrace . 
 
 Slope . . 
 Plain.. 
 do. 
 
 Ele- 
 vation 
 above 
 
 soa 
 level. 
 
 Fed. 
 25 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 depih. '" 
 
 Feet. 
 21.9 
 
 8.5 
 
 11.7 
 25. G 
 
 13.1 
 11.0 
 11.0 
 
 Feet. 
 
 20.0 
 
 0.5 
 
 8.7 
 21.3 
 
 10.9 
 4.0 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 ill 
 well. 
 
 Fret. 
 1.9 
 2.0 
 
 3.1) 
 1.3 
 
 2.2 
 7.0 
 
 liijr. 
 
 Kt'iiiark 
 
 Two-l)Uckct riR.' Nonfailiiij;. 
 
 Two-bucktt rig . 
 
 Windla.ss and 
 couiiterba 1- 
 ance ri-;. 
 
 Chain puiii] 
 
 Nonfuilinf,'. For 
 aiiulvsi.s see 
 p. 114." 
 
 Xoiifailing. For 
 assay seep. 114. 
 
 N o n f a i 1 i n g . 
 Never loss than 
 14 inches of 
 water. Rock 
 bottom. For 
 assay see p. 114. 
 
 Noiifailins;. For 
 assay see p. 114. 
 
 Nonf ailing. 
 
 a The water from this well is quite potable, though slightly salty. Satisfactory supplies are obtained 
 by wells S feet deep on the plain around this well. Deeper wells yield salty water. 
 b Further information on these wells is given in the discussion of pulilic water supplies on p. 114-115 > 
 
 Drilled ircll-s in ^\'e.stl)ort. . 
 
 a Data from Gregory, H. E., and Ellis, E. E., Underground water resources of Connecticut: U. S. Geol, 
 
 " I'aia iroin vrregorv, n. n.., anu r. 
 
 Survey WatCT-Supply Paper 232, 1909. 
 
 WILTON. 
 
 AREA, POPULATIOX, AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Wilton lies a little soutliwest of the center of Fairfield County, and 
 on the west touches New* York State. Norwalk and Ridgefield lie 
 respectively to the south and north. The area of the town is 28 
 s<}iiare miles. There are woods scattered over the town, but espe- 
 cially along the west and north margins. They have an aggregate 
 area of a little over 12 square miles or 45 per cent of the whole area 
 of the town. 
 
 The first settlement in Wilton was made from Norwalk about 1701, 
 and in 1726 it had become large enough to be organized as Wilton 
 Parish. In 1S02 the territory was incorporated as a separate town. 
 Tlie population in 1910 Avas 1,700, an incrciise of 108 over the pre- 
 \ ious census return. There are about 60 inhabitants to the square 
 
.118 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, COISTISr. 
 
 mile. The following table shows the changes in population since 
 1810 : 
 
 Foptilation of Wilton, 1810 to 1910." 
 
 1810 
 1820 
 1830 
 1S40 
 1850 
 1860 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 1,728 
 1,818 
 2.097 
 2; 053 
 2,06G 
 2, 20s 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 + 15 
 -2 
 
 + 1 
 +7 
 
 1870 
 1880 
 1890 
 1900 
 1910 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 1,994 
 l,86i 
 1,722 
 1,598 
 1,706 
 
 Per cent 
 cliange. 
 
 a Connecticut Register and Manual, 1915, p. C5G. 
 
 There was in general a fair growth until 1860, followed by a con- 
 siderable diminution until 1900. The last decade has shown a slight 
 increase. Since 1890 there have been fewer people in Wilton than 
 there were in 1810. As in manj^ other portions of New England, 
 the loss of population in the middle and later parts of the nineteenth 
 century is to be ascribed to the greater attractions of other regions. 
 Some of the emigrants went to the manufacturing towns near by, 
 and others vrent to the richer and more easily tilled farming regions 
 in the AYest. During the last decade a number of country" residences 
 have been built in Wilton. With the development of good roads and 
 of the automobile Wilton has become quite accessible, and its scenic 
 value is being realized and developed. It is probable that this 
 growth will continue for some time, but it seems improbable that 
 there will be any large settlements in the near future. 
 
 The principal settlements are Wilton and Cannondale on Norwalk 
 Eiver: Parts of Georgetown and Branch ville spread over into Wilton. 
 North Wilton and Bald Hill Street northwest of Wilton, and Hurl- 
 butt Street to the east are small villages. The Norwalk and Danburj^ 
 turnpike follows the valley of Norw^^lk River through Wilton. 
 This 8-mile piece of road and a piece 5 miles long from Wilton 
 through North Wilton and Bald Hill Street to the Eidgefield town 
 line are State trunk-line roads. The town keeps in repair about 60 
 miles of dirt road. The Danbury branch of the New York, New 
 Haven & Hartford Eailroad, which joins- the main line at South 
 NorM-alk, also follows Norwalk River through the tow^n. It has 
 stations at South Wilton, Wilton, Cannondale, Georgetown, and 
 Branchville. There are post offices at Wilton, Cannondale, and 
 Georgetown, and rural-delivery routes have been established over 
 all the town. Agriculture is the principal industry. 
 
 SURFACE FEATURES. 
 
 The topography of Wilton is rugged and diveisificd. Between the 
 valleys are ridges and elongated hills which trend north and south. 
 In the northern part of the town the crests have elevations of 620 
 
WILTON. 
 
 119 
 
 to 660 feet above sea level. Sepaiated from this lii^lilinid l.y a zone 
 about 2 miles wide for wliich no <j;eiieral statemeiil of elevation ean 
 be made is the southern part of (he town, in Avhich the liilhoi)s nin»e 
 from 360 to 400 feet above sea level. The set of projected hill pi'o- 
 files in fioure 16 shows how these two groups of hills have a steplike 
 relation to eaeli other. The sections bear about north-northwest. 
 Tliese hilltops are believed to be fragments of an old plnin or stepped 
 
 yorvy^T^py^-i 
 
 Vertical scale about Z'/z times the horizontal 
 
 I'liirni: ic. — I'r.gciti'd uoith-souni profile acru.s.s WilldU showiu';- ti'iraced charaftci; of 
 
 the plateau. 
 
 plain which has been uplifted and had valleys cut in it. Xorwalk 
 River is the master stream and has the deepest valley. A comparison 
 of figure 17, which is an east-west profile across Wilton on the line 
 B-B\ on the maps (Pis. II and III), with the composite north-south 
 profile of figure 16 will bring out tliese points. The lowest point in 
 AVilton is where Norwalk River crosses the south boundary at an ele- 
 vation of 110 feet above sea level, and the greatest elevation. 700 feet, 
 is near the west end of the north boundary. 
 
 A strip of country 2 to 1 miles wide through the middle of the 
 town is drained by NorAvalk River and its tributaries. On one 
 tributary, betvreen Wilton and 
 
 North Wilton, is the North -» b' 
 
 Wilton reservoir of the South 
 Xorwalk waterworks. The 
 vcest margin of Wilton is in 
 the drainage basin of Silver- 
 mine River, and includes three 
 of the reservoirs of the South 
 Norwalk supply. The south part of the east border is drained by 
 the West Branch of Saugatuck River. 
 
 AVATER-P.EARING FOmrATIOXS. 
 
 Gneiss and schist. — Four varieties of bedrock have been recognized 
 in Wilton.^ The Becket granite gneiss, Avhich underlies a strip half 
 a mile wide along the south boiuidary, is a schist into which have 
 been injected many thin dikes and sheets of igneous rock, chiefly 
 granitic. The injected material is so abundant that it gives the 
 rock its dominant character. 
 
 Vertical 5Cale about 2'/2 tiTiestiie horizon 
 
 Fir,ri!E 17. — Pi-ofile across Wilton (section 
 B-Ii' on Pis. II and III) showing dissec- 
 tion of the terraced pin lean. 
 
 ' Gregory, H. E., and Robinson, II. II., rreJiminary geological map of Connecticut : 
 Connecticut Geo!, and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 1907. 
 
120 GROUND WATEE IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 The Berkshire schist, Avhich underlies tiie valley of Norwalk River 
 north of Hovey Hill, is a gray mica schist, composed essentially of 
 quartz and mica. It has been extensively injected by granite intru- 
 sions but not to the same degree as the Becket granite gneiss, which 
 in places it closely resembles. The injected material has feldspar in 
 addition to quartz and mica so that it is more massive than the lam- 
 inated schists. There has been some development of red garnet and 
 of staurolite in the limy parts of the schist. 
 
 The bedrock of Hovey Hill and Sturgis Eidge is the Thomaston 
 granite gneiss, as is also that of a strip a mile wide extending west 
 from Chestnut Hill across Belden Hill to the west boundary and 
 thence north to Ridgefield. This granite gneiss is a light-gray or 
 pinkish-gray medium coarse grained rock, composed essentially of 
 feldspar, quartz, and black mica — the minerals that characterize a 
 granite. There are also small amounts of accessory minerals. Meta- 
 morphism has produced gneissoid structure in the rock. Foliation 
 planes, marked by concentration and parallel orientation of mica 
 flakes, have been made. These foliation planes give the rock its 
 banded appearance and its tendency to cleave along certain planes. 
 Locally this rock is so strongly metamorphosed as to resemble the 
 Becket gneiss. 
 
 The middle part of the town, including Wilton, Comstock Knoll, 
 Turner Ridge, North Wilton, and a strip northwest into Ridgefield 
 is underlain by Danbury granodiorite. This rock is similar to the 
 Thomaston granite gneiss except that the mica is in large part 
 replaced by hornblende. 
 
 The water-bearing properties of these four types of bedrock are 
 alike and may be discussed together. These rocks have very little 
 porosity, and no interstitial water is to be expected. The spaces 
 between the grains are so minute that they can contain but little 
 water, and their narrowness tends to increase friction and so retard 
 circulation. The mechanical stresses to which the rocks, have been 
 subjected have made many openings in them. These openings may 
 be recognized as intersecting systems of joints and fissures. In gen- 
 eral one set is horizontal or slightly inclined and is cut by one, two, 
 or more vertical or steeply inclined sets of crevices. Their mutual 
 intersection forms a ramifying and interconnecting network of 
 channels through which water may circulate. Water from the satu- 
 rated base of the overlying soil finds its way and circulates through 
 the network of fissures and may be recovered by means of drilled 
 wells. The data available concerning such wells in Wilton are given 
 in the table on page 124. 
 
 Till, — Till forms the mantle rock of most of Wilton. It is the 
 product of direct glacial action and consists of the debris plucked and 
 scraped up by the ice. The fragments have been carried along in the 
 
WILTON. 
 
 121 
 
 ice, rubbetl ii<i;;iinst one another and against the rock hetl on which the 
 ice moved, and thus worn and polished and eventually deposited in a 
 hetero<!;eneous mass. Pebbles, cobbles, ami boidders are embeilded in 
 a dense matrix of the finely ground rock. The whok; mass is a very 
 tough material, in part because of the compacting and pressing by 
 tlie Aveight of the overlying ice and in part because the angular grains 
 intorh)ck. This, interlocliing also tends to reduce tlie porosity of the 
 till, for the smaller particles are fitted into the interstices of the 
 larger ones. There is, however, much pore space, for the till absorbs, 
 stores, and transmits large amounts of water. Wells, dugs into till 
 Avill in general j^rocure supplies of water sufficient for domestic and 
 farm needs. During late October and early November, 1916. 46 such 
 wells were visited in "Wilton. Tavo were dry at the time, 10 more 
 were said to fail, and '25 to be nonfailing. The reliability of the 
 remaining 9 could not be ascertained. The data obtained are tabu- 
 lated in detail on pages 122-12'^ and are summarize in the folloAving 
 
 table: 
 
 Sinuintni/ of ircZ/.s <litf/ in fill in Wilton. 
 
 Maxiniuni - 
 Minimum . 
 Average... 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 1 
 water. 
 
 F((t. 
 34.1 
 7.0 
 17.0 
 
 Frrt. 
 30. 9 
 4.2 
 13.6 
 
 Depth of 
 water in \ 
 well. { 
 
 Frrt. 
 
 S.7 
 
 .4 
 
 3.1 
 
 jSf/rifJfied (7/*//Y.— There are narrow areas of stratified drift along 
 parts of the valley of Xorwalk River, and also in two broader val- 
 leys, one near Bald Hill Street and one near Chestnut Hill. The 
 distribution of these areas is shown on the map (PI. III). Streams 
 Avhich have eroded the till have sorted and washed the constituents 
 and redeposited them in the lowlands. The principal difference be- 
 tween the two deposits is that the individual beds of the stratified 
 drift contain only grains that have a narrow range of variation of 
 size. The smaller grains have been removed, so that the interstices 
 of the larger ones are open, and therefore the stratified drift is far 
 more porous and a better water bearer than the till. Wells in the 
 stratified drift are apt to give more abundant supplies than wells in till. 
 Data were obtained concerning two driven and eight dug wells in 
 stratified drift in Wilton. All are said to be nonfailing. The data 
 collected are tabulated in detail on page 123 and are summarized in 
 the following table : 
 
 StniiiiKiri/ (if ircUx in stratifiid drift in Wilton. 
 
 Ma.ximum . 
 Minimum . 
 A verage . . . 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Frrt. 
 21.3 
 9.7 
 
 l,-,.4 
 
 DepthtolS^^J 
 water 
 
 water m 
 well. 
 
 Feet. 
 19.8 i 
 
 S.O 
 13.3 ' 
 
 Frrt. 
 
 5.0 
 1..5 
 
 2.5 
 
122 GROUISTD WATER IN NOR WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 QUALITY or GROUND WATER. 
 
 The following table gives the results of two analyses and three 
 assays of samples of ground water collected in the town of Wilton. 
 The Avaters are all low in mineral content and are soft except Nos. 
 56 and iGA, which are very soft. All are suitable for use in boilers 
 and so far as ma,v be judged from their chemical composition are 
 acceptable for domestic use. Nos. 29 and 43 are calcium-carbonate 
 in type, and the rest sodium-carbonate. 
 
 CJt.einical coinpo.sitio)t and cJa^^rficatlon of (jrotuul waters in Willoii." 
 
 [Partsper million; collected Dec. 8, 1916; aualyzedby Alfred A. Chambers and C. 11. KidAvell. Numljcrsof 
 analyses and assays correspond to those used on PI. II.] 
 
 SilicaCSiOs)......... 
 
 Iron (Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magnesium (Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+K)f' 
 
 Carbonate radicle (CO3) 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle (IICO3) 
 
 Sulph ate radicle (SO 1) 
 
 Chloride radicle (Cl) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 1X0° C . . 
 
 Total hardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale-forming constituents 'i 
 
 Foaming constituents <' 
 
 Chemical chai'acter 
 
 Probability of corrosion ^ 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic use 
 
 Analyses. t 
 
 Assays. 
 
 42 
 
 27 
 
 .38 
 1.3 
 4.9 
 16 
 
 .0 
 .58 
 16 
 16 
 
 1.2 
 
 124 
 
 d r:.i 
 
 74 
 
 •13 
 
 Na-COa 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 10 
 
 .04 
 8.0 
 3.6 
 12 
 
 .0 
 37 
 20 
 0.2 
 . 44 
 82 
 d 35 
 40 
 32 
 
 Na-COa 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 11 
 
 2.4 
 70 
 11 
 
 rfllO 
 
 57 
 
 30 
 
 Ca-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 43 
 
 0..58 
 
 8 
 .0 
 02 
 12 
 
 .5.2 
 
 diOO 
 
 54 
 SO 
 20 
 
 Ca-COs 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 0.80 
 
 .-..0 
 4.0 
 
 d70 
 18 
 45 
 30 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 a For location and other descriptive information see pp. 122-124. 
 
 b For methods used in analysis and accuracy of results sec pp. 52-00. 
 
 c Approximations; for methods used in assays and reliability of results see pp. 52-00. 
 
 d Computed. 
 
 <: Based on comjnUcd quantity; (?) = corrosion uncertain, N=noncorro3ivc. 
 
 RECORDS OF WELLS. 
 
 Well': 'lug in till in Wilton. 
 
 No. 
 
 on 
 
 ri.TI. 
 
 OvmcT. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 Ele- 
 
 
 
 Depth 
 
 vation 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 to 
 water 
 
 vrater 
 in 
 
 level. 
 
 
 
 well. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 323 
 
 10.2 
 
 8.1 
 
 2.1 
 
 400 
 
 15.1 
 
 14.0 
 
 1.1 
 
 590 
 
 9.9 
 
 9.0 
 
 .9 
 
 595 
 
 11.7 
 
 8.4 
 
 3.3 
 
 600 
 
 12.6 
 
 9.0 
 
 3.6 
 
 550 
 
 25.5 
 
 20.2 
 
 5.3 
 
 575 
 
 2S.1 
 
 21.6 
 
 6.5 
 
 530 
 
 13.7 
 
 11. 
 
 2.7 
 
 530 
 
 23.8 
 
 15.1 
 
 8.7 
 
 465 
 
 10.9 
 
 7.6 
 
 3.3 
 
 480 
 
 34.1 
 
 30.9 
 
 3.2 
 
 610 
 
 17.1 
 
 16.5 
 
 .6 
 
 605 
 
 17.0 
 
 14.5 
 
 2.5 
 
 .520 
 
 12.4 
 
 10.4 
 
 2.0 
 
 610 
 
 21.0 
 
 16. Z 
 
 4.8 
 
 .560 
 
 15.8 
 
 14.0 
 
 1.8 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Gco.W 
 frcy. 
 
 God- 
 
 Plain. 
 
 Slope , 
 
 do 
 
 do.-.. 
 
 do--.- 
 
 do.-.. 
 
 Ridge , 
 
 Plateau — 
 
 Slope 
 
 .....do.... 
 
 do---. 
 
 do---. 
 
 Ridge 
 
 Slope -.- 
 Ridge... 
 Hilltop . . 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Chain pump . . . 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig . 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 Two bucket rig . 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump . . . 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig . 
 
 Sweep rig T. 
 
 Two-bucket rig . 
 
 .do. 
 .do- 
 .do. 
 
 J^ontailing. 
 
 Fails. 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. Tiled. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Fails. Rock, 
 
 feet, 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails, 
 Nonfailing. 
 
WILTON. 
 
 Wrlls iJufj in till in Wilton — Continued. 
 
 123 
 
 No. 
 
 on 
 
 ri.II. 
 
 27 
 
 27.V 
 
 29 
 
 30 
 
 ;iOA 
 
 M 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 34 
 35 
 
 36 
 39 
 40 
 
 41 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 .Slope. . 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 E dw. W. I do.. 
 
 Ol instead. 
 do Hilltop . 
 
 .do- 
 
 SIopc. . 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 Plateau. 
 Slope- .. 
 do-. 
 
 do- 
 
 do. 
 
 PUun.. 
 Slope.. 
 
 do. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Swale.. 
 
 Slope . - 
 
 Ele- 
 vation ,., . , 
 
 level. I 
 
 Feet. 
 390 
 .MO 
 470 
 420 
 
 460 
 
 330 
 340 
 245 
 
 2S0 
 275 
 375 
 370 
 
 360 
 365 
 290 
 
 210 
 280 
 260 
 280 
 
 315 
 
 380 
 
 275 
 265 
 290 
 225 
 260 
 235 
 285 
 355 
 
 Feet. 
 
 S. 5 
 15.5 
 20.0 
 19.1 
 
 12.3 
 
 7.0 
 IS. 5 
 16.5 
 
 11.4 
 13.2 
 18.9 
 
 IS. 2 
 
 21.6 
 12.3 
 13.6 
 
 15.1 
 19.1 
 22.7 
 12.2 
 
 29.2 
 
 22.3 
 31.6 
 
 18.0 
 15.4 
 14.6 
 14.0 
 1.5.5 
 2L1 
 8.9 
 25.5 
 
 Dei>th 
 
 lo 
 water. 
 
 Fed. 
 5.6 
 11.9 
 19.6 
 
 18.4 
 
 17.0 
 
 4.2 
 17.5 
 13.2 
 
 9.9 
 6.2 
 14.7 
 14.0 
 
 18.2 
 8.3 
 8.1 
 
 13. 5 
 18. 5 
 21.0 
 9.S 
 
 23.6 
 
 13.4 
 U.S 
 10.9 
 
 9.3 
 12.7 
 18.1 
 
 6.1 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 2.9 
 
 3.0 
 
 :4 
 
 2.8 
 1.0 
 3.3 
 
 1.5 
 7.0 
 4.2 
 
 4.2 
 
 3.4 
 4.0 
 5.5 
 
 1.7 
 
 2.4 
 
 r>. .J 
 
 Dry. 
 
 1.0 
 3.6 
 3.7 
 4.7 
 2.8 
 3.0 
 2.8 
 Dry. 
 
 Sweep rii,' 
 
 Chain pump. . . . 
 Two-bucket lig . 
 No rig 
 
 Windlas.': rig and 
 gravity .system. 
 
 Two - liiicket rig 
 and house jiunip. 
 
 IIou.se pump 
 
 No rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig . . . 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 
 Sweep rig and 
 house pump. 
 
 Two-bucket rig . . . 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass and pul- 
 ley rig. 
 
 Tv%o-buckct rig. . . 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass riu 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Nonlailiug." 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Fails. Rock, 6 
 
 feet. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 For 
 122. 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 W'indlass rig . . 
 
 One-bucket rig 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket riy 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 No rig 
 
 Windlass rig. . 
 Chain pump . . 
 
 Do. 
 Fails.6 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 assay see p. 
 Nonfailing. t" 
 
 Do.f 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. Rock bot- 
 tom. 
 
 Nonfailinr. Rock, 
 4 feet. 
 
 Fails. Rock, 22 
 feet. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Fail 
 
 Do. 
 
 n In a depression filled with till between two rock ledges. 
 
 b Rock bottom well, on slope above well No. 27, and 150 feet distant 
 
 <■ Well No. 30 southwest of house; No. 30A , northeast. 
 
 irc//.s- dug in ."it ratified drift in V.'Uton. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. II. 
 
 44 
 
 45 
 
 46 
 
 46. \ 
 
 Martin Harbs . 
 
 New York, New 
 Haven & Hart- 
 ford R. R 
 
 Irving Pleasant . 
 do 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situa- 
 tion. 
 
 Slope. 
 
 Plain. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 Slope.. 
 
 Miss U.S. Willing. 
 
 Plain-.. 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Eleva- 
 
 
 tion 
 
 above 
 
 sea 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 level. 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Fed. 
 
 180 
 
 21.3 
 
 205 
 
 9.7 
 
 180 
 
 12 
 
 195 
 
 18.0 
 
 180 
 
 15.9 
 
 175 
 
 18.5 
 
 175 
 
 18 
 
 ISO 
 
 11.5 
 
 165 
 
 11.2 
 
 135 
 
 17.8 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 16.5 
 14.0 
 17.0 
 13 
 
 9.0 
 9.5 
 13.0 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Fed. Fed. 
 
 19.8 1.5 Windlass rif 
 and house 
 'i pump. 
 
 8.0 1.7 Deen-well pump. 
 
 Pitcher pump. 
 
 1.5 
 1.9 
 1.5 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 
 do 
 
 Pitcher pump. . 
 
 2.5 j Two-bucket rig 
 
 1.7 ! do 
 
 4.S I do 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Nonfailing 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 analysis 
 122.* 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 en well 
 
 assay see 
 
 Nonfailing 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 en well. 
 
 assay see 
 
 Nonfailing 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing 
 analysis 
 122. 
 
 For 
 ce p. 
 
 . Driv- 
 . For 
 p. 122. 
 
 DriV' 
 
 For 
 
 p. 122. 
 
 . For 
 see p. 
 
124 GROUND WATER IN NOR WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 Drilled iveUs in Wilton. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. II. 
 
 O^ATier. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situa- 
 tion. 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 rock. 
 
 Depth 
 to water 
 in well. 
 
 Dia- 
 meter. 
 
 Yield 
 
 per 
 
 minute. ; 
 
 2 
 
 John Ilollowell 
 
 School 
 
 Slope 
 
 do. . 
 
 Feet. 
 320 
 350 
 465 
 440 
 370 
 315 
 360 
 350 
 375 
 365 
 550 
 
 Feet. 
 72 
 200 
 
 75 
 
 Feet. 
 14 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Gallons. 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 
 14 
 
 
 ....do 
 
 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 Street 
 
 . do.... 
 
 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 
 ....do 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 38 
 
 
 do . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 61 
 
 Egbert Lilly 
 
 . ..do 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 Henry Finch 
 
 do 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 63 
 
 r. M. Comstock 
 
 do ... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 C3A 
 
 .do 
 
 do 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 
 do 
 
 51 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 EAST GRANBY. 
 
 AREA, POPULATION, AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 East Granby is a farming town in the north-central part of Hart- 
 ford County and lies about 15 miles north of the city of Hartford. 
 The town has an area of about 18 square miles, of which nearly 8 
 square miles, or 43 per cent, is woodland. The woods are well dis- 
 tributed but are for the most part restricted to the hills. 
 
 The territor}^ of East Granby was taken from Granby and Wind- 
 sor Locks in 1858 and incorporated as a separate town. The popu- 
 lation in 1910 was 797, an increase of 113, or 17 per cent, over the 
 population in 1900. The following table shows the population at 
 each census from 1860 to 1910, together with the per cent of change 
 in the decade : 
 
 Population of East Granby, 1860-1910^ 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popu- 
 lation. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popu- 
 lation. . 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 1860 
 
 833 
 
 853 
 754 
 
 
 1890 
 
 661 
 
 684 
 797 
 
 -12 
 
 1870 
 
 + 2 
 
 1900 
 
 + 3 
 
 1880 
 
 1910 
 
 +17 
 
 
 
 
 a Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 638. 
 
 There has been no uniform trend of change of population, but it 
 has fluctuated in both directions. During the last decade there has 
 been a considerable development of the culture of leaf tobacco for 
 cigar wrappers and binders, and this probably accounts for the 
 notable increase in population. Because of its inferior transportation 
 facilities the town will probabl}^ remain a farming district, and will 
 grow only moderately in the future. The present density of popula- 
 tion is 45 inhabitants to the square mile. 
 
 : The principal settlement is East Granby, in the eastern part of the 
 town, where there are stores and a post office. There is a smaller 
 
EAST GRANBY. 125 
 
 \ ilI;i<:;o at (!lraiil)y Station and i)ai1 of 'rai'ifl'ville extends into East 
 (iiauby. Spoonville is a small settlement on Fa)'minp:ton River in 
 the southeast oorner of the toAvn. There are about ;V2 miles of roads 
 in the town. Avhieh ai-e for the most part excellent, thoup:li tli(> roads 
 in the easternmost part are very sandy. The road fi-om Tariff\ill(^ to 
 (rranbj^ Station and the road from Tariffville throujili P^ast Granby 
 to West Suflield are of excellent macadam. The Central New Eng- 
 land Railway runs past the south boundary of East Granby and has 
 a station at Tai-ifFville. A branch runs north from Taiiffville to 
 Springfield and has a station at East (xranby. The Xorthami)ton 
 division (Canal Road) of the New York. New Haven t^ Hartford 
 Railroad follows the west boundary and has ;i station at Granby 
 Station and a flag station at Floydville, a mile south. 
 
 SURFACE I-KATIRES AND OF,()L(X;iC STRUCTURE. 
 
 Ea>t Granbv comprises a nearly level sand plain, IGO to 200 feet 
 above sea level, above which rise a large till-covered hill and sev- 
 eral smaller ones. The stream valle3's are cut into this plain. The 
 lowest point in the town is where Farmington River passes the 
 southeast corner, about 100 feet above sea level, and the highest point 
 is the ci'est of Peak Mountain, 665 feet above sea level. The total 
 relief is thus about 565 feet. 
 
 The sand plain is separated into two parts by the large till-cov- 
 ered trap ridge. It was formed by the deposition of vast amounts of 
 debris washed out from the glacier as it receded from this region 
 and so constitutes an outwash plain. The boundary of the stratified 
 drift lies in general 200 to 240 feet above sea level. Above this 
 height tlie mantle I'ock is till, the direct product of glaciation. 
 
 The stratified drift forms a very loose, sandy soil, and its upper 
 poi'tion becomes very dry in times of drought, although there may be 
 an abundance of water at some depth. The ecologic conditions are pe- 
 culiar, and the soil has a characteristic flora, in which scrub oak, 
 pines, sweet fern, and a yellowish grass, locally known as " poverty 
 grass," are prominent. This soil, however, is well adapted to the 
 needs of tobacco. Its looseness makes the maintenance of good roads 
 extremely difficult. Plate IX, B (p. 72), which is a view of the sand 
 plain half a mile northwest of Tariffville, shows the very sandy road 
 and the characteristic flora. In the middle distance is the corner of a 
 " tent '' used for raising shade-grown tobacco. 
 
 The ridge that separates the two sand plains owes its topographic 
 prominence to the sheets of trap rock that underlie it. Most of East 
 Granby is underlain by red sandstones and shales dej)osited during 
 the Triassic period as sands and clays and subsequently indurated. 
 The process of deposition was interrupted on three occasions by the 
 
126 GROUND WATER IE" ISTORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 quiet volcanic extrusion of basic lava which spread out in broad 
 sheets and eventuall}^ solidified as trap rock. South of Tariff \'ille 
 there are three trap sheets, of which the middle is the thickest (400 
 to 500 feet) and is therefore known as the " Main" sheet. Below it 
 and separated from it by 300 to 1,000 feet of sandstone and shale is 
 the " Anterior " trap sheet, which has a maximum thickness of 250 ; 
 feet, and is so named because it outcrops on the front or face side of 
 the cliff formed by the " Main " sheet. Above the " Main " sheet and 
 separated from it by 1,000 to 1,200 feet of sandstone and shale is the 
 " Posterior '' trap sheet, 100 to 150 feet thick. The " Anterior " sheet 
 thins out north of Tariffville and outcrops only in a few places. 
 
 At some time subsequent to their consolidation the sedimentary 
 rocks and the associated traj) roelis were broken into great blocks and 
 tilted 15° or 20° E. Davis ^ has recognized and mapped one prin- 
 cipal fault that bears about northeast and several minor faults that 
 bear north or a little west of north. The ridge of Peak Mountain 
 
 Vertical scale twice the horizontal 
 EXPLANATION 
 
 Sandstone Trap 
 
 FiGUKE 18. — Greoio,sie section acroas East Graubv and Snflield (S!>ction !>-!)' on PI. V). 
 
 Stratified drift 
 and till 
 
 stands up because of the thick, resistant " Main " tra|) sheet that 
 forms a bold westAv a rd- facing cliff'. The ridge is broken by a gap 
 about 200 feet deep where it is crossed by the Tariffville-Springfield 
 Railroad, This gap is due to the major fault, which offsets a little 
 the portions of the trap sheet to the northwest and southeast. The! 
 gorge of Farmington River at Tariffville was formed by deep 
 erosion of a fault zone along which there was similar offsetting. 
 This fault zone bears a little west of north. The block on the east 
 was raised and moved soutliAvard so that the offset of the north 
 part of the ridge relative to the south part was to the east, Plate 
 X, A, shows the offset to the east or left of the nearer or north part 
 of the ridge as seen from a point a mile north of Tariffville. The 
 minor faults produce offsets on a smaller scale but of similar char- 
 acter. A section across East Granby and Suffieicl along the line 
 D-D' on the map (PI. V) is shown in figure 18, and the relation of 
 the ridg'es and the plain to the underlying formation is there 
 illustrated. 
 
 ^ Davis, W. M., The Ti'iassic formation cf Connecticut : U. S. Geol. Survey Bigliteentli 
 Ann. Kept, pt. 2, pi. 19, 1897. 
 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SUKVKY 
 
 WA'l'Kll-SUri'LV rAl'KIt t70 I'LATK X 
 
 <imm 
 
 ^1^ 
 
 A. OFFSET TRAP RIDGES NEAR TARIFFVILLE, CONN. 
 
 B. FLOWING WELL DRILLED IN SANDSTONE, EAST GRANBY. CONN. 
 
EAST GRANBY. 127 
 
 The part of East Granby west of Peak Mountain and its southerly 
 prohtnoation is drained by a branch ol' Sahnon Hrook. which joins 
 Faruiini^lon River near Tarift'ville. In the southeiii part cast of 
 the ridge is a small area drained by short streams which empty 
 directly into the Farmington. Most of the area east ol" tlie ridge, 
 however, is drained by rather long northward-flowing streams that 
 are tributary to Stony Brook (in Suffield), which empties into 
 Connecticut TJiver. 
 
 AVATER-BKARINO TORMATIOXS. 
 
 Red saruhtone. — ISIost of P^ast Granby is underlain by rod sand- 
 stone and shale of Triassic age. The beds have been tilted 15° or 20° 
 E., and the rocks have been broken by the jarring, so that they are 
 now traversed by many joints and large fractures. These openings 
 form systems which tend to be either parallel or at right angles 
 to the bedding. Water that has found its way into them from the 
 overlying unconsolidated till or stratified drift may be recovered by 
 means of drilled wells. The average depth of the 11 wells of this 
 type that were visited in Suffield is 211 feet, and their aAerage yield 
 is 20 gallons a minute. 
 
 In much of the area a thick deposit of stratified drift mantles 
 the sandstone. In places the stratified drift is as much as 100 feet 
 thick, as shown by Mr. George Batytes's well (No. 5, PI. lY). which 
 went through 100 feet of sand, silt, and gravel before reaching the 
 bedrock. In such places abundant supplies would probably be 
 obtained in the stratified drift without drilling into the bedrock. 
 
 The drilled well of Mr. I. H. Griffin (Xo.^33. PL IV) is one of 
 the few flowing wells in the State. It is probable that this well has 
 cut one of a series of interconnecting fissures that are sealed in some- 
 way. The well is on the east slope of a low ridge, and considerable 
 ]\ead is developed in the higher part of the ridge. The sealing 
 lielow the well or to the east may be either due to the pinching out 
 and narrow'ing of the fissures or to a blanket of impervious over- 
 lying till. The till on the hilltop must be pervious, else water could 
 not enter the fissures. K view of the mouth of this well, showing 
 its normal flow of 1| gallons a minute, is given in Plate X, B. 
 
 Trap rock. — The trap sheets, which underlie narrow zones running 
 north and south through East Granby, carry water in the same way 
 as the sandstones and shales but rather less abundantly. Their 
 topographic form is disadvantageous, as the bold cliffs allow the 
 water to drain awaj'^ rather readily. Mr. George E. Bidwell's well 
 (No. 12, PI. IV). for example, is 150 feet deep, but the water stands 
 75 feet below the mouth. In the other drilled wells in Suffield 
 the average depth to water is only 22 feet, for there is little oppor- 
 tunity for escape of water from them. 
 
128 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 Till. — Till forms a mantle over the higher portion of East 
 Gx'anby except for the areas where bedrock actuallj outcrops and 
 the talus slopes below the trap cliffs. The principal till area includes 
 Peak Mountain and its prolongation southward and a lower westward 
 extension, but there are also two small till-covered ridges in the 
 northeast corner of the town. The till is composed of all the rock 
 debris plowed up and scraped along by the glacier. It was deposited 
 as a blanket 20 to 30 feet thick in general and comprises a matrix of 
 fine rock flour, clay, silt, and sand in which are embedded pebbles, 
 cobbles, and boulders of great and small size. Because of the pack- 
 ing of the smaller particles into the interstices between the larger 
 the till has only a moderate amount of pore space and the pores, 
 moreover, are small. The deposit, then, is one of low porosity and 
 low permeability. Nevertheless it has considerable value as a water- 
 bearing formation and is able to store and slowly transmit moderate 
 amounts of water. Wells dug in till are likel}^ to obtain fairly 
 reliable and fairly abundant supplies of water. Six such wells were 
 visited in East Granby, and of these three were said to be nonfailing, 
 but the dependability of the remaining three was not ascertained. 
 The following table summarizes the measurements made on these 
 wells: 
 
 Summary of ivells dug in till in Eaat Granhy. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 to water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of water 
 in well. 
 
 Maximum 
 Minimum , 
 Average.. 
 
 Feet. 
 27.9 
 7.0 
 18.4 
 
 Feet. 
 20.5 
 3.0 
 10.3 
 
 Feet. 
 18.6 
 3.2 
 
 8.1 
 
 Stratifed drift. — The deposits of stratified drift, of which the 
 origin and distribution in East Granb}'' have been discussed above, 
 is a far more efficient water-bearing formation than the till. It is 
 composed in the main of the materials of the till reworked by run- 
 ning water. The grains have been sorted out according to size and 
 deposited in different beds. The finer particles have been removed 
 from the interstices of the coarser, so that there is not only a greater 
 percentage of pore space, but the individual pores are larger and 
 connect more freely. Large amounts of water may be recovered 
 from the stratified drift by means of dug or driven wells. Mr. J. S. 
 Dewey's well (No. 3, PL IV) was made the subject of a roug'h 
 pumping test (see p. 41) which showed a yield of at least 5 gallons 
 a minute. Measurements were made of 20 wells dug in stratified 
 drift in East Granby in July and August, 1916. Of these 17 were 
 said to be nonfailing and 2 were said to fail, but the reliability of the 
 
EAST GKANBY. 
 
 129 
 
 other well was not ascertained. Tlic data eoncernini; tlie depths of 
 these wells is siimniarized in the followinjLj tahle : 
 
 i^tiimiiari/ of iceUs (lug in stratified drift in East (Iranfuj. 
 
 Maximum 
 Minimum. 
 A veragc . . 
 
 DcDth P^'P"' 
 
 QUALITY OF CKOUXI) WATER. 
 
 The results of two analyses and three assays of water collected 
 in East Granby are given in the follovv^ing table. The waters are 
 ail soft except No. 5, which is very soft, and No. ,33, wliich is hard 
 in comparison with other waters of this area. All the winters are low 
 in mineral content except No. 33, which is moderately mineralized. 
 xVU are classified as good for domestic use, but the large quantity of 
 nitrate in No. -3 may be an evidence of contamination. No. 5 is 
 classified as good for use in boilers, but the rest are classed as fair 
 because they contain considerable amounts of scale- forming constitu- 
 ents. The waters ar« calcium-carbonate in type except No. 8, in 
 wliich chloride is the dominant acid radicle. 
 
 ChciiiicaJ comiKJuiiion and classification, of ground waters in East Granby.''' 
 
 [Parts per million. Analyzed by Alfred A. Chambers and C. H. Kidwell. Numbers of analyses and 
 assays correspond to those used on PI. IV.] 
 
 Silica (SiO.) 
 
 Iron (Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Mafcnesium (Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+K)^. 
 
 Carbonate radicle (CO3) 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 
 
 Sulphate radicle (SO4) 
 
 Chloride radicle (Cl) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 180° C 
 
 Total hardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale-forming constituents g 
 
 Foaming constituents g 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 Probability of corrosion i. 
 Quality for boiler use — 
 Quality for domestic use. 
 
 Analyses. 6 
 
 dZ 
 
 13 
 
 1.4 
 27 
 
 •2.9 
 
 45 
 2,3 
 11 
 19 
 150 
 80 
 98 
 15 
 
 Ca-C03 
 
 ^^). 
 Fair. 
 
 Good. 
 
 .68 
 14 
 2.6 
 7.0 
 .0 
 45 
 12 
 3.4 
 8.2 
 hSS 
 f48 
 64 
 19 
 
 Ca-COa 
 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 Assays. 
 
 Trace. 
 
 !7l20 
 70 
 95 
 10 
 
 Ca-Cl 
 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 /20 
 
 7 
 .0 
 104 
 8.0 
 4.8 
 
 5 130 
 
 87 
 110 
 20 
 
 Ca-COa 
 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 /33 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 105 
 35 
 
 2.0 
 
 ffl90 
 137 
 160 
 10 
 
 Ca-COs 
 
 ^•> 
 Fair. 
 
 Good. 
 
 a For location and other descriptive information see pp. 130-131. 
 
 b For methods used in analyses and accuracy of results .=ee pp. 52-60. 
 
 <• Approximations; for methods used in assays and reliability of resuUs see pp. 52-60. 
 
 d Collected Mar. 19. 1918. 
 
 e Collected Nov. 18, 1916. 
 
 / Collected Dec. 6, 1916. 
 
 g Computed. 
 
 h Total solids by summation. 
 
 i Based on computed quantity; (?) = corrosion uncertain. 
 
 154444°— 20- 
 
 -9 
 
130 GROUND WATER IN NOR WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 EECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 
 
 Only one spring was visited in East Granby. It is plotted on the 
 map as No. 27 and is situated at the foot of a terrace scarp. The 
 yield is large, and the water is pumped to a house. 
 
 Wells dug in till in East Granny. 
 
 No. on 
 Pl.IV. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 J. W. Bidwell... 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 Slope . . , 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plain.., 
 Ridge.. 
 Slope . . . 
 Terrace . 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 Total 
 
 Depth 
 to 
 
 Depth 
 of 
 
 water. 
 
 above 
 
 depth. 
 
 water 
 
 level. 
 
 
 in well. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 270 
 
 14.8 
 
 11.6 
 
 3.2 
 
 275 
 
 25.8 
 
 13.7 
 
 12.1 
 
 185 
 
 9.8 
 
 6.0 
 
 3.8 
 
 245 
 
 27.9 
 
 20.5 
 
 7.4 
 
 240 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 250 
 
 25.4 
 
 6.8 
 
 18.6 
 
 Rig 
 
 Windlass rig and 
 house pump. 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do.... 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 House pump 
 
 Windlass rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Unfailing 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Wells dug in stratified drift in East Granhy. 
 
 No. on 
 Pl.IV. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of wa- 
 ter in 
 well. 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 1 
 
 
 Terrace.. 
 ...do 
 
 Feet. 
 270 
 195 
 
 200 
 
 150 
 
 150 
 170 
 195 
 195 
 205 
 195 
 200 
 190 
 210 
 205 
 
 195 
 
 180 
 185 
 160 
 195 
 185 
 
 Feet. 
 17.0 
 24.0 
 
 24.9 
 
 5.4 
 
 13.8 
 12.4 
 24.0 
 14.6 
 26.0 
 7.0 
 14.7 
 18.0 
 14.8 
 32.8 
 
 8.7 
 
 17.3 
 22.0 
 11.1 
 16.6 
 17.4 
 
 Feet. 
 15.5 
 21.5 
 
 21.8 
 
 3.1 
 
 8.5 
 8.9 
 20.1 
 11.5 
 17.1 
 4.7 
 6.4 
 14.0 
 13.1 
 29.4 
 
 6.4 
 
 12.6 
 9.9 
 7.7 
 14.3 
 14.6 
 
 Feet. 
 1.5 
 2.5 
 
 3.7 
 
 2.3 
 
 6.3 
 3.5 
 3.9 
 3.1 
 8.9 
 2.3 
 8.3 
 4.0 
 1.7 
 3.4 
 
 2.3 
 
 4.7 
 12.1 
 3.4 
 2.3 
 
 2.8 
 
 House pump 
 
 Deep-well pump.. 
 
 (a) 
 
 Windlass rig.. 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Nonf ailing. 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 Nonfailing. In 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 9 
 
 J. S. Dewey 
 
 Peter Bradley. . . 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope 
 
 do . . 
 
 rock 2 feet. 
 Nonfailing. For 
 
 analysis see 
 
 p. 129. 
 Nonfailing. For 
 
 assay see p. 129. 
 Fails. 
 
 14 
 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 16 
 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windmill 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 Abandoned.6 
 
 18 
 
 
 Ridge.... 
 
 Plain 
 
 Swale 
 
 Slope 
 
 Ridge. . . . 
 Plain 
 
 do... 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plain.... 
 do... 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 19 
 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 20 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 21 
 
 
 Deep-well pump . . 
 Two-bucket rig... 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 22 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 28 
 
 
 Nonfailing. Tem- 
 
 29 
 30 
 
 Griffin-New- 
 berger To- 
 bacco Co. 
 
 Windlass rig and 
 house pump. 
 
 No rig 
 
 perature, 55° F. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 31 
 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 32 
 
 H. Russell 
 
 Do. 
 
 34 
 
 
 .. do.. . 
 
 Deep-well pump . . 
 Two-bucket rig. . . 
 
 Do. 
 
 35 
 
 
 do... 
 
 Do. 
 
 
 
 
 
 a Pumping test made on this well. (See p. 41.) 
 
 b Formerly this well did not fail. The recent construction of a railroad cut 10 feet north and 10 feet 
 lower has interfered with its supply. 
 
ENFIELD. 
 
 Drillcil ircllfi in East Granh)/. 
 
 131 
 
 g 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 0) 
 
 S 
 
 es 
 fl'3 
 
 11 
 
 43 
 & 
 
 •a 
 1 
 
 O 
 
 P. 
 
 o 
 O 
 
 01 
 
 03 
 
 t; 
 
 0_; 
 
 "oi 
 
 0).-. 
 
 ft 
 
 a 
 
 03 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 1 
 
 0) 
 
 Kind of rock. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 6 
 11 
 
 J. S. Bewey 
 
 tJeorge Jiatytes.. . 
 
 Connecticut To- 
 bacco Corp. 
 William Laudroth. 
 
 Slope... 
 Terrace . 
 
 Plain... 
 
 Terrace . 
 Slope... 
 
 Feet. 
 210 
 190 
 
 170 
 
 160 
 
 445 
 
 Feet. 
 402 
 118 
 
 360 
 
 110 
 
 85 
 
 ISO 
 152 
 
 125 
 
 37 
 100 
 
 60 
 
 30 
 30 
 
 Indi- 
 es. 
 6 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 lons. 
 10 
 3 
 
 + 30 
 
 3 
 
 Sandstone 
 
 dc 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Trap 
 
 (a) 
 
 Foranalysis 
 see p. 129. 
 
 (») 
 Water very 
 hard. 
 
 For assay see 
 
 p. 129. c 
 For assay see 
 
 p. 129. 
 
 12 
 26 
 
 Geo: E. Kid well... 
 L. H. Seymour... 
 
 I. H. Griinn 
 
 ...do 385 
 
 ...do.... 215 
 
 ...do ISO 
 
 ""io' 
 
 75 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 19 
 
 do 
 
 Trap and sand- 
 stone. 
 Sandstone 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 a Water enough for drilling at 40 feet; gain of only 2 gallons a minute from 2CX) to 400 foot depth. 
 
 6 Drilled through 10 foot of sand, 4 or 5 feet of gravel, 45 feet of "blue clay," and 2 feet of "trap rock," 
 and the rest iu sandstone. 
 
 c Drilled through 10 feet of soil and 10 feet of trap rock and rest in sandstone. Windmill and gravity 
 tank. 
 
 d Well flows with a head of about 3 feet and with the outlet depressed IS inches; it flows IJ gallons 
 a minute. Can pump 50 gallons a minute. 
 
 ENEIELD. 
 
 AREA, POPULATIOX, AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Enfield is a nianiifactiiring and farming town in the northeast 
 corner of Hartford County. It is bounded on the north by Massa- 
 chusetts, on the east by Somers, in Tolland County, and on the west 
 by Connecticut River. The town covers about 34 sc^Liare miles, of 
 w^hich IS square miles, or about 40 per cent, is wooded. A strip IJ 
 miles wide along the Connecticut is in the main cleared, but wood- 
 lands are uniformly distributed throughout the i"est of the town. 
 Thompsonville, on Connecticut River, 1^ miles south of the Massa- 
 chusetts boundaiy, is the principal settlement. The village of Enfield 
 is strung out for 1^ miles along Enfield Street, which follows the 
 crest of the iddge south from Thompsonville. Hazardville and Sci- 
 tico are small settlements in tlie eastern part of the town. There are 
 post offices and stores at all the places. The town has about 75 miles 
 of road, exclusive of the streets of Thompsonville and including 7| 
 miles of the State trunk-line road from Hartford to Springfield. The 
 Hartford division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail- 
 road follows the west boundary and has stations at Thompsonville 
 and Enfield Bridge. The Spring-field division of the same company 
 runs north and south through the eastern part of the town and has 
 stations at Scitico and Shaker Station. The East Side line of the 
 Hartford & Springfield Street Railway Co. runs through Enfield 
 and Thompsonville, and the Somers branch leaves the main line a 
 
132 GROUND WATER IN NOR WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 little south of Thompsonville and runs through Hazardville and 
 Scitico to Somerville and Somers. 
 
 Enfield was named and granted by Massachusetts in 1683 and 
 annexed to Connecticut in 1749. Since then there has been no change 
 in its extent or organization. In 1910 the population was 9,719, an 
 increase of 3,020 over the population of 1900. The density is 284 in- 
 habitants to the square mile, but most of the population is concen- 
 trated in Thompsonville, and most of the area is much more sparsely 
 
 populated, 
 since 1756; 
 
 The following table shows the changes in population 
 
 Population of Enfield, 1156 to 1910.°' 
 
 1756. 
 1774. 
 17S2. 
 1790. 
 1800. 
 ISIO. 
 1820. 
 1830. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 1,050 
 1,360 
 1,562 
 1,800 
 1,761 
 1,846 
 2,065 
 2,129 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 +30 
 
 + 15 
 + 15 
 - 2 
 + 5 
 + 12 
 + 3 
 
 1840. 
 1850. 
 1860. 
 1S70. 
 1880. 
 1890. 
 1900. 
 1910. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 2,648 
 4,460 
 4,997 
 6,322 
 6,755 
 7,199 
 6,899 
 9,719 
 
 Per cent 
 
 +24 
 
 + 68 
 + 12 
 +27 
 
 + 7 
 + 7 
 - 7 
 + 43 
 
 a Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 638. 
 
 There has been in general an increase in each census period. The 
 manufacture of carpets was begun at Thompsonville about 1830 and 
 the manufacture of gunpowder at Hazardville a few years later. 
 The growth in population has been dependent in large part upon 
 the prosperity of these industries. The decrease of population from 
 1890 to 1900 was probably due to the abandonment of the powder 
 factory at Hazardville. Thompsonville may continue to grow stead- 
 ilj", but no great increase is to be expected in the rest of the town. 
 
 The principal industries of Enfield are the manufacture of carpets 
 and undertakers' supplies and agriculture, which is confined chiefly 
 to the raising of wrapper and binder tobacco. 
 
 SURFACE FEATURES AND GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE. 
 
 Most of Enfield lies on a sand plain, 120 feet above sea level at 
 the south boundary and 200 feet at the north. Along the east bound- 
 ary till-covered slopes rise to a maximum elevation of 400 feet 
 above sea level. The plain is bounded on the west in part by a ridge 
 140 to 180 feet high, the west slope of which extends inland to the 
 river and in others flattens to a terrace 60 to 80 feet above sea level. 
 The river is about 25 feet above sea level at the southeast corner of 
 the town. The total range in elevation is about 375 feet. 
 
 The bedrock of Enfield comprises the red sandstones, shales, and 
 conglomerate of the upper part of the Triassic. They were origi- 
 nally deposited as sands, clays, and gravels, but became cemented 
 and consolidated. Subsequently they were broken into great blocks 
 and tilted 15° or 20° E. Their history since has been solely one 
 
ENFIELD. 133 
 
 of erosion. Prior to the g] acini eijoch the Connecticut had a channel 
 east of the Enfield Street ridge, as is indicated by the well of Mr. 
 Eichard Smyth (No. 31, PL IV). This well is 418 feet deep, but 
 reached bedrock only at a depth of 236 feet. As the mouth of the 
 \vell is about 120 feet above sea level, the bedrock at this point is 
 over 100 feet below sea level. The most probable explanation of 
 these facts is that formerly the land stood about 150 feet higher 
 tlian now, and that Connecticut River cut a channel which passed 
 this point. During the later part of the glacial epoch, as the ice 
 slieet was receding from this region, many streams of melt water 
 issued from its front carrying much debris, which Avas deposited in 
 the main in the broad central valle}?^ of Connecticut Eiver, forming 
 bread outw^ash plains. These deposits filled and blocked the old 
 channel and diverted the river into its present course. The youth 
 of this new channel from Thompsonville to Windsor Locks is show^n 
 b}- two facts — that the stream is not 3'et worn to grade and still has 
 many small rapids and riffles, and that the banks are in large part 
 low, fresh cliffs of sandstone. Moreover, there are no flood plains 
 in this narrow portion of the valley as there are in tlie broader por- 
 tions to the north and south. 
 
 The outwash plain is in general well preserved, but Scantic River 
 has cut in it a valley 80 to 100 feet deep and a quarter to three- 
 quarters of a mile wide. The floor of this valley is flat and in part 
 sw^ampy. 
 
 The till-covered slopes along the east boundary ow^e their eleva- 
 tion to the resistance of the underlying sandstone. The boundary be- 
 tween the till of the slopes and the stratified drift of the plain is 
 about 200 feet above sea level. 
 
 The southeastern part of Enfield is drained by Scantic River and 
 its tributaries. The Scantic enters the town from the east near 
 Scitico and flows west to Hazardville, and then turns south into 
 East Windsor. The southwestern part of Enfield is drained by 
 short brooks that empty into Connecticut River. Grape Brook and 
 Freshv\'ater Brook drain the northern half of the town. In com- 
 parison with towns in which till is the dominant surface material, 
 there are few brooks in Enfield, because the water that falls as rain 
 soaks readily into the porous soil, becom.es part of the ground-water 
 body, and reaches the main streams by percolation through the 
 ground rather than by -flowing in surface streams. 
 
 WATER-BEARIXG rOR3IATIOXS. 
 
 Red sandstone. — Red sandstone and associated red shales and con- 
 glomerates form the bedrock of Enfield. They crop out in a number 
 of places along Connecticut River and on the ridge just east of the 
 river, and there are a few outcrops on the till-covered slopes along 
 
134 GROUIS^D WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 tlie east boundary of the town. These rocks are cut by numerous 
 jomts and fissures formed by the jarring and crushing incident to 
 their tilting. There are probablj^ zones in the sandstone that are 
 somewhat jjorous, but they do not constitute an important source of 
 ground water. The joints and fractures form a maze of intercon- 
 necting channels inta which water works its way from the saturated 
 basal portions of the overlying mantle rock. This water may be 
 recovered by means of drilled wells. A drill hole at any point will 
 probably cut one or more fissures and procure a satisfactory supply 
 of water. Data were obtained concerning 13 such wells in Enfield 
 and are summarized in the following table. 
 
 SiinDiiory of drUled tvells in Enfield. 
 
 Maximum 
 Minimum. 
 Average... 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Feet. 
 ■187 
 • 38 
 179 
 
 Deptb to 
 
 rock. 
 
 Feet. 
 236 
 25 
 55 
 
 Depth to 
 
 water. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Yield per 
 minute. 
 
 Gallons. 
 170 
 22 
 
 52 
 
 The drilled well of Dr. Vail (Ko. 14, PL IV) has a depth of 487 
 feet, of which 450 feet is in rock. The well yields 50 gallons a 
 minute, but the water stands 90 feet below the surface. This is 
 presumably because the well is situated near the crest of a ridge 
 from which the water drains with considerable facility. 
 
 Till. — The slopes in the eastern part of Enfield are covered with a 
 mantle of till, which is, in general, 20 to 30 feet thick. It is a dense 
 mixture of glacial debris and consists of a well-compacted matrix 
 of fine rock flour, clay, silt, and sand, in which larger fragments 
 are embedded. It is able to absorb and transmit moderate amounts 
 of water that falls on it as rain arid yields fairly abundant and 
 dependable supplies of water to wells dug in it. Three such wells 
 were visited in Enfield and all are said never to fail. 
 
 Sti'atified drift. — The bedrock of Enfield, except the hills in the 
 eastern part, is covered by stratified drift. The evidence of the 
 drilled wells in the town is that the thickness of the stratified drift 
 ranges from 25 to 236 feet, the average being 55 feet. Inasmuch as 
 one of these wells was sunk through an unusually great thickness of 
 stratified drift, this average may be too great. Probably a bet- 
 ter estimate would be 35 or 40 feet. In Thompsonville and on the 
 Enfield Street ridge there is only a thin mantle. In excavations at 
 various points there was only 3 or 4 feet of stratified drift, and 
 below it there was either till or red sandstone. (See PL XI, B.) 
 The stratified drift is of aqueous origin and comprises the well- 
 washed, reworked constituents of the till, together with minor 
 amounts of debris formed by the erosion of firm rocks. For the 
 
EI^FIELD. 
 
 135 
 
 moat part it consists of clean sand, such as is shown in Phite XI, 
 A, which is a view of a sand pit in the northern part of Thomp- 
 sonville bolonjifing to O. H. Pease. The sandy portions of the 
 stratitied drift and the less abundant gravels were deposited by 
 streams that issued from the front of the glacier during its reces- 
 sion. The climate at the end of the glacial epoch was such that 
 great volumes of ice were melted and gave rise to vigorous streams. 
 In the lower lying portions of Connecticut, and especially in the 
 valleys of Connecticut and Farmington rivers, these streams depos- 
 ited extensive plains known as outwash plains. During part of the 
 time there were lakes in front or south of the ice front, and in them 
 very fine grained silt and clay were deposited. These clays are the 
 raw material for the brick industry of the Connecticut Valley, and 
 have been worked in Thompsonville. They yield no significant 
 amount of water, but may be of importance in restricting and con- 
 centrating the flow of ground water in other more porous horizons. 
 
 The sands and gravels of the stratified drift are excellent bearers 
 of ground water, as they are not only highly porous but also very 
 permeable. The effect of the washing has been to leave in each bed 
 only grains of a size, and this results in high porosity. The grains 
 themselves are relatively coarse, so that the interstices between them 
 are large and they transmit water readily. The absorption of rain 
 water and its transmission arc the same in manner as in the till, 
 but on a more vigorous scale, so that much more water may be recov- 
 ered. Plate XI, B^ shows about 5 feet of stratified drift overly- 
 ing about T feet of till in an excavation for a building in Thomp- 
 sonville. The sand and gravel are quite dry, because the water has 
 drained from their coarse pores, whereas the till is still moist, be- 
 cause its line pores have retained much of their water. The light 
 band at the top of the till is quite as moist as the dark part below. 
 Its lighter color is due not to drjmess but to the fact that it was 
 exposed to weathering and oxidation before it was co^/ered. over by 
 the stratified drift. 
 
 Measurements were made of 48 wells dug in stratified drift in 
 Enfield in August, 1916. The reliability of all but 10 was ascer- 
 tained; 34 were said never to fail and 4 were said to fail. The data 
 concerning the depths of these wells are summarized in the follow- 
 ing table : 
 
 Summary of tvells dug in stratified drift in Enfield. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 
 water. 
 
 Depth ol' 
 
 water in 
 
 well. 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Fed. 
 27.3 
 7.3 
 14.3 
 
 Feet. 
 24.5 
 3.2 
 9.0 
 
 Feet. 
 16.2 
 1 4 
 
 Minimum 
 
 
 5.3 
 
 
136 GROUND WATER IF InTORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONlsT. 
 
 Wherever the groiind surface has been cut low enough, as for 
 example along streams, the water table is reached, and springs or 
 seeps are found. Along the steep slope that bounds the flood plain of 
 Scantic River there are numerous such springs, some of which have 
 large yields. 
 
 QUALITY or GROUND WATER. 
 
 The subjoined table gives the results of two analyses and four 
 assays of samples of ground waters collected in the town of Enfield. 
 The waters are low in mineral content except Noa. 31 and 29, which 
 are moderately m.ineralized. Nos. 30 and 52 are very soft waters,, 
 Nos. 1 and 53 are soft waters, and Nos. 31 and 29 are hard waters 
 for this area. All are classified as good so far as their chemical 
 character may affect their suitability for domestic use. I^os. 31, 1, 
 and 29 are classified as fair for boiler use because there is in each a 
 considerable amount of scale-forming ingredients. The rest are so 
 low in scale-forming and foaming ingredients that they are consid- 
 ered good for boiler use, although the probability of corrosion is un- 
 certain and will be determined by actual operating conditions. 
 
 Chemical composition and classification of (ground xcaters in Enfield.°- 
 
 [Parts per million. Collected November 17, 1916 ; analyzed by Alfred A. Chambers and 
 C. H. Kidwell. Numbers of analyses and assays correspond to those used on PI. IV.] 
 
 Analyses. 6 
 
 Assays, c 
 
 53 
 
 Silica (Si02) 
 
 Iron (Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magnesium (Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+K) d 
 
 Carbonate radicle (CO3) .- 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 
 
 Sulphate radicle (SO4) 
 
 Chloride radicle (CI) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 180° C 
 
 Total hardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale -forming constituents d 
 
 Foaining constituents d 
 
 Chemical character. 
 
 Probabilitj^ of corrosion; . 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quahty for domestic use. 
 
 17 
 
 .04 
 9.7 
 2.6 
 13 
 
 .0 
 40 
 17 
 3.9 
 7.9 
 94 
 (2 35 
 50 
 35 
 
 Na-COs 
 (?) • 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 27 
 
 .09 
 52 
 8.0 
 30 
 4.8 
 98 
 128 
 
 3.8 
 
 Trace. 
 
 303 
 
 (2163 
 
 190 
 
 81 
 
 Ca-SO< 
 (?) 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 Trace. 
 
 Trace. 
 
 Trace. 
 
 .0 
 
 22 
 
 29 
 
 19 
 
 105 
 36 
 
 78 
 
 7 
 
 .0 
 35 
 7.0 
 3.6 
 
 110 
 (0 
 
 Ca-SCi 
 (?) 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 d300 
 151 
 180 
 110 
 
 Ca-Cl 
 
 (?) 
 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 (2 71 
 
 28 
 55 
 20 
 
 Ca-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 (2120 
 58 
 85 
 40 
 
 Ca-COs 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 a For location and other descriptive information see pp. 137-139 
 
 f> For methods used in analyses and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 c Approximations; for methods used in assaj^s and reUability of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 (J Computed. 
 
 « Less than 10 parts per million. 
 
 / Based on computed quantity; (?)=corrosion uncertain, N=noncorrosive. 
 
 PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES. 
 
 Water has been supplied to the residents of Thompsonville and 
 to a few in Suffield, on the west bank of Connecticut River, by the 
 Thompsonville Water Co. since 1885. Water is obtained from 
 
ENFIELD. 
 
 137 
 
 sprinos in the vallej'^ of Grape Brook in the northern part of the 
 town and is run into two reservoirs of l,()tK),0(K) and 8,(KK),()0() gal- 
 lons capacity, respectively. Steam-driven reciprocating pumps, with 
 a capacity of 2,(X)0,0()0 o-allons a day, deliver the water to an elevated 
 tank with a capacity of 500,000 gallons on the ridge at the north end 
 of Enfield Street. The water is distributed by gravity under a 
 pressure of about TO pounds to the square inch, through 34 miles 
 of main pipe to 163 fire hydrants and 1,386 service taps. The 
 average daily consumption by the 9,300 people served is about 
 423,000 gallons.^ Mr. Walter P. Schwabe, the manager, says that 
 the introduction of meters has reduced the consumption at least 25 
 per cent. It is plamied to replace the present pumping equipment 
 with an electrically dri\en centrifugal pump with a capacity of 
 1,000 gallons a minute. The consumption now is almost as great 
 as the yield of the springs. As Enfield is relatively low and level 
 it will very probably be necessary to develop a ground-w^ater supply, 
 which could readily be done by means of batteries of w^ells driven 
 across one of the brook valleys in the northern part of the town. 
 
 Since 1892 the Hazardville Water Co. has served residents of 
 Hazardville and Scitico. Water is obtained from springs near Haz- 
 ardville and from a well 8 inches in diameter drilled in the sand- 
 stone. A cjdinder pump, 48 by 6 inches, at a depth of 150 feet in 
 the well is driven by a steam engine and delivers 10,000 gallons an 
 hour to tw^o elevated tanks which have a capacity of 30,000 and 
 50,000 gallons. From them the water is distributed by gravity 
 under a pressure of 25 to 40 pounds to the square inch through 4 
 miles of main pipe to 18 fire hydrants and 222 service taps. There 
 are 154 customers in Hazardville and 36 in Scitico, and the average 
 daily consumption by the 1,100 people supplied is 35,600 gallons.^ 
 
 KECOKDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 
 
 Wells dug in till in Enfield. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. IV. 
 
 Topographic 
 situation. 
 
 Elevation 
 
 above 
 sea level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water in 
 
 well. 
 
 Rig- 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 51 
 
 Plam 
 
 Hill 
 
 do 
 
 Feet. 
 
 205 
 260 
 260 
 
 Feet. 
 15. 
 18.2 
 23.8 
 
 Feet. 
 11. 
 8.2 
 11.4 
 
 Feet. 
 4. 
 10. 
 12.3 
 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Nonfailing. Abandoned. 
 
 67 
 
 No rig 
 
 68 
 
 Chain pump . . 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 1 Rept. Connecticut Public Utilities Commission, 1917. 
 
138 
 
 GROUND WATER IIs^ NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 V/ells (lug in stratified drift m Enfield. 
 
 No. 
 on 
 PI. 
 IV. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 
 ft 
 o 
 
 o 
 ft 
 
 -ci '-• 
 +^ "^ • 
 
 ft OS'S 
 
 ® ^ ^ 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 1 
 2 
 
 C. E. Pease 
 
 Plain 
 
 do 
 
 Feet. 
 95 
 
 105 
 
 125 
 160 
 
 190 
 160 
 160 
 145 
 165 
 165 
 
 165 
 180 
 
 150 
 145 
 120 
 
 145 
 145 
 
 110 
 
 145 
 105 
 145 
 
 100 
 145 
 145 
 155 
 150 
 
 140 
 
 140 
 145 
 135 
 130 
 1.35 
 130 
 130 
 125 
 115 
 125 
 120 
 125 
 105 
 165 
 185 
 175 
 175 
 
 160 
 
 135 
 
 95 
 
 190 
 
 Feet. 
 18.4 
 
 13.5 
 10.2 
 11.2 
 
 12.8 
 13.1 
 
 12.4 
 11.8 
 18.5 
 13.4 
 
 13.0 
 
 27.3 
 
 21.0 
 21.7 
 23.3 
 
 13.2 
 17.6 
 
 10.6 
 15.1 
 
 22.9 
 14.6 
 
 10.7 
 12.1 
 16.2 
 13.4 
 13.6 
 
 8.2 
 
 15.9 
 
 11.3 
 
 9.0 
 
 9.1 
 
 12.9 
 
 11.4 
 
 11.5 
 
 10.1 
 
 16.5 
 
 7.3 
 
 9.8 
 
 11.9 
 
 12.0 
 
 24.3 
 
 16.0 
 
 14.8 
 
 15.9 
 
 26.4 
 
 11.2 
 
 8.1 
 
 11.8 
 
 Feet. 
 15.8 
 
 8.8 
 6.3 
 5.8 
 
 7.7 
 10.9 
 
 8.9 
 
 8.7 
 11.1 
 
 9.2 
 
 8.4 
 20.1 
 
 9.1 
 
 11.7 
 7.1 
 
 6.7 
 9.6 
 
 6.8 
 6.9 
 8.5 
 7.2 
 
 7.1 
 7.0 
 8.8 
 9.7 
 8.0 
 
 4.9 
 
 13.7 
 8.2 
 6.7 
 7.0 
 
 11.5 
 7.1 
 7.9 
 4.0 
 
 12.0 
 4.5 
 5.2 
 6.4 
 7.4 
 
 19.0 
 8.2 
 9.1 
 
 12.0 
 
 24.5 
 5.3 
 4.7 
 9.5 
 
 Feet. 
 2.6 
 
 4.7 
 3.9 
 5.4 
 
 5.1 
 2.2 
 3.5 
 3.1 
 
 7.4 
 4.2 
 
 4.6 
 7.2 
 
 11.9 
 10.0 
 16.2 
 
 7.5 
 8.0 
 
 3.8 
 
 8.2 
 
 14.4 
 
 7.4 
 
 3.6 
 5.1 
 7.4 
 3.7 
 5.6 
 
 3.3 
 
 2.2 
 3.1 
 2.3 
 2.1 
 
 1.4 
 4.3 
 3.6 
 6.1 
 4.5 
 2.8 
 4.6 
 5.6 
 4.6 
 5.3 
 7.8 
 5.7 
 3.9 
 
 1.9 
 5.9 
 3.4 
 2.3 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Air-pressnre sys- 
 tem. 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Pitcher pump 
 
 Chain pump....... 
 
 House pimip 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Chain pimip and 
 house pump. 
 
 One-bucket rig 
 
 Wheel and axle 
 rig. 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 V/indlassrig 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 _ assay see p. 136. 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 
 do 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plain 
 
 Terrace..... 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plam 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 Do ' 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 9 
 
 H. W. Neelans.. 
 Edw. C. Bacon.. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do 
 
 10 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 Do 
 
 12 
 
 
 Do 
 
 13 
 
 
 do 
 
 Fails 
 
 15 
 
 
 Hill 
 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do 
 
 16 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 Plain....... 
 
 do 
 
 Do 
 
 18 
 
 Wm. Oliver 
 
 Nonfailing. Aban- 
 doned. 
 
 19 
 
 
 Hill 
 
 do 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 20 
 
 F. J. Pease 
 
 No rig... 
 
 Nonfailing. Aban- 
 doned. 
 
 21 
 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plain 
 
 Hill 
 
 Terrace 
 
 Slope 
 
 . -do.... 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 22 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 24 
 
 
 No rig... 
 
 Nonfailing. Aban- 
 doned. 
 Nonfailmg. 
 Do. 
 
 25 
 
 House pump 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 ... -do. 
 
 26 
 
 
 27 
 
 
 Do 
 
 28 
 
 
 Plain 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 . do 
 
 
 29 
 
 R. E. Parson. 
 
 House pump 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 assay see p. 136. 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 anahsisseep.136. 
 
 30 
 
 M. W. Dunne. 
 
 do 
 
 32 
 
 
 Terrace 
 
 Plain 
 
 do 
 
 33 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 34 
 
 
 Do. 
 
 35 
 
 
 do 
 
 
 36 
 
 
 do 
 
 .do 
 
 .,...do 
 
 Do. 
 
 38 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Do 
 
 39 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 40 
 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 
 41 
 
 
 ...do 
 
 ..do 
 
 Do. 
 
 42 
 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 
 43 
 
 
 Terrace 
 
 Plain 
 
 do...... 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 44 
 
 
 ..do 
 
 
 45 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 46 
 
 
 .do.... 
 
 .do 
 
 
 49 
 
 
 ..do 
 
 ...do 
 
 
 50 
 
 
 do. 
 
 House pump 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass 
 
 Do. 
 
 53 
 
 54 
 
 Richard Bogan.. 
 
 Terrace 
 
 Slope.. 
 
 ... .do 
 
 Fails. For assay 
 
 see p. 136. 
 Fails. 
 
 56 
 
 
 Gravity system . . . 
 
 Chain piunp 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 N<infailinf- 
 
 58 
 
 
 do 
 
 Do. 
 
 66 
 
 
 .....do.... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SUFIflELD. 
 
 Drilled ircil.s in Enfield. 
 
 139 
 
 
 
 
 a £3 
 
 xi 
 
 o 
 
 e a 
 
 
 b< 
 
 
 
 No. on 
 in. IV. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 
 
 5-3 
 
 
 .2 
 
 — 'i 
 
 Kind of 
 rofk. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 
 
 
 fA 
 
 H 
 
 « 
 
 Q 
 
 « 
 
 ? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 In. 
 
 Gals. 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 R. E. Davidson. 
 
 Plain. . . 
 
 165 
 
 100 
 
 36 
 
 8 
 
 ' 6 
 
 25 
 
 Sandstone. 
 
 Temperdturo 50' 
 F. 
 
 8 
 
 F.W.Olmsted.. 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 165 
 
 147 
 
 40 
 
 14 
 
 6 
 
 22 
 
 ...do 
 
 U 
 
 Dr. Tnornton 
 Vail. 
 
 Ridge... 
 
 185 
 
 487 
 
 37 
 
 90 
 
 
 50 
 
 ...do. 
 
 PumpRd by air 
 lift 
 
 ;« 
 
 Richard Smith. 
 
 Plain . . . 
 
 125 
 
 418 
 
 236 
 
 40 
 
 6 
 
 40 
 
 ...do 
 
 For analysis see 
 
 47 
 
 
 ...do 
 
 185 
 185 
 
 38 
 
 257 
 
 34 
 25 
 
 28 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 "iio 
 
 ...do 
 
 ...do 
 
 p. 130.O 
 
 48 
 
 HazardvilleWa- 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 
 tor Co. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 59 
 
 II. E. Picrcp 
 
 ...do 
 
 135 
 
 100 
 
 82 
 70 
 
 38 
 
 44 
 
 20 
 20 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 36 
 
 48 
 
 ...do 
 
 ...do 
 
 
 60 
 
 SaiimolNeelon.. 
 
 Slopo. . . 
 
 
 01 
 
 01m Ohmtod... 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 90 
 
 144 
 
 28 
 
 24 
 
 6 
 
 60 
 
 ...do 
 
 
 62 
 
 David Gokk'n... 
 
 ...do 
 
 110 
 
 112 
 
 69 
 
 27 
 
 6 
 
 45 
 
 ...do 
 
 
 63 
 
 Joseph Rest t-k... 
 
 Plain . . . 
 
 145 
 
 276 
 
 30 
 
 20 
 
 6 
 
 42 
 
 ...do 
 
 
 64 
 
 H. K. Holbrook. 
 
 Slope . . . 
 
 190 
 
 120 
 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 45 
 
 ...do 
 
 
 69 
 
 Fred Farbcr 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 95 
 
 75 
 
 51 
 
 28 
 
 6 
 
 38 
 
 ...do 
 
 
 '■■ Only 1 quart a minute at 380 feet, 18 gallons a minute at 400 feet, and full flow of 40 gallons a minute at 
 418 feet. 
 
 ^l)riii{/s in Enfield. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. IV. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 E. P. Terry. 
 
 Topographic 
 
 situation. 
 
 Swale . 
 do. 
 
 Foot of terrace. 
 Foot of slope. . 
 By brook 
 
 Elevation 
 
 above sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Feet. 
 80 
 155 
 
 140 
 80 
 145 
 
 Temper- ! Yield per 
 ature. 1 minute. 
 
 °F. I Gallons. 
 
 50(?) 
 
 50 Large . . 
 
 100(?) 
 
 Remarlis. 
 
 Pumped to tanks. 
 
 Pumped by water wheel to tank. 
 Formerly suppUed village of 
 Scitico. Water from stratified 
 drift. For assay see p. 136. 
 
 SUFFIELD. 
 
 AREA, POPULATION, AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Suffield is a large farming town near the middle of the north 
 boundary of Hartford County, and is bounded on the north by 
 INIassachusetts and on the east by Connecticut River. The town has 
 an area of 43 square miles, of which 13 square miles, or 30 per cent, 
 is wooded. The woodlands are in small or moderate-sized patches 
 that are well distributed, though they are a little more abundant on 
 the hills in the western part of the town. There are 60 miles of 
 road in the town, including 5 miles of the Hartford- Springfield 
 trunk line and 5 miles of road that is in part maintained by the 
 State. The West Side trolley line of the Hartford & Springfield 
 Street Railway Co. runs through Suffield. A branch of the Hartford 
 division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad joins 
 the main line at Windsor Locks. The Springfield branch of the 
 Central New England Railway crosses the town from north to south 
 
140 GROUISTD WATER IN NOEV/ALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 and lias stations at West Snffield and Sheldon Street. The North- 
 ampton division (Canal Eoad) of the New York, New Haven & 
 Hartford Railroad runs across the west corner of Suffield, and its 
 station at Congamoncl is used by the residents of that part of the 
 town. 
 
 The principal settlement is Suffield, a village spread out along 2 
 miles of the main highway between Hartford and Springfield. West 
 Suffield is a smaller village that lies 3 miles to the west. There are 
 stores, hotels, and a post office at each of these places. 
 
 Suffield was incorporated by Massachusetts in 1674 and was an- 
 nexed to Connecticut in 1749. Since then there has been no change 
 in its organization or territorial extent. In 1910 the population was 
 3.841, an increase of 320, or 9 per cent, over the population of 1900, 
 and equivalent to a density of population of 89 inhabitants to the 
 square mile. The following table shows the changes in population 
 since the annexation to Connecticut : 
 
 Population of Suffield, llo6-1910.°- ' 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 1756 
 
 1,438 
 2,017 
 2, 301 
 2,467 
 2,686 
 2,680 
 2,681 
 2,690 
 
 
 1840 
 
 1850 
 
 2,669 
 2,962 
 3,260 
 3,277 
 3,225 
 3,169 
 3,521 
 3,841 
 
 — 1 
 
 1774 
 
 40 
 14 
 7 
 5 
 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 1782 
 
 1860 
 
 1870 
 
 10 
 
 1790 . . 
 
 1 
 
 ISOO 
 
 1880 
 
 — 2 
 
 ISIO. . ... 
 
 1890 
 
 
 1820 
 
 1900 
 
 1910 
 
 11 
 
 1830. 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 
 a Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 641. 
 
 During most of the nineteenth century the population changed 
 T'ery little, but the last two censuses show some increase, due, pre- 
 sumably, to the culture of leaf tobacco for cigar wrappers and 
 binders and to the establishment of manufactures of cigars, which 
 are the principal industries of the town. 
 
 SURFACE FEATURES AlTD GEOLOGIC STRUCTURE. 
 
 Most of Suffield has a gently undulating surface, interrupted by 
 two high trap ridges and by rather broad valleys. The plain char- 
 acter is best developed in the northwest corner of the town, where it 
 has an elevation of 240 to 280 feet above sea level, and along the south 
 boundary, where it ranges from 120 to 160 feet in elevation; The 
 eastern edge of the plain slopes gently eastward for about a mile 
 but pitches sharply down to Connecticut River, making low cliffs in 
 places. The northward extension of the trap ridges of Peak Moun- 
 tain has its highest point a mile north of the East Granby town line, 
 where it is 660 feet above sea level. As Connecticut River at the 
 
SUFFIELD. 141 
 
 southeast corner of tlio toAvn is only about 20 feet above sea level, the 
 area has a range in elevation of 640 feet. 
 
 During the Triassic period central Connecticut was a great valley 
 in which a thick series of sediments, sands, silt, ckiy, and gravel was 
 deposited. These sediments were hardened and cemented to form 
 the red sandstone, shale, and conglomerate that crop out at many 
 places. The process of deposition was interrupted three times by 
 the quiet pouring out over the valley floor of lava that on solidifying 
 became the trap sills characteristic of the region. The relation of 
 these sheets and the sandstones with which they are intercalated is 
 shown in the following table, which is quoted from Davis :^ 
 
 Section of the TrUtssin of Covnecticut. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Upper sandstones 3, -500 
 
 Posterior trap sheet 100-150 
 
 Posterior sliales and slialy sandstones 1, 200 
 
 Main trap sheet 400-500 
 
 Anterior shales and shaly sandstones 300-1, 000 
 
 Anterior trap sheet 0-250 
 
 Lower sandstones 5,000-6,500 
 
 In the present discussion the name " sandstone " is frequently used 
 to mean all the Triassic sedimentary rocks, whether shale, conglom- 
 erate, limestone, or true sandstone. In places there are trap sheets 
 and dikes that were forced into the sediments after they had been 
 deposited. 
 
 Subsequent to their consolidation these rocks were broken into 
 great fault blocks and tilted to the east. Erosion has cut away the 
 softer sediments and left the trap sheets exposed so that they form 
 prominent hills and ridges. The ridge of which Peak Mountain is 
 a part is underlain by and owes its topographic prominence to the 
 extrusive trap sheets. Manitick Mountain in the west part of Suffield 
 is similarly dependent on one of the trap m.asses intruded into the 
 sediments after their deposition. 
 
 Just before the advance of the great ice sheet in the glacial epoch 
 this territory was somewhat more rugged than it now is. There 
 were the two trap ridges and six or seven ridges formed by resistant 
 zones in the sandstone, all running north and south. The position of 
 the sandstone ridges is roughly the same as the north-south strips of 
 till shown on the geologic map (PL V). The ice sheet as it moved 
 over these hills broke and ground off the projecting points and wore 
 away the whole surface more or less. The resulting debris, which is 
 called till, was plastered rather uniformly over the whole region, but 
 especially in the depressions, thus reducing the ruggedness of the 
 
 ' Davis, W. M., Tht> Triassic formation of Connecticut : U. S. Geol. Survey Eighteentli 
 Ann. Kept., pt. 2, pp. 28 aaid 29, 1898. 
 
[142 GROUND WATER IN NOSWALK AND OTHER AREAS, COTTIvr. 
 
 topography. This process was still further continued by the deposi- 
 tion of stratified drift in the valleys by ice-borne streams. These 
 streams carried much sediment derived in part from the ice and in 
 part from reworkuig- of the till. As these streams were slowed up 
 a little beyond the front of the glacier they dropped their loads and 
 so built up the stratified drift plains that form much of the floor of 
 the valley of central Connecticut. The till-covered sandstone hills 
 Were in part buried so that now only their tops show. In some a 
 large part of the bulk is above the stratified drift, as, for example, 
 the hill on which the village of Suffield is situated and which extends 
 north to Buck Hill, but of others, such as those south of West Suf- 
 field, only a little protrudes. It is quite possible that some till-cov- 
 ered hills are completely buried and may eventually be exposed if 
 erosion removes the stratified drift. West of Peak Mountain the 
 elevation of the boundary between the stratified drift and the till 
 ranges from 240 to 280 feet above sea level, and on the east from 
 100 to 220 feet, being lowest near Connecticut Elver. The greater 
 height west of Peak Mountain is presumably due to the fact that this 
 ridge clammed the streams from the glacier and so raised the level 
 to which they worked. Along Connecticut River, between Thomp- 
 sonville and King Island, are rather large areas of till, which were 
 probably formerly covered by stratified drift, but have been exposed 
 by erosion. This portion of the Connecticut flows in a relatively new 
 channel, and erosion along and near it has been great. The relation 
 of the topography to the different rocks is shown in the section (fig. 
 18, p. 126), the position of which is indicated by the line D-D' on the 
 maps (Pis. IV and V). 
 
 Some of the part of Suffield west of Peak Mountain ridge drains 
 to Salmon Brook in Granby and so is tributary to Farmington Eiver, 
 and some of it drains to Congamond Pond and is tributary to West- 
 field River. Most of the town, however, is drained by Stony Brook, 
 which joins Connecticut River near the southeast corner of the town. 
 About 6 square miles is drained by short brooks that empty directly 
 into the Connecticut. 
 
 WATER-BEAEING FORMATIONS. 
 
 Traf Tock. — The trap rocks of Suffield do not constitute an impor- 
 tant source of ground water. They do contain some water in joints 
 and fissures, but the hardness of the rock makes its recovery difficult 
 and expensive. Moreover, the resistance of the trap to erosion leaves 
 it in unfavorable topographic forms, so that much of the water 
 drains away and many of the fissures are dry. 
 
 Sandstone. — Considerable amounts of water are recovered by means 
 of wells drilled in the red sandstone in Suffield. The unconsolidated 
 soil above it absorbs a good deal of rain and snow water and trans- 
 mits it in part to the joints and fissures made in the bedrock by the 
 
SUFFIELD. 
 
 143 
 
 crushing and jostling incident to tilting and faulting. The fissures 
 tend to fonii s.ysteins of parallel fissures, which are in gener-al roughly 
 parallel to the bedding planes or at right angles to them. The rocks, 
 then, are cut by an intricate network of interconnecting fissures from 
 which water ma^^ be recovered by drilled Avells. Some of the coarser 
 sandstone beds may contain water in the interstices between the 
 grains, but this is not an important source of supply. It is highly 
 probable that a liole drilled at any point will cut one or more water- 
 bearing fissures within a reasonable distance and so obtain a satisfac- 
 tory supply. Twenty-six such wells were visited in Suffield in 
 August, 1916. The data collected concerning tiiein are summarized 
 in the following table : 
 
 ISiuiniiari/ of drilled icells in Suffield. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 rock. 
 
 Depth to 
 
 water 
 
 in well. 
 
 Yield 
 
 per 
 
 minute. 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Feet. 
 288 
 63 
 161 
 
 Feet. 
 100 
 
 1 
 44 
 
 Feet. 
 90 
 
 25 
 
 Gallons. 
 135 
 
 
 6 
 
 Average .- 
 
 39 
 
 
 
 
 
 I'HL — About 13 square miles or 30 per cent of the total area of 
 Suffield is mantled with till. There are a few large patches and a 
 number of small ones. Their distribution has been discussed above 
 and is also shown on the geologic map (PI. V). The till was depos- 
 ited by the plastering action of the glacier and consists of all the 
 debris of the ice, the smaller particles forming a matrix in which 
 the larger are embedded. As the whole mass is tightly packed and 
 the smaller particles are fitted into the chinks between the larger, the 
 total porosity and the size of the individual pores are small. A fair 
 proportion of the rain that falls on the till is absorbed and slowly 
 transmitted. Wells dug in till are in general satisfactory, espe- 
 cially if they are so deep as to penetrate the saturated zone just over 
 the bedrock, or if they happen to cut one of the masses of partly 
 washed and sorted material that exist in some places in the till. 
 Measurements were made of 35 wells dug in till in Suffield. The 
 dependability of 27 of these wells was ascertained; 19 were said to 
 never fail and S were said to fail. The data collected concerning the 
 depths of these 35 wells are summarized in the following table : 
 
 Summary of wells dug in till in Suffield. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 water. 
 
 Depth of 
 of water 
 in well. 
 
 Maximum. . . 
 
 Feci. 
 40.8 
 7.2 
 22.3 
 
 Feet. 
 3,1.9 
 4.4 
 12.9 
 
 Feet. 
 15.9 
 
 Minimum 
 
 2.6 
 
 
 9.4 
 
 
 
144 GROUITD WATER IN NOEWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 Strcdified drift. — The mantle rock of tlie lower parts of Suffield 
 is stratified drift, which is composed of the reworked material of 
 the till plus some debris derived from the erosion of the bedrock. 
 Streams issuing from the glacier during its recession had high 
 velocities and bore much debris, but they were soon slowed up and 
 forced to deposit much of their load. Thus beds and lenses of sand 
 and gravel were deposited near the glacier, whereas the finer and 
 lighter debris was carried farther away and ultimately deposited as 
 clay and silt. By this process the debris was sorted into beds in 
 each of which the grains are of uniform size, and the finer grains 
 were eliminated from the interstices between the larger. The strati- 
 fied drift is therefore not only high in porosity but has relatively 
 large and open pores. For these two reasons it is an excellent 
 water-bearing formation except where it has an unfavorable topo- 
 graphic form, as on terraces from which water may drain readily. 
 Measurements were made of 44 wells dug in stratified drift. Of 
 these wells 23 were said to never fail and 17 were said to fail; the 
 reliability of the remaining 4 was not ascertained. The information 
 collected concerning the depths of the 44 wells is summarized in the 
 follovvdng table : 
 
 Smnmary of wells dug in stratified drift in Sv/fjield. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 
 water. 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water 
 in well. 
 
 Maxirnum 
 
 Feet. 
 34 
 8.3 
 17.8 
 
 Feet. 
 27 
 5.2 
 11.9 
 
 Feet. 
 16.6 
 
 
 1.7 
 
 Average .• . . . 
 
 5.9 
 
 
 
 
 QUALITY OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 The accompanying table gives the results of two analyses and 
 four assays of samples of ground water collected in the town of 
 Suffield. These waters are moderately mineralized except No. 35, 
 which is low in mineral content, and No. 99, which is high. No. 35 
 is a very soft water ; No. 32 is soft ; Nos. 36, 93, and 97 are hard for 
 this section of the country; and No. 99 is very hard. Nos. 36 and 99 
 are considered to be poor for use in boilers because they contain ex- 
 cessive amounts of scale- forming ingredients. Nos. 93 and 97 con- 
 tain rather less scale- forming ingredients and would probably be 
 fair for boiler use. Nos. 32 and 35 are good for boiler use. So 
 far as their mineral character is concerned, all the waters are ac- 
 ceptable for domestic use except No. 99, which is very hard. Nos. 
 
SUFFIELD. 
 
 145 
 
 03, 07, and 00 are calcium-carbonate in type; Nos. 32 and 35 are 
 sodinni-oarbonate; and No. 3G is a calcium-sulphate watc^r. 
 
 Clicnihol con; position and classifiration of ground loaicrs in liufflcld.'^ 
 
 (Parts per million. Collected Dec. 6, 191fi: analyzed by .\lfred A. ChainV.crs and C. H. Kidwell. Numbers 
 of analyses and assays correspond to those used on PI. IV.] 
 
 Silica(SiO;) 
 
 Iron ( Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magnesium (Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+K) d. 
 
 Car lionate radicle (CO3) 
 
 Bicarbonal e radicle (IICO3) 
 
 Sulphate radicle (804) -. 
 
 Chloride ladicle (CI) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NOs) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at ISO" C 
 
 Total hardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale-forming constituents d 
 
 Foaming constituents d 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 Prolmbility of corrasion*^. 
 Quality for boiler use. . . . 
 Quality for domestic use . 
 
 Analyses.'' 
 
 21 
 
 .14 
 15 
 6.6 
 42 
 
 .0 
 90 
 17 
 45 
 
 .05 
 
 191 
 
 d65 
 
 76 
 
 110 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 36 
 
 32 
 
 .19 
 C,5 
 17 
 26 
 
 9.1 
 102 
 176 
 5.0 
 .10 
 391 
 d232 
 250 
 70 
 
 Ca-S04 
 (?) 
 Poor. 
 Fair. 
 
 Assays, c 
 
 12 
 .0 
 
 27 
 3.0 
 5.2 
 
 9.1 
 35 
 30 
 
 Na-C03 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 93 
 
 196 
 23 
 46 
 
 d 300 
 178 
 200 
 100 
 
 Ca-COs 
 (?) 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 97 
 
 25 
 
 196' 
 23 
 
 19 
 
 0.07 
 
 404 
 45 
 
 : 260 
 162 
 190 
 70 
 
 d530 
 375 
 400 
 110 
 
 Ca-C03 I Ca-COs 
 
 (?) I (?) 
 
 Fair. Poor. 
 
 Good. I Bad. 
 
 a For location and other descriptive information see pp. 146-148. 
 
 b For methods used in analyses and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 c Appro.ximations; for methods used in assays and ;-ehabillty of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 <i Computed. 
 
 <■ Based on computed quantity; N=noncorrosive, (?) = corrosion uncertain. 
 
 PUBLIC WATER SUPPLIES. 
 
 The residents of Suffield viilag-e and its environs are served by 
 the Northern Connecticut Light & Power Co., and a few on the 
 Avest bank of Connecticut River opposite Thompsonville are served 
 by the Thompsonville Water Co. See p. 136.) 
 
 The Northern Connecticut Light & Power Co.. which began the 
 distribution of water in 1805 under another name, has two drilled 
 wells (Nos. 108 and 108A, PL IV) in the northeast part of the town 
 from which water is drawn by electrically driven pumps with their 
 working cylinders about 220 feet below the surface. Water is de- 
 livered to a steel standpipe that has a capacity of 300,000 gallons 
 on a hill a m.ile north of the village, from which it is distributed 
 under a pressure of 45 to 50 pounds to the square inch through 13 
 miles of main to 34 nre hydrants and 301 service taps. There are 
 326 customers in Suffield and 12 in Agawam, Mass.,^ and the average 
 daily consumption by the 2,560 people served is about 52,000 gallons. 
 The maximum consumption comes during* the tobacco-planting 
 season and is estimated by Mr. W. P. Schwabe, the superintendent, 
 at about 140,000 gallons a day. 
 
 ^ Connecticut Public Utilities Commission Rept., 1917. 
 ir,4444°— 20 10 
 
146 GROUND WATER IN NOEWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 ItECGRDS OF WJILLS AND SPRINGS. 
 
 Two springs were visited in Suffield (Nos. 49 and 79, PL IV). 
 Spring No. 49 is piped by gravity about 200 feet to the house and is 
 said never to fail. Spring No. 79 was improved by setting a barrel 
 In it. The lower head was left in the barrel but was perforated by 
 a number of ^-inch holes. 
 
 Wetls dug in till in Suffield. 
 
 "No. on 
 PL IV. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topographic 
 situation 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth 
 
 Depth 
 to 
 
 water. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Rig 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 87 
 
 93 
 
 95 
 99 
 
 103 
 104 
 105 
 106 
 
 W. H. Peckham. 
 
 E. M. Austin . . 
 
 Fred Brown. 
 
 Slope. 
 Ridge. 
 
 Plain 
 
 Ridge 
 
 Slope 
 
 Ridge 
 
 Hill 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plain 
 
 Slope 
 
 Hill 
 
 Plain 
 
 Terrace . . . 
 
 Plain 
 
 do 
 
 Slope.. 
 Hill... 
 
 do. 
 
 do- 
 
 do. 
 
 Slope.. 
 
 Hill.. 
 Slope. 
 
 do. 
 
 Plain.. 
 
 Slope. 
 Hill.. 
 
 Slope.. 
 ICnoll. 
 
 Slope.. 
 Plain.. 
 Slope.. 
 Ridge. 
 
 Feet. 
 285 
 270 
 
 245 
 245 
 225 
 220 
 225 
 215 
 165 
 195 
 190 
 160 
 185 
 165 
 185 
 185 
 215 
 
 165 
 170 
 165 
 ISO 
 180 
 195 
 
 180 
 140 
 
 130 
 130 
 
 110 
 160 
 
 175 
 125 
 
 110 
 90 
 
 Feet. 
 12.6 
 26.5 
 
 17.4 
 
 20 
 
 18.2 
 
 21.8 
 
 26.0 
 
 21.4 
 
 23.6 
 
 12.4 
 
 22.2 
 
 27.5 
 
 21.0 
 
 9.2 
 21.4 
 22.8 
 
 9.6 
 
 21.0 
 26.7 
 16.5 
 24.1 
 22.3 
 26.8 
 
 48.8 
 27.3 
 
 15.5 
 29.6 
 
 18.7 
 39.7 
 
 24.5 
 20.4 
 
 36.2 
 
 7.2 
 
 25.6 
 
 16.4 
 
 Feet. 
 
 8.2 
 
 23.9 
 
 11.1 
 16 
 9.2 
 10.4 
 10.6 
 14.4 
 10.6 
 9.0 
 11.6 
 14.7 
 8.4 
 6.0 
 7.5 
 16.3 
 4.4 
 
 14.7 
 13.4 
 13.2 
 13.3 
 10.1 
 13.9 
 
 30.9 
 15.1 
 
 16.6 
 
 15.0 
 
 18.8 
 
 14.1 
 
 6.8 
 
 29.1 
 4.5 
 9.9 
 9.4 
 
 Feet. 
 4.4 
 2.6 
 
 6.3 
 
 4 
 
 9.0 
 11.4 
 15.4 
 
 7.0 
 13.0 
 
 3.4 
 10.6 
 12.8 
 12.6 
 
 3.2 
 13.9 
 
 6.5 
 
 5.2 
 
 6.3 
 13.3 
 
 3.3 
 10.8 
 12.3 
 12.9 
 
 15.9 
 12.2 
 
 6.7 
 13.0 
 
 3.7 
 20.9 
 
 10.4 
 13.6 
 
 7.1 
 2.7 
 15.7 
 7.0 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 ...-do 
 
 ....do 
 
 Deep- well pump 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 ....do 
 
 ....do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 ....do 
 
 Windlass rig . . . . 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 ....do 
 
 ....do 
 
 ....do 
 
 Windlass rig and 
 
 house pump. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Wiudlassrig 
 
 ....do 
 
 ....do 
 
 Windlass and 
 
 pulley rig. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Wmdlass and 
 
 pulley rig. 
 
 House pump 
 
 Two-bucket rig.. 
 
 Windlass rig. .. 
 ....do 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump . . . 
 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 Chain pump . . . 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. Rock, 16 
 
 feet. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Rock bottom. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Rock bottom. 
 
 For assay see 
 
 p. 145. 
 
 Nonfailing. For 
 assay see p. 145. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 Do. 
 
SUFFIELD. 
 
 Wcll>i (liKj iti ."itidlificd drift in Suffleld. 
 
 147 
 
 No. on 
 Fl. IV. 
 
 Owiicr. 
 
 TopoKiaphii' 
 situation. 
 
 Klova- 
 
 
 
 Depth 
 
 tion 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 
 above 
 
 sou 
 
 to 
 water. 
 
 water 
 in 
 
 level. 
 
 
 
 well. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet.. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 245 
 
 11.2 
 
 7.4 
 
 3.8 
 
 250 
 
 20.5 
 
 14.9 
 
 5.6 
 
 250 
 
 8.3 
 
 5.7 
 
 2.6 
 
 250 
 
 10.2 
 
 8.0 
 
 2.2 
 
 285 
 
 20.6 
 
 16.6 
 
 4.0 
 
 245 
 
 16.5 
 
 9.5 
 
 7.0 
 
 210 
 
 9.8 
 
 7.2 
 
 2.6 
 
 220 
 
 19.0 
 
 17.1 
 
 1.9 
 
 215 
 
 12.3 
 
 5.2 
 
 7.1 
 
 220 
 
 12.9 
 
 9.1 
 
 3.8 
 
 195 
 
 19.6 
 
 15.4 
 
 4.2 
 
 150 
 
 13.5 
 
 6.7 
 
 6.8 
 
 170 
 
 34.0 
 
 27.0 
 
 7.0 
 
 130 
 
 16.7 
 
 8.3 
 
 8.4 
 
 140 
 
 13.7 
 
 8.0 
 
 5. 7 
 
 245 
 
 10.9 
 
 /. / 
 
 3.2 
 
 185 
 
 19.9 
 
 14.5 
 
 5.4 
 
 175 
 
 18.1 
 
 13.5 
 
 4.6 
 
 190 
 
 16.5 
 
 11.2 
 
 5.3 
 
 175 
 
 20.4 
 
 16.8 
 
 3.6 
 
 175 
 
 19.1 
 
 14.4 
 
 4.7 
 
 185 
 
 10.5 
 
 6.5 
 
 4.0 
 
 185 
 
 20.6 
 
 15.5 
 
 5.1 
 
 155 
 
 23.0 
 
 13.4 
 
 9.6 
 
 185 
 
 26.8 
 
 10.2 
 
 16.6 
 
 180 
 
 12.9 
 
 7.1 
 
 5.8 
 
 175 
 
 15.3 
 
 7.9 
 
 7.4 
 
 145 
 
 21 4 
 
 19.7 
 
 1.7 
 
 1.35 
 
 15.1 
 
 11.0 
 
 4.1 
 
 125 
 
 14.7 
 
 8.4 
 
 6.3 
 
 125 
 
 15.4 
 
 10.8 
 
 4.6 
 
 175 
 
 19.9 
 
 5.9 
 
 14.0 
 
 110 
 
 24.7 
 
 13.6 
 
 11.1 
 
 115 
 
 15.1 
 
 6.8 
 
 8.3 
 
 125 
 
 21.5 
 
 12.6 
 
 8.9 
 
 1.35 
 
 19.4 
 
 10.7 
 
 8.7 
 
 145 
 
 20.0 
 
 16.0 
 
 4.0 
 
 110 
 
 19.4 
 
 11.9 
 
 7.5 
 
 125 
 
 28.7 
 
 25.7 
 
 3.0 
 
 130 
 
 20.9 
 
 13.2 
 
 7. 7 
 
 120 
 
 25.6 
 
 18.1 
 
 7.5 
 
 115 
 
 23.7 
 
 17.6 
 
 6.1 
 
 120 
 
 15.9 
 
 11.2 
 
 4.7 
 
 85 
 
 10.4 
 
 6.0 
 
 4.4 
 
 Rii; 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 H.W.Kehoe. 
 
 Slope. 
 
 do. 
 
 Plain.. 
 do. 
 
 ....do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 ....do. 
 
 ....do. 
 
 ....do. 
 
 ....do. 
 
 ....do. 
 
 .do. 
 
 C. B.Jobes.. 
 
 T. H. Smith. 
 
 A.A.Brown. 
 
 do... 
 
 do... 
 
 Slope.... 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plain..., 
 
 do.. 
 
 Ridge.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Ridee.. 
 Plain.. - 
 
 do.. 
 
 Slope. . . . 
 Plain. . . 
 
 Slope 
 
 Plain... 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Slope.... 
 Plain. . . . 
 
 do.. 
 
 Slope.... 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plain 
 
 Terrace . 
 Plain.... 
 Slope.... 
 
 100 
 107 
 
 do. 
 
 Plain.. 
 do. 
 
 Air-pressure sys- 
 tem. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Sweep rig . 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump and 
 house pump. 
 
 Deep-well pump.. 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump . 
 do 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 P'ails. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. Rock 3 feet. 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Nonfailing. For 
 analysis see p.l45. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Nonfailing. For 
 
 assay see p. 145. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Abandoned. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. Rock 
 10 feet. Water 
 from sandstone. 
 For assay see 
 p. 145. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 Drii'cn ircJJs in Nuffield. 
 
 Neon 
 PI. IV. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topographic 
 situation. 
 
 Elevation 
 
 above 
 sea level. 
 
 Depth. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 15 
 
 
 Plain 
 
 do 
 
 Feet. 
 215 
 190 
 
 Feet. 
 30 
 20 
 
 Windmill rig. 
 
 22 
 
 
 8 feet to water level. 
 
 
 
 
 
148 GROUND WATER IN NOEWALK AND OTtlER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 Drilled wells in Suffield, 
 
 No. on 
 
 ri.iv. 
 
 
 Topo- 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 Total 
 
 Depth 
 
 Depth 
 
 Diam- 
 eter. 
 
 Yield 
 per 
 min- 
 ute. 
 
 
 Owner. 
 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 above 
 
 sea 
 level. 
 
 depth. 
 
 to 
 rock. 
 
 to 
 
 water. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Inches. 
 
 Galls. 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 Plain.... 
 Ridge... 
 
 250 
 225 
 
 245 
 91 
 
 ""h" 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 ""n 
 
 
 13 
 
 Chas. H. King 
 
 
 17 
 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 190 
 245 
 230 
 
 105 
 
 63 
 
 183 
 
 5 
 33 
 53 
 
 20 
 20 
 30 
 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 
 25 
 16 
 iO 
 
 
 19 
 
 
 ..do 
 
 
 23 
 
 A. L. Jackson 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 
 25 
 
 A.H. Wood 
 
 Slope 
 
 .. .do 
 
 210 
 190 
 
 143 
 212 
 
 36 
 
 16 
 
 12 
 
 6 
 G 
 
 43 
 45 
 
 
 26 
 
 George Hastings 
 
 
 27 
 
 Samuel Barr . 
 
 .do 
 
 205 
 195 
 
 102 
 204 
 
 50 
 100 
 
 3 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 50 
 30 
 
 
 30 
 
 L. A. King 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 
 31 
 
 Samuel Graham 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 205 
 
 178 
 
 70± 
 
 13 
 
 6 
 
 75 
 
 
 34 
 
 Tomlinson 
 
 plain... 
 
 160 
 
 203 
 
 60 
 
 45 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 
 36 
 
 W. H. Peckham 
 
 Hill 
 
 160 
 
 207* 
 
 88 
 
 
 6 
 
 20 
 
 Water from sand- 
 stone. For anal- 
 ysis see p. 145. 
 
 42 
 
 Wm. Daldn 
 
 Slope . . . 
 
 150 
 270 
 
 1144 
 90 db 
 
 1 
 9± 
 
 25 
 40 
 
 h' 
 
 11 
 .6 
 
 
 48 
 
 Holcomb Bros 
 
 
 58 
 
 N. L. Miller 
 
 Plain... 
 ...do.... 
 
 180 
 185 
 
 288 
 123 
 
 ""io" 
 
 19 
 
 IS 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 35 
 23 
 
 
 59 
 
 P. D. Lilly 
 
 
 60 
 
 Wever 
 
 .do 
 
 180 
 
 154 
 
 30± 
 
 
 8 
 
 100 
 
 Water flows from 
 
 
 
 
 casing. 
 
 61 
 
 do 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 180 
 145 
 
 1 
 86 
 
 20 
 56 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 40 
 
 
 64 
 
 John Wolchak 
 
 Slope — 
 
 
 67 
 
 
 Plain-... 
 Slope.... 
 
 145 
 145 
 
 250 
 165 
 
 
 
 6 
 6 
 
 ""26"' 
 
 
 84 
 
 Geo. A. Peckham 
 
 90 
 
 13 
 
 
 94 
 
 Hugh Bickerstaft' 
 
 .. .00 
 
 160 
 
 131 
 
 32 
 
 24 
 
 6 
 
 24 
 
 
 101 
 
 
 ...do 
 
 145 
 110 
 
 185 
 
 115 
 150 
 
 236 
 
 25 
 35 
 60 
 
 10 
 26 
 90 
 
 6 
 6 
 6 
 
 23 
 53 
 67 
 
 
 102 
 
 do 
 
 Terrace . 
 Hill 
 
 
 108 
 
 Northern Connecti- 
 
 (a) 
 
 
 cut Light & Power 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Co. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 108A 1 do 
 
 ...do.... 
 
 185 
 
 236 
 
 60 
 
 90 
 
 8 
 
 135 
 
 
 a Further description under heading of "Pub.ic water supplies." 
 
 WINDSOB LOCKS. 
 
 AREA, POPULATION, AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Windsor Locks is a small manufacturing and agricultural town 
 on the west bank of Connecticut River about 7 miles south of the 
 Massachusetts boundary and 10 miles north of the city of Hartford. 
 The area is about 8 square miles, of which about 5 square miles is 
 wooded. The woodlands, which are in the main restricted to the 
 western part of the town, are dominated by scrub oaks and yellow 
 pines and have a typical underbrush of sweet fern and a yellowish 
 grass, known locally as " poverty grass." There are about 30 miles 
 of roads and streets in the town, including 3 miles of the State trunk- 
 line highway between Hartford and Springfield. The roads in the 
 west part of the town are very poor, as the soil is a loose sand. 
 
 Windsor Locks, the only settlement, is on the Hartford division 
 of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad and also on the 
 West Side trolley line of the Hartford & Springfield Street Railway 
 Co. There are hotels, a post office, and numerous stores and fac- 
 tories. Windsor Locks owes its prosperity to the power developed 
 from the Enfield Canal, which ends in the southern part of the vil- 
 
WINDSOR LOCKS. 
 
 149 
 
 lage. Construction of the (anal was begun in 1827, and the canal 
 was opened to navigation in 1829.^ The canal is about o-} miles 
 long and the lifts aggregate about 30 feet. It is estimated that in 
 1880 between 1,800 and 1,000 horsepower was developed, but that 
 there is available at least 15,000 horsepower.^ 
 
 Windsor Locks was taken from Windsor in 1854 and incorporated 
 as a sei)arate town. Previous to this it had been a prosperous manu- 
 facturing place, the first factory having been built about 1830, In 
 1910 the population was 3,715, an increase of 653 over the popu- 
 lation in 1900. The population is mostly concentrated in the village, 
 and the west part of the town is very sparsely settled. At each 
 census since its incorporation the town has shown a substantial in- 
 crease in population, and it is to be expected that this growth will 
 continue. The following table shows the gains in population to- 
 gether with the per cent of change for each census period : 
 
 Population of Windsor Locks, 1810-1910fl 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 1870 
 
 2, 154 
 2,332 
 2,758 
 
 
 1900.... 
 1910.-.. 
 
 ::;::::;:::::;::; 
 
 3,062 
 
 3,715 
 
 +n 
 
 1880 
 
 + 18 
 
 -f21 
 
 1890 
 
 
 
 
 o Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 641. 
 
 The principal industries of Windsor Locks are manufacturing of 
 paper, cotton warp, machinery, underwear, and tinsel novelties, and 
 agriculture, in v;hich tobacco is the chief crop. 
 
 SURFACE FEATURES. 
 
 The surface of Windsor Locks is for the most part a sand plain 
 ranging in elevation from 120 to 160 feet above sea level. Near the 
 west end of the north boundary a low till-covered hill rises above the 
 sand plain to an elevation of 180 feet above sea level. A strip a mile 
 wide along the east boundary slopes gradually to Connecticut River 
 but is trenched by several rather deep valleys tributary to the Con- 
 necticut. There are similar valleys- tributarj^ to Farmington River 
 along the southwest boundary of the town. 
 
 During preglacial time Connecticut River had a broad valley, 
 which included the territory of Windsor Locks and in which w^ere a 
 number of hills. During the invasion of the ice the valley was deep- 
 ened somewhat and a mantle of till was laid over much of the bed- 
 
 1 stiles, II. R., History and genealogies of ancient Windsor, p. 507, 1892. 
 
 2 Porter, Dwight, Tenth Census report on water power of the United States, pt. 1, 
 pp. 217-219, 1885. 
 
150 GROUND WATER IIs^ ISTORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 rock. As the ice was receding the numerous streams derived from 
 the melting ice filled the valley with a thick mantle of stratified 
 drift, which now forms the sand plain. Some of the hills were high 
 enough to escape burial by the stratified drift, and the low hill in the 
 northwestern part of the town is of this type. Eecords of drilled 
 wells in East Windsor and in Windsor, tabulated by Ellis,^ show 
 that the thickness of the stratified drift is 70 to 168 feet in some 
 places. 
 
 During postglacial time Connecticut Eiver and Farmington River 
 have cut valleys about a mile wide and 80 to 120 feet deep in the 
 stratified drift. Narrower and shallower valleys have been cut by 
 their tributaries. 
 
 Short tributaries of Connecticut and Farmington rivers drain 
 Windsor Locks. In the northern and western parts of the town there 
 are extensive areas with no streams of sulRcient size to be shown on 
 the maps (Pis. IV and V). Evidently the water derived from the 
 rain and snow that fall on these areas, except- the part that evaporates, 
 is entirely absorbed and becomes part of the ground-water body. 
 Along the stream valleys cut in the stratified drift are numerous large 
 springs, such as those that feed the reservoir of the Windsor Locks 
 Water Co. The high porosity and drj^ness of the surface soil is 
 further shown by the xerophytic character of the flora. 
 
 WATER-BEARINC4 FORMATIONS. 
 
 Till. — The only till area in Windsor Locks is one of a few acres on 
 a low hill on the Suffield boundary, but no wells were found there. 
 The occurrence of water in the till is the same as in the till of the 
 adjacent towns. (See p. 143.) 
 
 StraUiied drift. — Stratified drift comprises all the debris washed 
 out from the ice sheet as it melted back, together with eroded por- 
 tions of the till and of the bedrock. There are beds and lenses of 
 clay, silt, sand, and gravel, which lie on one another and interfinger 
 in a very intricate w^ay. Within each bed or lens the grains are of 
 very uniform size and most of them are well rounded. As a conse- 
 quence the total pore space is great, and beds are high in permeabil- 
 ity. Eain is readilj^ absorbed, and the water sinks downward until 
 it reaches a zone of saturation. Wells dug or driven deep enough to 
 penetrate the saturated zone are likely to obtain abundant and de- 
 pendable supplies of water. Fourteen such wells were visited in 
 Windsor Locks in July and August, 1916. Ten were said to be non- 
 
 * Gregory, H. B., and Ellis, A. J., Ground water in the Hartford, Stamford, Salisbury, 
 Willimantic, and Saybrook areas. Conn. : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 374, 
 ^p. 86, 90, 1916. 
 
WINDSOR LOCKS. 
 
 151 
 
 f:iilin<r and three were said to fail. The reliability of the other one 
 was not ascertained. The data collected concerning the depths of 
 these wells are summarized in the following table: 
 
 SiiiHiiiari/ of wells in Windsor Locks. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 to water. 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water in 
 
 wells. 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Feet. 
 41 8 
 
 Feet. 
 39. .3 
 3.8 
 15.2 
 
 Feet. 
 8.8 
 2 5 
 
 Milium um 
 
 6.6 
 19.6 
 
 « 
 
 Average 
 
 4.3 
 
 
 QUALITY OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 The accompanying table gives the results of one analysis and one 
 assay of samples of ground water collected in Windsor Locks. No. 
 6 is low in total mineral content ; No, 13 is moderately mineralized. 
 Both are soft. So far as their mineral character is concerned, the 
 waters are acceptable for domestic use, although the high nitrate in 
 No. 6 may indicate pollution. No. 6 is considered good for boiler 
 use, but on account of the large amount of scale-forming ingredients 
 in No. 13 it is considered only fair for boiler use. No, 6 is calcium- 
 carbonate in type, and No. 13 is a calcium-chloride water. 
 
 Clionicul com position and classiftcafion of ground iraters in Windsor Locks." 
 
 [Parts per million. Collected Dec. 6, 1916; analyzed by Alfred A. Chambers and C. H. Kidwell. 
 Numbers of analysis and assay correspond to those used on PI. IV.] 
 
 Analysis. 6 
 
 Assay. 
 
 Silica (SiOs) 
 
 Iron(Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magnesium ( Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+K)d 
 
 Carbonate radicle (CDs) 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 
 
 Sulphate radicle (SO4) 
 
 Chloride radicle (CI) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 180° C . . 
 
 Total hardness as CaCOa 
 
 Scale-forming onstituents <*.... 
 Foaming constituents d 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 Probability of corrosion < 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic u,se 
 
 18 
 
 .31 
 12 
 5.0 
 12 
 
 .0 
 
 39 
 
 17 
 
 5.8 
 
 23 
 
 104 
 
 dSO 
 
 62 
 
 32 
 
 Ca-COs 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 .0 
 
 disc 
 83 
 110 
 60 
 
 Ca-Cl 
 
 (?) 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 3 For location and other descriptive information see p. 152. 
 
 b For methods used in analysis and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 c Approximations; for methods used in assay and reliability of results, see pp. 52-60. 
 
 d Computed. 
 
 e Based on computed quantity ; (?) = corrosion uncertain. 
 
152 GEOUJSTD WATER IIST jSTORWALK AIS^D OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY. 
 
 The village of "Windsor Locks has been supplied with water by the 
 Windsor Locks Water Co. since 1892. Water from a spring-fed 
 brook in the southeast part of the town is intercepted in two reser- 
 voirs of 90,000 and 210,000 gallons capacity, from which it is pumped 
 by electricity to a standpipe on a hill northwest of the village. The 
 water is distributed by gravity under a pressure of TO pounds to the 
 square inch through 10^ miles of main pipe to 68 fire hydrants and- 
 592 service taps. Between 2,500 and 3,000 people are served and con- 
 sume about 227,000 gallons a day on the average. The main pump 
 has a capacity di 1,000 gallons a minute, and there are in addition a 
 750-gallon pump driven by a heavy oil engine and a 350-gallon pump 
 driven by a kerosene engine. The present supply is adequate to meet 
 the demands on the system, and the company owns another brook from 
 which twice as much water can be drawn as from the one utilized at 
 
 present. 
 
 Wells in Windsor Locks. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. IV, 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topographic 
 situation. 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 
 above 
 sea 
 
 level. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth 
 
 to 
 water 
 
 Depth 
 
 of 
 water 
 
 in 
 well. 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Plain. . 
 ..--.do. 
 
 Frank Debail. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 Mrs. L.A.Webb. 
 
 P. Pouruier. 
 
 .....do.... 
 
 Terrace. . . 
 
 Plain 
 
 .do.... 
 
 .....do.... 
 
 do.... 
 
 Terrace . . . 
 
 Slope 
 
 .do. 
 
 Feet. 
 165 
 165 
 
 145 
 145 
 145 
 
 140 
 140 
 95 
 80 
 65 
 50 
 30 
 
 Feet. 
 11.5 
 20 
 
 25.2 
 
 37 
 
 41.8 
 
 19.9 
 14.2 
 16.1 
 6.6 
 9.5 
 11.2 
 22.9 
 
 22.1 
 16.2 
 
 Feet. 
 5.8 
 
 22.4 
 
 30 
 
 39.3 
 
 16.0 
 
 5.4 
 13.3 
 3.8 
 5.8 
 8.4 
 19.2 
 
 18.8 
 10.0 
 
 Feet. 
 5.7 
 
 2.8 
 
 7 
 
 2.5 
 
 2.8 
 2.8 
 3.7 
 2.8 
 3.7 
 
 3.3 
 6.2 
 
 Pitcher pump. 
 do 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Deep- well pump 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig 
 Chain pump . 
 House pump . 
 
 No rig 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump . 
 House pump and 
 windlass rig. 
 
 House pump — 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Nonfailing, tiled. 
 Nonf ailing. 
 Driven well. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Water from 
 stratilied drift. 
 For analysis 
 see p. 151. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 Fails. Fluctuates 
 with the river. 
 Water from 
 stratified drift. 
 For assay see 
 p. 151. 
 Fails. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 GLASTONBUEY. 
 
 AREA, POPULATION, AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Glastonbury is an extensive town near the southeast corner of 
 Hartford County and lies on the east shore of Connecticut Eiver. 
 It is about 5 miles southeast of the city of Hartford and 8 miles north 
 of Middletown. The town has an area of 54 square miles, of which 
 30| square miles or 55 per cent is wooded. There are very few 
 woods in the vrestern part of the town ; the middle is largely wooded ; 
 and the very hilly eastern part is filmost entirely covered with woods. 
 
GLASTONBURY. 
 
 153 
 
 The town works about 125 miles of dirt roads. There arc in addition 
 4 miles of the Ilartford-New London State trunk highway and 6 
 miles of road maintained in part by the State. These roads are 
 surfaced with bituminous macadam. The principal settlements are 
 Glastonbury and South Glastonbury, near tlie northwest and south- 
 west corners, respectively. ITopevrell i5 a small settlement on Roar- 
 ing Brook. 2 miles east of South Glastonbury. East Glastonbury is 
 on the same stream 3 miles farther northeast, Addison and Buck- 
 inoluim are 1| and 5 miles east of Glastonbury, respectively. Naubuc, 
 another small village, is 1^ miles northwest of Glastonbury. Post 
 oflices are maintained at Glastonbury, South Glastonbury, P'ast Glas- 
 tonbury, and Addison, and the outlying districts are served by rural 
 delivery. A ferry at South Glastonbury^ connects with the Valley 
 division of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Eailroad at 
 Eocky Hill. A trolley line from Hartford runs to Glastonbury and 
 South Glastonbury. During the open season there is steamboat con- 
 nection to Plartford and New York. 
 
 Glastonbury was taken from Wethersfield in 1690 and incorporated 
 ;is a separate town. In 1803 about -i square miles was taken to make 
 l)art of Marlboro, and in 1813 1| square miles more was ceded. 
 In 1910 the population of Glastonbury was 4,T96, which is equivalent 
 to a density of 89 to the square mile. Much of the population is con- 
 (^entrated in the several villages, so that most of Glastonbury is 
 sparsely settled. The following table shows the changes in popula- 
 tion since 1756: 
 
 Population of Glastonbury, 1756-1910.'^ 
 
 Year. 
 
 175G. 
 1774. 
 17S2. 
 1790. 
 ISOO. 
 1810. 
 1S20. 
 1830. 
 
 Popula- 
 
 Per cent 
 
 tion. 
 
 change. 
 
 1,115 
 
 
 2,071 
 
 + 86 
 
 2,346 
 
 + 13 
 
 2,732 
 
 + 16 
 
 2, 718 
 
 - 1 
 
 2, 766 
 
 + 2 
 
 3,114 
 
 + 13 
 
 2,980 
 
 - 4 
 
 1840. 
 1850. 
 1860. 
 1870. 
 1880. 
 1890. 
 1900. 
 1910. 
 
 Popula- 
 
 Per cent 
 
 tion. 
 
 change. 
 
 3,077 
 
 + 3 
 
 3,390 
 
 + 10 
 
 3,363 
 
 - 1 
 
 3,550 
 
 + 6 
 
 3,580 
 
 
 
 3,457 
 
 - 3 
 
 4,260 
 
 + 23 
 
 4,796 
 
 + 12 
 
 o Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 638. 
 
 There have been uo great nor persistent tendencies toward de- 
 crease in population at anj^ time, and the gains have exceeded the 
 losses. A continuation of the moderate, uniform growth is to be 
 expected. The principal industries are agriculture, tobacco and or- 
 chard fruits being the chief crops, and the manufacture of soap 
 and other toilet preparations, paper, woolen and knit goods, and 
 silverware. 
 
 SURFACE FEATURES, 
 
 Glastonbury is in part in the central lowlands of Connecticut and 
 in part in the eastern highland. The lowland includes a strip a 
 
154 GEOUND WATER IIST NOEWALK AIS'D OTHEE AREAS, COFN. 
 
 mile wide along the south part of the Connecticut River boundary 
 and also the area northwest of a line from South Glastonbury past 
 the foot of Eightmile Hill and Minnechaug Mountain. It is under- 
 lain by relatively soft sedimentary rocks that have been eroded more 
 completely than the more resistant schists and gneisses of the high- 
 land. The highest point in the lowland is 420 feet above sea level, 
 whereas the i3eaks of Birch Mountain are about 920 feet above sea 
 level. The difference of general level between the lowland and high- 
 land was produced by preglacial erosion, as were also their major 
 topographic features, but the minor details are in large part due to 
 glacial and postglacial processes. Along Connecticut River and m 
 the valleys of Salmon and Roaring brooks there are areas under- 
 lain by stratified drift deposited by streams that issued from the 
 glacier during its recession. Parts of these areas retain their original 
 flatness, but the higher parts have been extensively eroded. 
 
 Most of Glastonbury is drained hj streams tributary to Con- 
 necticut River, the largest of which are Salmon Brook, which has 
 its mouth at Naubuc, and Roaring Brook, which empties at South 
 Glastonbury. About 6 square miles in a strip along the Marl- 
 boro and Hebron town lines is drained by headwaters of Blockledge 
 River and Dickinson Creek, which flow through Marlboro and join 
 Salmon River, which is tributary to the Connecticut at East Haddam. 
 
 WATER-BEARING FORMATIONS. 
 
 Five types of bedrock have been recognized in Glastonbury — Tri- 
 assic red sandstone, Glastonbury granite gneiss, Hebron gneiss, 
 Maromas granite gneiss, and Bolton schist.^ 
 
 Schist and gneiss. — The Bolton schist is for the most part a typical 
 silvery-gray mica schist composed essentially of quartz, feldspar, and 
 mica (chiefly white), with minor amounts of accessory minerals, such 
 as biotite (black mica), garnet, staurolite, and in places magnetite, 
 graphite, pyroxene, and chlorite. Originally this formation was a 
 series of clays, silts, and sands that were consolidated into shales 
 and sandstones, v^^hich in tiy:'n have been subjected to great pressure 
 and heating and have been metamorphosed. In places in Glastonbury 
 the rock is very dark gray, as it contains a good deal of graphite de- 
 rived from organic materials in the original sediments. The Bolton 
 schist underlies a northward-striking belt a quarter of a mile wide 
 that runs through the eastern part of the village of South Glaston- 
 bury, and a belt half a mile wide nekr the east boundary, including 
 Birch Mountain, from which it extends south-southwest. This for- 
 mation is very resistant and everywhere makes ridges that stand up 
 above the neighboring formations. 
 
 ^ Gregorj', H. E., and Robinson, H. H., Preliminary geolo^cal map of Connecticut : 
 Connecticut Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 1907. 
 
IS. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 470 PLATE XH 
 
 MASSlVl!: GRANITE GNEISS, EAST GLASTONBURY, CONN. 
 
GLASTONBUllY. 155 
 
 The Glastonbury granite gneiss underlies an area of about 26 
 square miles, including Minnecbaug Mountain, Kongskut Mountain, 
 Eightmile Hill, and Meshomasic Mountain. It is quarried for 
 building stone at a number of places. According to Gregory,^ it 
 may 
 
 be cUvirted into two parts — ;i bvoud western portion, decidedly gnelssoid aud 
 usually dark colored, with a large quantity of biotite and hornblende ; a 
 narrower eastern portion, more granitic, and in places reaching the raassive- 
 ness of a true granite. * * ^^^ As seen in the abundant expovsures west of 
 the Portland Reservoir, it is a dark, well-foliated, almost schistose gneiss of 
 fine grain, which on the cleavage surface shows alternating patches of black 
 biotite and white feldspar. * * * The presence of biotite aud hornblende, 
 arranged in parallelism with aggregates of feldspar, gives a distinct foliation 
 and banding to the rock. * * * This more schistose variety forms the 
 hills southeast of Glastonbury and occurs in the bed of Roaring Brook in 
 South Glastonbury. * * * The more nia??sive variety of this gnaeiss is seen 
 in tlie small quarries north of East Glastonbury. The rock here is a light- 
 colored fine-grained biotite gneiss or granite, which soruetimesi is quarried in 
 blocks 2 or 3 feet in thickuess, with no sign of a parting. * * * In regard 
 to the origin of the Glastonbury gneiss there is strong indication that it is in 
 large part igneous ; and this applies both to the more massive eastern portion 
 and the more gneissic variety on the west. 
 
 Plate XII rs a view in one of the small quarries in the massive 
 phase of the Glastonbury granite gneiss and shows the massive 
 character and the jointing of the rock. 
 
 The Maromas granite gneiss underlies a strip a quarter of a mile 
 wide w^st of the Bolton schist area of South Glastonbury and also a 
 strip half a mile to a mile wide east of the eastern Bolton schist area 
 and along the Marlboro and Hebron town lines. It is for the most 
 part a typical granite gneiss, composed essentially of quartz,, feldspar, 
 and mica with subordinate amounts of other minerals. Much of it 
 has been crushed and mashed, which has given it a gneissic texture. 
 Other phases are more basic and darker colored because of the pres- 
 ence of hornblende. 
 
 The Hebron gneiss underlies a very small area in Glastonbury 
 along the boundary where it touches the towns of Marlboro and He- 
 bron. According to Gregory,^ it " varies from a granitic gneiss to a 
 highly fissile schist," and '' where typically developed is a fine- 
 grained gneiss, with a relatively small amount of feldspar." 
 
 As regards their water-bearing capacity these granite gneisses and 
 the schist are essentially alike, but no supplies from them have been 
 obtained in Glastonbury. The dynamic stresses that metamorphosed 
 theni also made many fractures, which form systems of parallel, flat 
 openings. In general there is a set roughly horizontal and one or 
 
 1 Eice, W. N., and Gregory, H. E., Manual at the geology of Connecticut : Connecticut 
 Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 6, pp. 116-119, 1906. 
 
 2 Idem, p. 141. 
 
156 GEOUND WATER IF FORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, COISTIT. 
 
 more about at right angles to it. Rain water which has soaked into 
 the overlying unconsolidated soil in part finds its v^ay into the inter- 
 connecting fissures. Elsewhere in the State wells drilled into similar 
 rocks obtain dependable and reasonably abundant supplies of water 
 from the fissures. Drilling into the schist or gneiss at an^^ point in 
 Glastonbury would probably yield equally satisfactory results. Small 
 amounts of water are contained in the minute lamellar openings be- 
 tween the mica flakes of the schist and the schistose phases of the 
 gneisses, but they are negligible. 
 
 Red sandstone. — The lowland portion of Glastonbury is underlain 
 by red sandstone with which are associated some red shale and con- 
 glomerate. During the Triassic period a great valley, bounded on 
 the east by a great fault, existed in central Connecticut. Into this 
 valley were washed sands, clays, and gravels that were consolidated 
 to form sandston&s, shales, and conglomerates. The beds were origi- 
 nally flat-lying but continued faulting along the eastern border 
 tilted them to the east. At the same time jarring and crushing 
 opened many joints and made new fractures in the rocks. Water is 
 carried in them in the same way as in the fissures in the gneiss and 
 schist. Two drilled wells which presumably obtain their water in 
 this way were visited in Glastonbury. There may be porous zones 
 in the sandstone and conglomerate which carry considerable amounts 
 of water, but none have been recognized. 
 
 Till. — ^The bedrock of the higher parts of Glastonbury, exj^ept the 
 areas of actual rock outcrop, is mantled with till, the product of 
 direct glacial deposition. It forms a layer ranging in thickness from 
 a few feet to 50 feet, and comprises all the debris plucked and ground 
 beneath the ice sheet. In a matrix of fine rock flour, clay, silt, and 
 sand larger fragments are embedded. Because of the intimate mix- 
 ture of particles of irregular shapes and the packing of the smaller 
 into the interstices between the larger by the great weight of the ice, 
 the till forms a dense tough mass and has moderate porosity and 
 permeability. Water which has fallen as rain is in part absorbed 
 by the till and slowly transmitted by gravity. Below a certain depth, 
 which differs from place to place and from time to time, the minute 
 pores of the till are saturated with water, which may be recovered 
 by means of dug wells. In general it is advisable to dig the well to 
 bedrock, as the zone immediately above the bedrock is the most thor- 
 oughly saturated and therefore yields the best supplies. In some 
 places this is impossible, but wells which extend below the lowest 
 level reached by the top of the saturated zone during droughts are 
 reasonably certain to procure constant supplies of water sufficient 
 for ordinary domestic and farm needs. In iVugust, 1916, measure- 
 ments were made of 42 wells dug in till in Glastonbury. Of these 
 wells 11 were said never to fail and 15 were said to fail, but the re- 
 
GLASTONBUKY. 
 
 157 
 
 liability of the other IC was not ascertained. The data concerning 
 the depths of the 42 wells are summarized in the followinjji: table: 
 
 ,Si(»n)uir!/ u( irclls diKj in till in (il<isto)ihni-y. 
 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 water. 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water in 
 
 well. 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Feet. 
 42.4 
 10.4 
 21.0 
 
 Feet. 
 
 32.9 
 
 5.3 
 
 16.9 
 
 Fat. 
 7.5 
 
 Minimum 
 
 1.8 
 
 Average 
 
 4.1 
 
 
 
 
 Stratified drift. — The mp^ntle rock of the lower parts of Glaston- 
 bury is stratified drift. The boundary between it and the till is in 
 general about 200 feet above sea level but is higher in the valleys to 
 the east. East of East Glastonburj^ there is a knoll of stratified 
 drift which has an elevation of 520 feet. Stratified drift is not the 
 j)roduct of direct glacial deposition, as is the till, but was laid down 
 by water derived in large part from the melting of the ice. Many 
 etream.s issued from the receding glacier and bore much debris, 
 which the}^ dropped near the ice front, forming broad glacial-out- 
 wash plains in the broad valleys and narrower plains and terraces in 
 the smaller valleys. The stratified drift consists for the niost part 
 of the constituents of the till and debris carried from the glacier. 
 These materials have been sorted according to size, thoroughly 
 washed, and finally laid down in separate beds and lenses. Inasmuch 
 as the finer particles have been removed from the interstices between 
 the larger ones, and the grains themselves worn from subangular to 
 well-rounded shapes, the stratified drift is both higher in total 
 porosity and of greater perviousness than the till. It absorbs water 
 more quickly and in larger amounts and transmits it more readily. 
 Wells dug in stratified drift procure water in the same way as wells 
 in till but on a more generous scale. The supplies are in general 
 more reliable, unless the well in stratified drift is so situated that 
 the ground water may drain from it readily. Measurements were 
 made of 42 wells dug in stratified drift in Glastonbury. Of these 
 wells 30 were said never to fail and 6 to fail; the reliability of the 
 other 6 was not ascertained. The following table summarizes the 
 data collected concerning the depths of these 42 wells: 
 
 Huminarv of icelU diift in stratified drift in Glastonbury. 
 
 Maximum 
 Minimum 
 Average.. 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Feet. 
 32.9 
 5.6 
 17.4 
 
 Depth to 
 water. 
 
 Feet. 
 23.7 
 1.0 
 10.5 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water in 
 
 well. 
 
 Feet. 
 15.9 
 1.2 
 6.9 
 
158 GEOU]:TD WATER IF NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, COIsTN. 
 
 It is said by the residents that on the knoll of stratified drift east 
 of East Glastonbury it would be necessary to dig wells to a depth of 
 80 feet in order to reach the water level. This may be an excessive 
 estimate, but it is entirely reasonable to suppose that the water lies 
 at an unusually great depth at this point, as the topographic situa- 
 tion is very disadvantageous for the retention of ground water. At 
 present the people living on this knoll depend largely upon rain 
 water collected from roofs and stored in cisterns, 
 
 QUALITY OF GROUWD WATER. ' 
 
 The following table gives the results of two analyses and four 
 assays of samples of ground water collected in the town of Glaston- 
 bury. The waters are all low in mineralization except Nos. 15 and 
 2, which are moderately mineralized. No. 15 is a soft water, No. 2 
 is comparatively hard, and the rest are very soft. All are suitable 
 for domestic use, so far as this may be determ_ined by their mineral 
 (.'ontent. AH are good for boiler use except No. 2, which is rated as 
 fair because the scale-forming ingredients are a little high. All are 
 sodium-carbonate waters except No. 2, which is calcium-carbonate 
 in type. 
 
 Chemical composition and classification of ground waters in Olastonbwry.^ 
 
 [Parts per million. Collected Dec. 2, 1916; analyzed by Alfred A. Chambers and C. H. Kidwell. 
 Numbers of analyses and assays correspond to those used on PI. VI.j 
 
 Analyses. 6 
 
 15 
 
 Assays.- 
 
 59 
 
 Silica (SiOo).. 
 
 Iron (Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) '. 
 
 Magnesium (Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na-t- K) d 
 
 Carbonate radicle (COj) 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle (HCOb) 
 
 Sulphate radicle (SO4) 
 
 Chloride radicle (CI) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NOs) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 180° C. . . 
 
 Total hardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale-forming constituents (^ 
 
 Poaming constituents d 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 Probability of corrosion/ 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic use 
 
 .28 
 
 19 
 3.8 
 28 
 
 .0 
 71 
 33 
 22 
 
 1.1 
 
 174 
 
 <?63 
 
 84 
 
 76 
 
 Na-COs 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 18 
 .20 
 
 8.7 
 2.3 
 11 
 
 .0 
 37 
 13 
 .5.8 
 2.9 
 78 
 d31 
 48 
 30 
 
 Na-COs 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 0.81 
 
 Trace. 
 .0 
 
 64 
 38 
 17 
 
 (2 160 
 128 
 150 
 (e) 
 
 Ca-COs 
 (?) 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 Trace. 
 
 0.18 
 
 11 
 .0 
 
 22 
 2.0 
 5.1 
 
 19 
 
 .0 
 43 
 3.0 
 20 
 
 d55 
 6.0 
 30 
 30 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 dm 
 28 
 55 
 50 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 13 
 
 .0 
 31 
 9.0 
 
 5.6 
 
 'i74 
 16 
 
 30 
 
 Na-COs 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 a For location and other descriptive information see pp. 159-161. 
 f> For methods used in analyses and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 c Approximations; for methods used in assays and reliability of results see pp. 52-60. 
 d Computed. 
 
 e Less than 10 parts per million. 
 /Based on computed quantity; (?) = corrosion uncertain, N=noncorrosive. 
 
GLASTONBURY. 
 
 159 
 
 PUBLIC WATEU SUPPLIES. 
 
 The villages of Glastonbury and Naubuc are supplied with water by 
 the waterworks of the fire district of East Ilaitford, which have been 
 described by Ellis.^ The two reservoirs of this system, from which 
 water is distributed b}^ gravity, are on brooks in the hills of the 
 northern part of Glastonbury and have capacities of 1,700,000 and 
 1,500,000 gallons, respectively. 
 
 Since 1905 the residents of South Glastonbury have had water 
 from the South Glastonbury Water Co. There are two reservoirs on 
 Ashle}' Brook, the upper of which has a capacity of 4,000,000 gallons 
 and the lower of 500,000 gallons. Water is distributed by gravity 
 under a pressure of 60 to 100 pounds to the square inch through 1 
 miles of main pipe to 95 service connections,- 
 
 RECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 
 
 The only spring visited in Glastonbury (No. 31, PI. VI) is in a 
 swale and is improved with a large tile. Its water was found to 
 have a temx)erature of 59° F. 
 
 Wells (lug in till in Glastonbury. 
 
 No. 
 
 on 
 
 PI. VI 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 o 
 
 
 5 
 
 rt 
 
 cs-S 
 
 Xi 
 
 C3 
 
 6^-: 
 
 8° 
 
 
 o 
 
 o^ 
 
 
 "a 
 
 si 
 ft 
 
 £-5 
 
 
 
 OJ 
 
 
 K 
 
 t^ 
 
 O 
 
 Q 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 310 
 
 13.8 
 
 4.3 
 
 9.5 
 
 375 
 
 9.0 
 
 5.3 
 
 3.7 
 
 380 
 
 18.3 
 
 11.6 
 
 6.7 
 
 530 
 
 11.0 
 
 6.6 
 
 4.4 
 
 445 
 
 12.0 
 
 7.4 
 
 4.6 
 
 425 
 
 23.0 
 
 16.5 
 
 6.5 
 
 480 
 
 13.3 
 
 8.2 
 
 5.1 
 
 550 
 
 14. 5 
 
 8.1 
 
 6.4 
 
 460 
 
 17.3 
 
 11.3 
 
 6.0 
 
 465 
 
 26.9 
 
 23. 7 
 
 3.2 
 
 520 
 
 19.5 
 
 10.3 
 
 2 
 
 550 
 
 19.8 
 
 13.4 
 
 6.4 
 
 650 
 
 6.1 
 
 1.0 
 
 5.1 
 
 435 
 
 13. 3 
 
 8.6 
 
 4.7 
 
 385 
 
 14.9 
 
 10.0 
 
 4.9 
 
 455 
 
 30.3 
 
 27.0 
 
 3.3 
 
 410 
 
 19.0 
 
 13.3 
 
 5.7 
 
 425 
 
 14.7 
 
 5.4 
 
 9.3 
 
 445 
 
 25.7 
 
 10.1 
 
 15.6 
 
 630 
 
 15.8 
 
 9.4 
 
 6.4 
 
 675 
 
 5.6 
 
 1.9 
 
 3.7 
 
 580 
 
 14.1 
 
 5.7 
 
 8.4 
 
 210 
 
 15.0 
 
 13.8 
 
 1.2 
 
 260 
 
 17.4 
 
 10.0 
 
 7.4 
 
 350 
 
 16.3 
 
 11.6 
 
 4.7 
 
 375 
 
 32.9 
 
 20.5 
 
 12.4 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Herbert E. Mitchel 
 
 M. K. Tryon . 
 
 Jerome P. Weir, jr. 
 
 Peter Zimmerman. 
 
 Slope.-.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plateau . 
 Slope . . . 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plain . . . 
 Slope . . . 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plain . . . 
 Slope . . . 
 
 John Kelly. 
 
 -do. 
 -do. 
 -do. 
 -do. 
 -do. 
 -do. 
 -do. 
 
 Plain . . 
 Slope-. 
 ....do. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 No rig 
 
 Two-bucket rig-. 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Two-l)ucket rig . 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do....; 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 do 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 No rig 
 
 Windlass and 
 
 counterbalance 
 
 rig. 
 Two-bucket rig. - 
 
 No rig 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 No rig 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 ....do 
 
 House pump- 
 
 Windlass rig. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Failsjabandoned. 
 
 NonlailLng. 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Fails. Rock bot- 
 tom. For assay 
 see p. 158. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 1 Gregory, H. E., and Ellis, A. J., Ground water in the Hartford, Stamford, Salisbury, 
 Willimantic, and Saybix>ok areas. Conn. : U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 374, 
 p. 71, 1916. 
 
 = Connecticut Public Utilities Comm. Rept., 1917. ' 
 
160 GKOUND WATEE IN NOR WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 Wells dug in till in Glaslonbunj^Continued. 
 
 No. 
 
 on 
 
 1. VI. 
 
 Owner 
 
 Eugene Loveland. 
 
 B. Zola . 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 Slope. . 
 ...fdo. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Hill 
 
 Terrace . 
 Plain... 
 Plateau . 
 Hilltop . 
 
 do.. 
 
 Slope . . . 
 do.. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 <u 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 "r^ 
 
 OS'S 
 
 ,4 
 ft 
 
 c 
 
 
 ^ :o 
 
 o3 
 
 'p^ 
 
 p, 
 
 
 O 
 
 
 
 " 
 
 ^^ 
 
 a 
 
 p 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 410 
 
 19.0 
 
 8.5 
 
 1U.5 
 
 470 
 
 19.1 
 
 13.9 
 
 5.2 
 
 475 
 
 9.7 
 
 7.2 
 
 2.6 
 
 400 
 
 11.5 
 
 6.7 
 
 4.8 
 
 420 
 
 24.3 
 
 15.3 
 
 9.0 
 
 410 
 
 19.0 
 
 11.7 
 
 7.3 
 
 490 
 
 19.8 
 
 8.4 
 
 11.4 
 
 470 
 
 18.9 
 
 14.3 
 
 4.6 
 
 725 
 
 17.7 
 
 13.1 
 
 4.6 
 
 680 
 
 18.5 
 
 15. 5 
 
 3.0 
 
 710 
 
 9.2 
 
 7.8 
 
 1.4 
 
 730 
 
 18.3 
 
 7.5 
 
 10.8 
 
 8S5 
 
 15.4 
 
 10.9 
 
 4.5 
 
 885 
 
 11.0 
 
 6,2 
 
 4.8 
 
 910 
 
 21.9 
 
 1.5.9 
 
 6.0 
 
 890 
 
 26.4 
 
 13.8 
 
 12.6 
 
 Ris 
 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 
 do 
 
 House pump... 
 Windlas.s rig . . . 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 Windlass rig . T . 
 Chain pump... 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 
 do 
 
 No rig 
 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 
 do.. 
 
 Two-bucket rig- 
 Windlass rig . 1 . 
 do...;.... 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 
 Pails. 
 NonfailLng. 
 
 Fails. 
 Nonlailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
 Yy^ells dug in stratified drift in Glastonbury. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. VI. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 > 
 o 
 
 ft 
 
 0) 
 
 XS 
 
 o 
 
 a; 
 
 p 
 si 
 & 
 
 (V 
 
 a 
 
 t: . 
 
 O |5 
 ft 
 
 a> 
 P 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feel. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Fed. 
 
 25 
 
 20.5 
 
 16.6 
 
 3.9 
 
 35 
 
 10.4 
 
 7.3 
 
 3.1 
 
 25 
 
 12.0 
 
 7.7 
 
 4.3 
 
 30 
 
 13.3 
 
 10.4 
 
 2.9 
 
 35 
 
 10.5 
 
 5.8 
 
 4.7 
 
 SO 
 
 16.3 
 
 12.8 
 
 3.6 
 
 30 
 
 10.8 
 
 8.1 
 
 2.7 
 
 35 
 
 12.0 
 
 6.5 
 
 5.5 
 
 60 
 
 12.6 
 
 10.8 
 
 1.8 
 
 50 
 
 18.3 
 
 14.5 
 
 3.8 
 
 75 
 
 19.5 
 
 17.3 
 
 2.2 
 
 45 
 
 13.7 
 
 10.8 
 
 2.9 
 
 55 
 
 14.5 
 
 8.0 
 
 6.5 
 
 45 
 
 11.5 
 
 8.4 
 
 3.1 
 
 85 
 
 40.3 
 
 34.7 
 
 5.6 
 
 60 
 
 23.9 
 
 18.6 
 
 5.3 
 
 15 
 
 23.4 
 
 19.7 
 
 3.7 
 
 30 
 
 42.4 
 
 39.9 
 
 2.6 
 
 20 
 
 34.6 
 
 31.7 
 
 2.9 
 
 25 
 
 40.4 
 
 38.1 
 
 2.3 
 
 175 
 
 18.9 
 
 12.2 
 
 6.7 
 
 195 
 
 34.7 
 
 29.3 
 
 5.4 
 
 170 
 
 32.8 
 
 30.3 
 
 2.5 
 
 170 
 
 16.0 
 
 10.8 
 
 5.2 
 
 ISO 
 
 16.5 
 
 12.2 
 
 4.3 
 
 250 
 
 16.2 
 
 11.3 
 
 4.9 
 
 305 
 
 40.0 
 
 3S. 2 
 
 1.8 
 
 305 
 
 27.7 
 
 20.5 
 
 7.2 
 
 315 
 
 18.2 
 
 14.8 
 
 3.4 
 
 340 
 
 19.3 
 
 16.2 
 
 3.1 
 
 415 
 
 33.8 
 
 28.4 
 
 5.4 
 
 350 
 
 14.9 
 
 11.1 
 
 3.8 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Mr. Neusoheleir. 
 
 Plain.. 
 do. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Slope... 
 Plain . . . 
 
 do.. 
 
 Terrace. 
 
 Plain . . 
 
 do. 
 
 do. 
 
 1 Slope. 
 
 I Plain. 
 
 WiUiam Staslinger Slope. 
 
 Terrace. 
 
 Plain... 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Louis C. Tryon. . . Terrace. 
 G. A. Blinn Slope... 
 
 Mrs. L. Bacon 
 
 David R. Taylor. 
 
 George Kingston. 
 
 ao.. 
 
 Plain... 
 
 do.. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Terrace. 
 
 do.; 
 
 Slope... 
 
 Plain... 
 Terrace. 
 
 do.. 
 
 Plain... 
 
 Chain pnmp 
 
 ....do 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig . 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 ....do 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 No rig 
 
 do 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 No rig 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 Two-bucket rig.. 
 
 Chain pump 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Chain pnmp 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Pitcher pump, 
 
 horse pump, 
 
 and windlass 
 
 rig. 
 
 Deep- well pump, 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 No rig 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Nonfailing. For 
 assay see p. 158. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. Aban- 
 doned. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Nonfailing. Aban- 
 doned. 
 Abandoned. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Nonfiiling. For 
 analysis see p. 158. 
 Nonfailing, 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 NonfaiJing. For 
 analysis see p. 158. 
 NonfaiUng. 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 House destroyed. 
 
MARLBORO. 
 
 161 
 
 Wells duff in stratiflcd drift in Glastonbury — Continued. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. VI. 
 
 O^sTier. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 
 
 g 
 
 d 
 
 c8 
 
 09 
 
 % 
 
 O 
 
 ^•3 
 
 •o 
 
 j: 
 
 ■^B 
 
 
 
 
 ■S 
 
 ex 
 
 o. 
 
 O 
 
 
 <B 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 P 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 12.5 
 
 5.3 
 
 7.2 
 
 19. .5 
 
 16.4 
 
 3.1 
 
 17.5 
 
 10.0 
 
 7.5 
 
 12.7 
 
 9.2 
 
 3.5 
 
 38.6 
 
 3.5.9 
 
 2.7 
 
 18.9 
 
 12.6 
 
 6.3 
 
 15.6 
 
 13.7 
 
 1.9 
 
 23.0 
 
 17.5 
 
 5.5 
 
 14.6 
 
 12.5 
 
 2.1 
 
 18.7 
 
 14.4 
 
 4.3 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 42 
 45 
 46 
 
 48 I 
 
 50 
 
 57 Jolui Vail. 
 
 Albert L. Peck. 
 
 5g 
 
 59 'J!Vv."]3ailVy.' 
 
 Valley... 
 
 do... 
 
 Plain 
 
 do... 
 
 Terrace . . 
 do... 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 Feet. 
 400 
 4tO 
 435 
 450 
 4,50 
 260 
 
 250 
 400 
 
 390 
 380 
 
 Chain pump . . . 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 Chain pump . . . 
 Windlass rig. . . 
 Two-buclcet rig. 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 
 Two-bucket rig. 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 
 House pump . . . 
 Windlass rig . . . 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Do. 
 Nonfailing. For 
 
 assiy see p. 158. 
 Nonfailing. 
 Fails. For assay 
 
 see p.] 58. 
 NonfaiUng. 
 Fails. 
 
 Drilled wells in Glastonbury. 
 
 
 
 
 a oJ 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 o a 
 
 
 b, 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 o S 
 
 
 
 
 
 S • 
 
 
 
 No. on 
 PI. VI. 
 
 Owner.. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 situation. 
 
 
 P. 
 
 1 
 
 
 5fe . 
 
 1 
 
 C8 
 
 
 Kind 
 of rock. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 
 
 
 w 
 
 ^ 
 
 O 
 
 Q 
 
 fi 
 
 >■■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 In. 
 
 Gaits. 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 Herliert E. Mitchell 
 
 Slope. .. 
 
 360 
 
 224 
 
 10 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 Sand- 
 stone. 
 
 Water flows from 
 casing. 
 
 40 
 
 M. R. Tryoa 
 
 ...do....| 430 
 
 64 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 ...do.. 
 
 
 MARLBORO. 
 
 AREA, POPULATION, AND INDUSTRIES. 
 
 Marlboro is a small highland farming town in the southeast 
 corner of Hartford County. It is 10 miles east of Middletown and 
 15 miles southeast of Hartford. The town has an area of 23 square 
 miles, of which four-fifths is wooded. The town keeps in condition 
 about 40 miles of roads, and there are in addition 7 miles of roads 
 which have been discontinued. Eventually the State trunk line be- 
 tween Hartford and New London wall run through the town. There 
 are stations of the Air Line division of the New York, New Haven & 
 Hartford Railroad at East Hampton and Lyman Viaduct. Marl- 
 boro, a rather straggling village, is the only settlement. In 1803 the 
 town was organized, about 4 square miles of territory being taken 
 from Glastonbury, 9 from Hebron, and 9 from Colchester. In 1813 
 1| square miles more was annexed from Glastonbury/ In 1910 the 
 population w^as 302, a decrease of 20 from the population in 1900. 
 This is equivalent to a density of population of 13 inhabitants to the 
 
 154444*^ 
 
 Hall, Mary, Marlboro, Conn., from 1736 to 1903, p. 34. 
 -20 11 
 
162 CtEound water iisr nor walk and other areas, conn. 
 
 square mile. Marlboro has the sraallest population of the towns in 
 the State, and only one other town has a lower density of population. 
 In general there has been a very decided decrease in population. In 
 the first half of the nineteenth century there was some manufacture 
 of cotton cloth for shipment to the South, but this ceased during the 
 Civil War and was never revived. About 1885 a mill was built for 
 the manufacture of silk, especially ribbon, and a number of work- 
 men were brought in, but this enterprise was not long lived. The 
 changes in population shown in the following table reflect the vary- 
 ing prosperity of the mills and the general tendency to move from 
 farms to manufacturing centers : 
 
 Population of Marlboro, 1810-1910.'' 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Per cent 
 change. 
 
 Year. 
 
 Popula- 
 tion. 
 
 Percent 
 change. 
 
 1810 
 
 720 
 839 
 704 
 713 
 832 
 682 
 
 
 1870 
 
 476 
 391 
 582 
 322 
 302 
 
 -30 
 
 1820 
 
 + \7 
 -16 
 -1- 1 
 + 17 
 -18 
 
 1880 
 
 -18 
 
 1830 
 
 1890 
 
 -i-49 
 
 1840 
 
 1900 
 
 —45 
 
 1850 
 
 1910 
 
 - 6 
 
 1880.. . . 
 
 
 
 
 
 a Connecticut Register and Manual, 1919, p. 639. 
 
 At present the principal industry is mixed agriculture. There is 
 also considerable charcoal burning and production of native lumber. 
 
 SURFACE features. 
 
 Marlboro lies in a thoroughlj^ dissected plateau region. The 
 hilltops range in elevation from 500 feet above sea level in the 
 south part of the town to 700 feet in the north. They are remnants 
 of a flat surface below which the streams have cut deep valleys, 
 and most of tliem are in the form of ridges elongated in a north- 
 south direction. Their direction is not dependent on the rock struc- 
 ture but is rather the result of the original direction of the streams. 
 There are several points about 720 feet above sea level, the greatest 
 elevation in Marlboro. The lowest point is where Blockledge River 
 crosses the Colchester toAvn line at an elevation of 200 feet above 
 sea level. 
 
 Dickinson Creek, Blockledge River, and Fawn Brook and their 
 tributaries drain Marlboro. They are all tributary to Salmon 
 River, which enters Connecticut River at East Haddam. 
 
 water-bearing formations. 
 
 Three types of bedrock have been recognized by Gregory ^ in 
 JSIarlboro — the Bolton schist, Maromas granite gneiss, and Hebron 
 
 * Gregory, II. E., and Robinson, H. H., Preliminary 
 Connecticut Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 1907. 
 
 geological map of Connecticut : 
 
MARLBORO. 163 
 
 pieiss. The unconsolidated mantle rocks include till and stratified 
 drift. The former is the most important source of <)fround water in 
 the town. 
 
 xSV7^isY and gneiss. — The Bolton schist underlies an area of a quarter 
 of a square mile in the west corner of Marlboro where it borders on 
 East Hampton and Glastonbury. It is a fairly typical mica schist 
 composed of granules of quartz and feldspar in large part surrounded 
 and enwrapped by flakes of mica. The mica flakes, by reason 
 of their cleavability and roughly parallel arrangement, give the 
 rock its fissile character, and they also give it a gray color with 
 something of a silvery luster. 
 
 The Maromas granite gneiss underlies a northward-striking belt 
 of country a mile wide adjoining the Bolton schist area and west of 
 Marlboro Pond. This rock is of variable character, but typically 
 it is a biotite gneiss composed essentiallj- of quartz, feldspar, and 
 biotite (black mica) wath small amounts of accessory minerals. Its 
 boundary against the Bolton schist is not sharp, for it sends stringers 
 into the schist. 
 
 The Hebron gneiss, which underlies about 85 per cent of the area 
 of the town, according to Gregory,^ '• varies from a granitic gneiss to 
 highly fissile schist."" On one side it grades into a true gneiss and 
 on the other into schists. 
 
 These rocks are to all intents and purposes alike as far as their 
 ability to carry water is concerned. The stresses which metamor- 
 phosed them also made many cracks and joints. Water which falls 
 as rain is in part absorbed by the overlying unconsolidated till and 
 stratified drift. Some of this water is slowly transmitted to the net- 
 work of interconnecting joints, through which it circulates under 
 gravity, and it may be recovered by means of drilled wells. A hole 
 drilled into these rocks at anj^ point will probably cut one or more 
 of these water-bearing fissures and so procure a supply of water 
 adequate in abundance and reliability for ordinary domestic and 
 farm needs. 
 
 Till, — Till overlies the bedrock of Marlboro, except for the numer- 
 ous small areas of actual rock outcrop and an area of stratified drift 
 in a valley northwest of Marlboro Pond. (See map, PL YII.) It 
 forms a mantle that is in general 10 to 40 feet thick and is. com- 
 posed of all the debris plucked and ground along beneath the ice. 
 Pebbles, cobbles, and boulders of great and small size are embedded 
 in a matrix of tightl}- packed sand, silt, clay, and fine rock flour. 
 The constituent particles are in large part angular, so that they inter- 
 lock and bind one another together. Much of the till is in conse- 
 quence very dense and tough, as is indicated by the name " hardpan " 
 
 * Rice, W. N., and Gregory. H. E., Manual of the geology of Connecticut : Connecticut 
 Oeol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 6, p. 141, 1906. 
 
164 GROUND WATER* IN NOR WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 that is often applied to it. It has a moderate porosity and is able 
 to absorb and transmit considerable water. The water is most 
 abundant in the zone immediately overlying the bedrock and in a few 
 widely scattered lenses of partly washed and roughly stratified ma- 
 terial within the till. Wells dug into the till to a depth below the 
 lowest level reached by the top of the saturated zone in times of 
 drought will procure satisfactory supplies of water. Measurements 
 were made of 31 such wells in Marlboro in September, 1916. Of 
 these wells 19 were said to be nonf ailing and 7 were said to fail ; the 
 reliability of the remaining 5 wells was not ascertained. The fol- 
 lowing table summarizes the data collected concerning the depths 
 of these 31 wells : 
 
 Summary of roells dug in till in MarJhoro. 
 
 Maximum 
 
 Minimum . 
 Average. . 
 
 Total 
 depth. 
 
 Depth to 
 water. 
 
 Feet. 
 29.2 
 8.7 
 15.7 
 
 . Feet. 
 21.5 
 4.1 
 
 in. 7 
 
 i 
 
 Depth of 
 
 water in 
 
 well. 
 
 Feet. 
 16.8 
 1.6 
 5.0 
 
 QUALITY OF GROUND WATER. 
 
 The accompanying table gives the results of two analyses and three 
 assays of samples of ground water collected in the town of Marlboro. 
 The waters are low in mineral content, except Nos. 19 and 26, which 
 are moderately mineralized. Nos. 12 and 27 are very soft, Xo. 23 
 is soft, and Nos. 19 and 26 are comparatively hard. All are accept- 
 able for domestic use in so far as this may be determined by a chem- 
 ical investigation of their mineral content. Nos. 12 and 27 are suit- 
 able for boiler use, but the other three are rated fair for boiler use be- 
 cause they contain considerable amounts of scale-forming ingredi- 
 ents. No. 19, moreover, is liable to cause a little trouble by foaming. 
 Nos. 12 and 27 are sodium-carbonate waters : Nos. 23 and 26 ai'e cal- 
 cium-carbonate in type; and No. 19 is classed as a sodium-chloride 
 water. 
 
MARLBORO. 
 
 166 
 
 Vhcuiiftrl roiti position and rla-^sification of [rround xntcrs in Marlboro.'^ 
 
 [Parts per million. Collected Dec. 5, 1916; analyzed by Alfred A. Chambers and V. FT. Kidwell. 
 Numbers of analyses and assays correspond to those used on Pi. VI.] 
 
 SlUca (SiOs) 
 
 Iron(Fe) 
 
 Calcium (Ca) 
 
 Magnesium (Mg) 
 
 Sodium and potassium (Na+K)<l 
 
 Carhouatc radicle (CO3) 
 
 Bicarbonate radicle (HCO3) 
 
 Sulphate radicle (SO,) 
 
 Chloride radicle (CI) 
 
 Nitrate radicle (NO3) 
 
 Total dissolved solids at 180° C . . . 
 
 Tola 1 hardness as CaCOs 
 
 Scale-forming constituents d 
 
 Foaming constituents d 
 
 Chemical character 
 
 Probability of corrosion/ 
 
 Quality for boiler use 
 
 Quality for domestic use 
 
 Analyses, fc 
 
 19 
 
 .42 
 4.9 
 2.5 
 13 
 
 .0 
 27 
 19 
 4.8 
 3.1 
 78 
 d22 
 38 
 3.5 
 
 Na-C03 
 (?) 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 22 
 
 .10 
 3.6 
 1.6 
 
 9.8 
 .0 
 29 
 4.8 
 5.2 ■ 
 .94 
 60 
 die 
 35 
 26 
 
 Na-COa 
 N 
 
 Good. 
 Good. 
 
 Assays. c 
 
 72 
 
 79' 
 
 43 
 
 133 
 
 d370 
 153 
 
 18(1 
 190 
 
 Na-Cl 
 (?) 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 0.16 
 
 .0 
 
 S.O 
 18 
 
 100 
 10 
 
 Ca-COs 
 
 Fair. 
 ' Jood. 
 
 " For looadon and other descriptive information see p. 166. 
 
 b For methods used in analyses and accuracy of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 c Approximations; for methods used in assays and reliability of results see pp. 52-60. 
 
 <J Computed. 
 
 eLess than 10 parts per million. 
 
 /Based on computed quantity; (?) = corrosion uncertain, N=noncorrosive. 
 
 RECORDS OF WELLS AND SPRINGS. 
 
 0.07 
 
 Trace 
 .0 
 91 
 18 
 16 
 
 1JI6O 
 117 
 
 140 
 («) 
 
 Ca^O., 
 (?) 
 Fair. 
 Good. 
 
 The only spring visited in Marlboro (No. 9, PL VI) i.-, so situated 
 on a slope that the water is brought to the surface by a ledge of 
 bedrock. It yields about half a gallon a minute. 
 
166 GROUND WATER IN NOR WALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. 
 
 Dug wells in Marlhoro. 
 
 No. on 
 PI. VI. 
 
 Owner. 
 
 Louis Krumholtz. 
 
 H. G. Austin- 
 
 Herman Dermler. 
 
 ...do... 
 
 Ridge. . 
 
 Slope. . . 
 ...do. . . 
 
 Plateau 
 
 Slope. . . 
 L. L. Buell :...do... 
 
 R. Hurowitz. 
 
 Topo- 
 graphic 
 position. 
 
 Slope. . . 
 ...do.. .'. 
 Plain. . . 
 Slope. . . 
 Ridge. . . 
 Slope. . . 
 
 ...do 
 
 Low hill 
 Slope. . . . 
 Swale... 
 Slope. . . 
 
 ■^-; 
 a > 
 ■■2 es 
 
 3 
 
 Robbins . 
 
 E. E. Hall. 
 
 Methodist Church . . 
 
 Mrs. A. R. Gray.. 
 B.S. Lord 
 
 Plateau 
 Slope. . , 
 ...do.... 
 
 Plateau . 
 
 Slope. 
 ...do.. 
 ...do.. 
 
 .do. 
 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 .do. 
 
 Feet. 
 S?0 
 570 
 420 
 410 
 480 
 610 
 410 
 410 
 510 
 590 
 410 
 
 430 
 485 
 440 
 495 
 550 
 450 
 665 
 
 650 
 600 
 550 
 
 550 
 410 
 500 
 
 420 
 400 
 390 
 380 
 400 
 
 Feet. 
 16.7 
 27.1 
 16.1 
 16.5 
 20.4 
 21.6 
 18.4 
 18.4 
 17.4 
 8.7 
 17.3 
 
 15.1 
 15.2 
 10.3 
 10.6 
 13.0 
 14.1 
 15.8 
 
 12.2 
 12.8 
 22.1 
 
 13.8 
 14.6 
 15.3 
 
 10.7 
 
 9.4 
 29.2 
 10.4 
 17.6 
 14.0 
 
 Feet. 
 
 5.2 
 10.3 
 11.2 
 14.3 
 13.8 
 16.4 
 15.9 
 15.5 
 13.1 
 
 2.8 
 15.1 
 
 12.0 
 8.7 
 7.0 
 9.7 
 
 11.3 
 6.4 
 
 5.3 
 9.0 
 16.3 
 
 9.3 
 9.0 
 12.5 
 
 6.5 
 21.5 
 
 6.4 
 12.6 
 11.1 
 
 ^S 
 
 Feet. 
 11.5 
 16.8 
 4.9 
 2.2 
 6.6 
 5.2 
 2.5 
 2.9 
 4.3 
 5.9 
 2.2 
 
 5.2 
 3.2 
 1.6 
 3.6 
 3.3 
 2. ,8 
 9.4 
 
 3.8 
 5.8 
 
 4.5 
 5.6 
 2.8 
 
 2.9 
 7.7 
 4.0 
 5.0 
 2.9 
 
 Rig. 
 
 Sweep ng 
 
 One-bucket rig. 
 
 Sweep rig 
 
 Chain pump. .. 
 Windlass rig. . . 
 
 Sweep rigi 
 
 Windlass ng. . . 
 
 do 
 
 do 
 
 No rig 
 
 Chain pump. . . 
 
 Windlass rig.. 
 One-bucket rig 
 Windlass rig. . 
 Chain pump . . 
 Windlass rig. . 
 House pump.. 
 Chain pump... 
 
 House pump . . . 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 Windlass o n 
 counterbal- 
 ance rig. 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 do 
 
 Chain pump . . . 
 Air-pressure sys- 
 tem. 
 
 Remarks. 
 
 Gra-saty system 
 
 Two-bucket rig. . 
 
 Windlass rig 
 
 No rig 
 
 Chain pump . . . . 
 Windlass rig 
 
 and house 
 
 pump. 
 
 Abandoned. 
 Nonf ailing. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Fails. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Nonf ailing. 
 
 Nonfailing. Water 
 from till. For an- 
 alysis see p. 105 
 
 Fails. Rockbottom. 
 Do. 
 
 Fails. 
 Do. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 Do. 
 
 NonfaiUng. In rock 
 11 feet. Water 
 from gneiss. For 
 assay see p. 165. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Fails. Water from 
 till. For assay 
 see p. 165. 
 
 Nonfailing. 
 
 Nonfailing. Water 
 from till. For 
 assay see p. 165. 
 
 Nonfailing. Water 
 from till. For an- 
 alysis see p. 105. 
 
 NonfaiUng. 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 Do. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. rase. 
 
 Acknowledgnipnts for aid 10 
 
 Addison, location of 15;i 
 
 Air pip^suif system, oppration of 40 
 
 Algae, control of, in re><ervoirs 49 
 
 Aiial.v>;ps, mechanical, of stratified 
 
 drift 2.-'. 
 
 Analyses and assays of ground waters, 
 
 accuracy of 55-56 
 
 averages of 62-64 
 
 interpretation of 57—60 
 
 methods and results of 52-64, 
 
 89. 101. 108. 114. 122, 129, 
 136. 145. 151, 158, 165 
 
 Area of towns in the areas 16 
 
 .s'ec also under the sneral towns. 
 
 Areas examined, locations of 9 
 
 Artesian wells, possibilities of 32-34 
 
 example of 127 
 
 Assays of ground waters, usefulness 
 
 of 56 
 
 B. 
 
 Bald Hill Street. Wilton, location of- 118 
 
 Bedrock, water In 28-29,29-30,31.32 
 
 See fl/.so water-bearing forma- 
 tions under the several 
 towns. 
 Bennetts Bridge, run-off of Pom- 
 
 peraug River at 14 
 
 Birch Mountain, Glastonbury, height 
 
 of 154 
 
 Boiler use. suitaliility of ground 
 
 watern for 57-59 
 
 Branchville. location of 95. 118 
 
 r.rown re.'iervoir. Lewisboro. N. Y., 
 location and capacity 
 
 of 90 
 
 P-ucket ri.ffs for wells, kinds of 35-36 
 
 Buckingham, location of 153 
 
 C. 
 
 ("annondalc. location of 118 
 
 Cn rlion dioxide, corrosion of lead 
 
 pipes l)y 51 
 
 removal of. from public water 
 
 supplies 49 
 
 Chambers, Alfred A., analyses of 
 
 ground waters by 52-64, 
 
 71, 80, 89, 101, 108. 114. 122. 
 129. 136. 145, 151, 158, 165 
 Chain p\iiiips. kinds and construc- 
 tion of 37-38 
 
 Chemical character of ground waters. 
 
 determination of 56 
 
 Page. 
 (Miloride, contamination indicated 
 
 by 60-61 
 
 normal amounts of 6(>-l)l 
 
 Climate of the areas 11-12 
 
 Conglomerate, occurrence of 27-28 
 
 Connecticut, map of, showing areas 
 covered by water-sup- 
 ply papers 8 
 
 Connecticut River, areas drained hy_ 127, 
 133, 142, 150,154. 162 
 
 change in course of 133 
 
 Contamination of ground waters, de- 
 tection and prevention 
 
 of 60-62 
 
 Cranberry, location of 84 
 
 Croton River, run-off of 15 
 
 D. 
 
 Darlen. area, population and indiis- 
 
 tries of 16. 66-67 
 
 drainage of 67 
 
 estuary in, plate showing 66 
 
 ground water in. luality of 70-71 
 
 plant of the Tokeneke Water Co. 
 
 in. plate showing 72 
 
 public water supplies of 71-72 
 
 stratified drift in. plate show- 
 ing 66 
 
 surface features of 67 
 
 water-bearing formations in 67-70 
 
 wells in. records of 68. 70. 72-74 
 
 Data., sources and nature of 9-10 
 
 Davis. W. M.. cited 141 
 
 Deep-well pump, construction of 36-37 
 
 Dewey. J. S.. well of. Inflow into 41-4:2 
 
 Domestic use. suitability of ground 
 
 waters for 59-60 
 
 Drainage of the areas 12-15 
 
 f^ee also under the several towns. 
 Drift, stratified, differences from 
 
 till 24 
 
 Stratified, exposure of, in Da- 
 
 rieii, plate showing 66 
 
 exposure of, in Thonipson- 
 
 vlUe, plates showing 134 
 
 nature of 22-24 
 
 plain surfaced with, in East 
 Granby, plate show- 
 ing 72 
 
 yielding of water by 26-27 
 
 See aiso water-bearing forma- 
 tions under the several 
 towns. 
 
 167 
 
168 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 B. Page. 
 East Glastonbury, massive granite 
 gneiss in, plate show- 
 ing 154 
 
 East Granby, area and population 
 
 of 16, 124-125 
 
 drainage of 127 
 
 flowing well in, plate showing — 126 
 geology and surface features 
 
 of : 125-127 
 
 ground water in, quality of 129 
 
 stratified-drift plain in, plate 
 
 showing 72 
 
 water-bearing formations in 127-129 
 
 wells in, records of 128, 129, 130 
 
 East Hartford water works, service 
 
 in Glastonbury by 159 
 
 East Norwalk, public water supply 
 
 of 90 
 
 Enfield, area, population, and indus- 
 tries of 16. 131-132 
 
 drainage of 133 
 
 geology and surface features 
 
 of 132-133 
 
 ground water in, quality of 136 
 
 public water supplies of 136-137 
 
 springs in, records of 139 
 
 stratified drift in, plates show- 
 ing 134 
 
 water bearing formations in — 133-136 
 wells in, records of__ 134, 135, 137-139 
 
 Enfield Canal, power from 148-149 
 
 Eskers, occurrence of 24 
 
 Estuary in Darien, plate showing 66 
 
 F. 
 
 Farmington River, areas drained 
 
 by 127, 142, 150 
 
 Filter galleries. See Infiltration gal- 
 leries. 
 
 Filtration plant of South Norwalk 
 waterworks, operation 
 of—: 91 
 
 PIvemlle River, areas drained by 67, 85 
 
 course of 83, 85 
 
 G. 
 
 Gaylordsvllle, precipitation and run- 
 off in Housatonic drain- 
 age basin above 15 
 
 Geologic history of Connecticut 17-19, 
 
 141-142 
 
 Georgetown, location of 118 
 
 Glaciation, effects of 19 
 
 Glastonbury, area, population, and 
 
 industries of 16, 152-153 
 
 drainage of 154 
 
 ground water in, quality of 158 
 
 public water .supplies of 159 
 
 surface features of 153-154 
 
 water-bearing formations in 154-158 
 
 wells and springs in, records 
 
 of 156-157. 159-161 
 
 Page. 
 Glastonbury area, geologic map 
 
 of In pocket. 
 
 topography of 10-11 
 
 map showing In pocket. 
 
 woodlands of 16 
 
 Gneiss, massive, exposure of, in East 
 Glastonbury, plate 
 
 showing 154 
 
 origin and distribution of 30-31 
 
 See also water-bearing forma- 
 tions under the seiJ- 
 eral towns. 
 
 Gravity, conduction of water by 39 
 
 Greenfield, Mass., ground-water plant 
 
 at 50 
 
 Gregory, Herbert E., investigations 
 
 by 8-9 
 
 Rice, W. N.. and, cited 18, 
 
 27-28, 77, 155 
 
 Griffin, I. H., flowing well of 127 
 
 Ground waters, classification of 56—60 
 
 occurrence and circulation of — 24—27 
 Grupe reservoir. New Canaan, loca- 
 tion and capacity of 90 
 
 H. 
 
 Hardness of ground waters, deter- 
 mination of 57 
 
 Hartford, monthly precipitation at — 12 
 
 Hazardville, location of 131 
 
 Hopewell, location of 153 
 
 Housatonic drainage basin, precipi- 
 tation and run-off in, 
 
 above Gaylordsville 15 
 
 Huckleberry reservoir. Wilton, loca- 
 tion and capacity of 91 
 
 Hurlbutt Street, Wilton, location of_ 118 
 Hyde Park, Mass., ground-ivater 
 
 plant at 50 
 
 I. 
 
 Infiltration galleries, ari-angement 
 
 and use of 43, 50 
 
 Inflow into wells, tests on 41-43 
 
 Iron, removal of, from public water 
 
 supplies 49 
 
 Irrigation, wells for 38-39 
 
 J. 
 
 Joints, occurrence and spacing of_ 29, 31-32 
 
 K. 
 
 Kames, occurrence of 24 
 
 Kettle holes, occurrence of 24 
 
 Kidwell. C. H., analyses of ground 
 
 waters by 52-64, 
 
 71, 80, 89, 101, 108, 114, 122, 
 129, 136, 145, 151, 158, 165 
 
 L. 
 
 Limestone, ground water in 32 
 
 nature and distribution of 32, 98 
 
INDEX. 
 
 169 
 
 Page. 
 T,<iw<'ll. Mass., sfound-watfr phints 
 
 at 50-5:i 
 
 Lyon I'laiii. location <if in4-lvl5 
 
 M. 
 
 MaiiKanesie. rpmoval of. from public 
 
 wat»M' supplies 49 
 
 Mauitick Mountaiu, SuflSeld, struc- 
 ture of 141 
 
 Map, .sreolnjcic. of the GlaslonhHry 
 
 area In pocl?et. 
 
 seolojflc. of the Norwalk area 
 
 In pocket. 
 
 of the SuflSeld area In pocket. 
 
 topographic, of Connecticut, 
 showing areas covei'ert 
 by water - supply pa- 
 pers S 
 
 of the Olastonbiiry nrea 
 
 In pocket. 
 
 ' of the Norwalk area In pocket. 
 
 of the Suffleld area In pocket. 
 
 Marlboro, area and population of 16, 
 
 161-162 
 
 ground water in. quality of 164-165 
 
 surface features of 162 
 
 water-bearing formations in — 162-164 
 
 wells in. reeoi'ls of 164, 165-166 
 
 Metal-bucket pump, construction of — 37. 38 
 Middletown, monthly precipitation 
 
 at 12 
 
 Mill River, area drained by 97 
 
 Mineralization of ground waters, de- 
 termination of 57 
 
 Mud Brook, area drained by 111 
 
 drowned valley of 110 
 
 N. 
 
 Naubuc. location of 153 
 
 Newburyport, Mass.. ground-water 
 
 plant It 52 
 
 New Canaan, area, population, aod 
 
 industries of 16. 74-76 
 
 ground water in, quality of SO 
 
 public water supply in Si 
 
 surface features of 76 
 
 water-bearing formations in 76-80 
 
 wells and springs in, records 
 
 of 81-83 
 
 Newton. Mass.. ground-water plant 
 
 at 52 
 
 Nitrates, contamination indicated 
 
 by 61 
 
 Noioton River, area drained by 67 
 
 Northern Connecticut Light & Power 
 
 Co.. service of 145 
 
 Northfield. location of 104 
 
 North Wilton reservoir, location and 
 
 <apacity of 91, 119 
 
 Nr>rw:ilk. area, population, and indus- 
 tries of 16. 88-85 
 
 ground water in, quality of 80 
 
 public water supply of 9(1 
 
 Page. 
 
 Norwalk, monthly precipitation at 12 
 
 surface features of 85-86 
 
 water-bearing formations in .S6-S!) 
 
 wells in, records of 92-04 
 
 Noi'walk area, geologic map of__ In pocket. 
 
 topography of 10 
 
 map showing In pocket. 
 
 woodlands of 15-16 
 
 Norwalk River, areas drained by_ 96-07, 
 
 105. 119 
 features of 83, 85-86 
 
 P. 
 
 Peak Mountain, structure of 140, 141 
 
 Pine Mountain, Ridgefield, height 
 
 of 10 
 
 Pitcher-pump, construction of 36-37 
 
 Plaiuville, gTOund-water plant at 52 
 
 Pomperaug River, run-off of, at Ben- 
 netts Briilge 14 
 
 Population of Connecticut, distribu- 
 tion of 7 
 
 of the areas by towns 16 
 
 Sep also under the several towns. 
 
 Precipitation in the areas 11-12 
 
 Problems relating to water supplies, 
 
 nature of 7-8 
 
 Pump, centrifugal, construction and 
 
 use of 39 
 
 Pumps for dug wells, kinds of 36-41 
 
 Purification of public water supplies, 
 
 means of 49 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quality of ground water, tests of 52-64 
 
 R. 
 
 Rainfall. See Precipitation. 
 Ram, hydraulic, installation and ef- 
 ficiency of 39-40 
 
 Recovery of J. S. Dewey's well, test 
 
 on 41-42 
 
 Rice, W. N., and Gregory. H. E., 
 
 cited 18. 27-28, 77. 155 
 
 Rldgebury, location of 95 
 
 Ridgefield, area, population, and in- 
 dustries of 16,94-95 
 
 drainage of 96-97 
 
 ground water in, quality of 100-101 
 
 public water supply of 101-102 
 
 springs in, records of 103 
 
 surface features of 95-97 
 
 water-bearing formations in__ 97-100 
 wells in, records of— 99, 100, 102-103 
 
 Rocks, crystalline, distribution of 30 
 
 crystalline, gi-ound water in 31-32 
 
 lithology of 30-31 
 
 Rowayton, location of 84 
 
 Runoff from various drainage l)asins 
 in Connecticut and ad- 
 Joining States 14-15 
 
 Russell, H. L.. Turneaure, F. B., 
 
 and, cited 43 
 
170 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 S. 
 
 Page. 
 
 Saiulstoue, occurrence of 27—28, 
 
 127, 133-134, 141, 142, 150 
 
 Sasco Brook, area drained by 111 
 
 Saugatnck, location of 110 
 
 Saugatuck River, areas drained 
 
 by 96, 105, 111, 119 
 
 Scantic River, area drained by 133 
 
 cutting of valley by 133 
 
 Schists, origin and distribution of — 30 
 
 >vpe also water-bearing forma- 
 tions under the several 
 towns. 
 
 Scitico, location of 131 
 
 Scott reservoir, Lewisboro, N. Y., 
 location and capacity 
 
 of 90 
 
 Sea water, contamination Isy 60 
 
 Sfev/age, contamination by 60, 61 
 
 Siiaker Station, location of 131 
 
 Shale, occurrence of 27—28 
 
 Siivermine reservoir, Wilton, loca- 
 tion and capacity of- 90, 119 
 Siivermine River, areas drained by_ 97, 119 
 
 reservoirs on 90 
 
 Siphon, conduction of water by 39 
 
 South Noi-walk, filtering plant of 91 
 
 public water supplies of 90-92 
 
 Spoonville, location of 125 
 
 Springs, development of 46-47 
 
 kinds of 34-35 
 
 records of— 83, 103, 130, 146, 159, 165 
 
 Still River, area drained by 96 
 
 Stony Brook, Darien, area drained 
 
 by 67 
 
 Norwalk and Westport, course 
 
 of 86,111 
 
 Suffield, area and population of_ 16, 139—140 
 geology and surface features 
 
 of 140-142 
 
 ground water in, quality of__ 144-145 
 
 public water supplies of 145 
 
 water-bearing formations in_ 142-144 
 wells in, records of— 143, 144, 146-148 
 
 SulHeld area, geologic map of In pocket. 
 
 topography of 10 
 
 map showing In pocket. 
 
 woodlands of 16 
 
 Surface waters of the areas 12—15 
 
 T. 
 
 Tanks, seasonal difficulties with 40-41 
 
 Tariffville, location of 125 
 
 offset trap ridges near, plate 
 
 showing 126 
 
 Temperature of ground water, varia- 
 tions in 64-65 
 
 Thompsonville, location of 131 
 
 stratified drift at, plates show- 
 ing 134 
 
 Till, differences of, from stratified 
 
 drift 24 
 
 nature of 20-21, 22 
 
 Page. 
 
 Till, water in, capacity for 21-22 
 
 yielding of 26-27 
 
 t<ee also water-bearing forma- 
 tions under the several 
 • towns. 
 
 Titicus, location of 95 
 
 Titicus River, area drained by 97 
 
 Tokeneke Water Co., of Darien, 
 plant of, plate show- 
 ing 72 
 
 Topography of the areas 10-11 
 
 Ti'ap rocks, ground water in . 29-30 
 
 nature and distribution of 29, 127 
 
 offset ridges of, near Tariffville, 
 
 plate showing 126 
 
 Triasslc sedimentary rocks, distribu- 
 tion of 27 
 
 ground water in 28-29 
 
 lithology and stratigraphy of 27-28 
 
 Turneaure, F. B., and Russell, H. L., 
 
 cited 43 
 
 U. 
 
 Uses for water in the areas sur- 
 veyed 7 
 
 V. 
 
 Valley Forge, location of 105 
 
 W. 
 
 Waccabuc River, area drained by 97 
 
 Water-bearing formations, classes 
 
 of 20-21 
 
 Water supply, public, advantages of 
 
 ground water for_^ 47 
 
 public, ground-water plants for, 
 
 descriptions of 50-52 
 
 ground-water plants for, in- 
 stallation and manage- 
 ment of 47-49 
 
 Water-supply papers, map of Con- 
 necticut showing areas 
 
 covered by 8 
 
 Water table, fluctuation of 25-26 
 
 Well, flowing, in Bast Granby, de- 
 scription of 127 
 
 flowing, plate showing 126 
 
 Wells, artesian, possibilities of 32-34 
 
 drilled, construction and equip- 
 ment of 44-45 
 
 success of 45-46 
 
 driven, construction and use of_ 43-44 
 
 dug, construction of 35 
 
 lifting devices for 35—41 
 
 yield of 41-43 
 
 for irrigation, construction and 
 
 equipment of 38-39 
 
 sanitary relations of 36, 38, 39 
 
 surface protection for 62 
 
 Westfleld River, area drained by 142 
 
 West Norwalk, location of 84 
 
 Weston, area and population of 16, 
 
 104-105 
 ground water in, quality of 107-108 
 
INDEX. 
 
 171 
 
 Page. 
 
 Weston, surface foaturcs of 105 
 
 wati'V-bi'iiring formations in 105-107 
 
 wplls ill. r.'cords of 107, 108-10!) 
 
 Wostport. area, population, and in- 
 dustries of 100-110 
 
 .urouiid water in, quality of__ 113-114 
 
 puMic water supplies of 114-115 
 
 surface features of 110-111 
 
 ■water hearing formations in__ 111-ll.S 
 wells in, records of-_ 112. U.S. 115-117 
 
 Wilton, area and population of_ 16, 1 17-118 
 
 ground water in, quality of 122 
 
 surface features of 118-119 
 
 water-bearing formations in 119-121 
 
 wells in. records of 121, 122-124 
 
 Wilton reservoir, Wilton, location 
 
 and capacity of 90—91 
 
 Page. 
 Windmill, use of 40 
 
 Windsor I>ooks, area, population, and 
 
 industries of 16,148 149 
 
 drainage of 150 
 
 ground water in, quality of 151 
 
 public water supply in 152 
 
 surface features of 149-150 
 
 water-bearing formations of_- 150-151 
 
 wells in, records of 151, 152 
 
 Winnipauk. location of 84 
 
 Woodlands of the areas l.'S-IO 
 
 Src aUo the .irrrral towvs. 
 
 Y. 
 
 Yield of wells, tests on 
 
 ._ 41-43 
 
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 MAI' OF SUUFACE DEPOSITS OF THE NOEWALK AREA, CONNECTICUT 
 
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 i-'-.^'m 
 
V. S. GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY 
 
 WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 470 PLATE IV 
 
 se from U. S. Geological Survey 
 topographic maps 
 
 TOPOGRAPHIC MAP OF THE SUFFIELD AREA, CONNECTICUT 
 
 Showing distribution of woodland and location of wells and springs cited 
 
 Locations of woodlands, springs, and wells 
 by H. S. Palmer 
 
wm ) 
 
 ill 
 
7 
 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 470 PLATE V 
 
 Connect fcTj-r^ f^PHI^l.^. ' • >- 
 
 
 
 - X y 
 
 
 
 aUATERNARV 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 ^yf 
 
 /,, sti-atifled drift Till 
 
 jjiifo'i.^ faR:l X nnd gravels (li 
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 Sandstone outcrops Trap outcrops 
 
 '„,l,„„ltmlxl„r!0/stacii,ldibrli (Hal londilone, .hale, and eon- Cf'/n""" '""^ ""f./j™?, 
 Im rceh flour emd, pehblet, qlomenlte carrying toaler m dlaidie ''«"!''"»,„l.;,,,„ , 
 S\Sderil"ar4ingZdera:e Join,,, along ieddlng plana, and amoaM, 0/ n,aUr In frai'lar,..) 
 
 o/ioaler.)' in fOret.l 
 
 Scale 
 
 Contour interval 20 fee 
 1920 
 
 > from U. S. Geological Survey 
 topographic maps 
 
 MAP OF SURFACE DEPOSITS OF THE SUFFIELD AREA, CONNECTICUT 
 
 Geology by H. S. Palrr 
 
WATER-!= 
 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SITRVEY 
 
 WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 470 PLATE VI 
 
 I from U. S. Geological Survey 
 opographic map: 
 
 TOPOGRAPHIC MAP OF THE GLASTONBURY AREA, CONNECTICUT 
 
 Showing distribution of woodland and location of wells and springs cited 
 
 Locations of woodlands, springs. and n 
 by H. S. Palmer 
 
'-0I 
 
 HH^I 
 
U. S. G. 
 
 WATER-SUPt 
 
 ?^ 
 
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 470 PLATE VII 
 
 Mtnnechau^ 1 _t^/^ 
 Mounta n 
 
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 QUATERNARY 
 
 EXPLANATION 
 
 PRE-TRIASSIC 
 
 Stratified drift 
 
 ( Highlit P<jruiis .taiidx and t^raveU (Jnt 
 
 Till Sandstone outcrops Grystalllne rock; 
 
 ■cfglafaldlhru (ftrf smidilont, tImU, and corf- OUtCrOpS 
 
 origin, and coarae-grainrd ig- 
 
 rocki, in part ba^c, but 
 
 Conto-ur interval 20 ieet. 
 
 1920 
 
 ^•-«»» 
 
 \ A \ 
 
 se from U. S. Geological Sun 
 topogiaphic maps 
 
 MAP OF SURFACE DEPOSITS OF THE GLASTONBURY AREA, CONNECTICUT 
 
 Geology by H. S. Palnr 
 
I 
 
I 
 
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