Artesian Well Park is a small urban park in downtown

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

that contains a natural

artesian spring An artesian aquifer is a confined aquifer containing groundwater under positive pressure. An artesian aquifer has trapped water, surrounded by layers of impermeable rock or clay, which apply positive pressure to the water contained within th ...

fed by an underground aquifer. It occupies a quarter acre on the southwest corner of the intersection between 800 South and 500 East. People from all over the surrounding area have been coming to get water for free from this spring for over 100 years.

History

Historical records show that the spring has been in use going back at least to pioneer times when men watered their oxen hauling granite to the

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...

temple site in Salt Lake City from the quarry in

Little Cottonwood Canyon Little Cottonwood Canyon lies within the Wasatch-Cache National Forest along the eastern side of the Salt Lake Valley, roughly 15 miles from Salt Lake City, Utah. The canyon is part of Granite, a CDP and "Community Council" designated by Salt ...

. In 1936 Salt Lake City filed a water claim for a flow of 2-20 gallons per minute and listed the priority date as 1890. The site of the spring was turned into its current form as Artesian Well Park in 1979 when Salt Lake City invested $79,450 to add sidewalks and benches and to reconfigure the spring to flow out of spigots in a brick casing. The well casing and plumbing were upgraded four years later. In 2020, Salt Lake City made further upgrades to the park, including rebuilding the water spigots to accommodate larger water containers.

Water quality and safety

To ensure the water flowing from the spring is

potable Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, a ...

, Salt Lake City tests it weekly for

coliform bacteria Coliform bacteria are defined as either motile or non-motile Gram-negative non- spore forming Bacilli that possess β-galactosidase to produce acids and gases under their optimal growth temperature of 35-37°C. They can be aerobes or facultative ...

and monthly for

perchlorate A perchlorate is a chemical compound containing the perchlorate ion, . The majority of perchlorates are commercially produced salts. They are mainly used as oxidizers for pyrotechnic devices and to control static electricity in food packaging. Per ...

. Tests for metals and chemical contaminants like pesticides and herbicides are performed annually. Good4Utah had water from the spring independently tested, and found that the water did not contain pesticides, chlorine, fluoride, bacteria,

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, but ...

, or

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

. The Good4Utah test also showed that the water was relatively

hard Hard may refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * ''Hard'' (TV series), a French TV series * Hard (band), a Hungarian hard rock supe ...

, containing a lot of calcium, magnesium, and iron. In 2007, the artesian spring water did test positive for perchlorate at a level of 4.6 parts per billion (ppb), which was below the EPA's guideline of 24.5 ppb. The safe level for perchlorate in drinking water is debated, with some states setting it at 200 ppb and others setting it at 1 ppb. For 2015-2016, Salt Lake City reported a perchlorate level in the water of 2-4 ppb.

Water source

The spring is fed by an aquifer that extends all the way up underneath the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

, and may be fed in part by Red Butte Creek. Percolation to the spring is quite slow, with water from as close as five blocks away taking three years to arrive at the spring. The nearby Tracy Aviary in

Liberty Park Liberty Park is a elevated public park at the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York City, overlooking the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan. The park, which opened on June 29, 2016, is located above the World Trad ...

also contains natural springs.

References

{{reflist Salt Lake City Springs of Utah Water wells in the United States

History

Water quality and safety

Water source

See also

References