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How do you stop a fresh water spring from running???

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busbus

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Dec 1, 2011, 9:20:01 PM12/1/11
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Hello,

I have a problem that is becoming pretty big. Early this past spring, I
noticed a lot of water running all over the bottom of my driveway and
sidewalk. At first, I thought it was a broken water line but it really
looked like a spring to me. So, I waited...and waited...and waited. Once
summer came along, it stopped. So I now know it is a spring.

Well, it has started back with a vengeance!!! It doesn't really bother me
but now that the cold weather is coming, it is going to pose a problem with
a public sidewalk being constantly coated with water and the ice buildup is
going to be horrible. Not to mention all of the ice on my driveway, which
is a hill.

I know it may be too late this year and I will have to deal with it but how
does one stop a spring from running? It comes out of a big flower bed that
I don't really want to lose but if I have to, I will. The only thing I can
think of is some sort of French drain and, maybe a cistern of some sort. I
cold make this into a positive and capture a bunch of water to use to water
my lawn and garden and to wash the car and such.

Any and all thoughts welcome!!!


Thanks,
busbus



Tony Miklos

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Dec 1, 2011, 9:55:47 PM12/1/11
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You don't stop it, you dig it up, add some pipe and stone, cover it
again and reroute the pipe to where the water will not be a problem.

EXT

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Dec 1, 2011, 9:49:17 PM12/1/11
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"busbus" <bus...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:jb9cki$ki7$1...@speranza.aioe.org...
If it flows over a public sidewalk and possibly onto the street, you need to
get your city or town department involved as there could be some serious
liability issues. Call them and get their engineer to come over and assess
the situation. They may take on the project and pipe the spring into a storm
sewer or some other place. They may want you to grant them permission to
come onto your property and to do their work.

Ed Pawlowski

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Dec 1, 2011, 10:14:53 PM12/1/11
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The drain and cistern may be a good idea for catching water, but it is
not going to solve the problem. Once the cistern is filled, it is
going to just flow again

Think about diversion. It may be possible to divert it near the
source, if not, at your driveway you may be able to get it to go under
to the other side to avoid icing.

If you divert it to the road, you may have other problems with the
town for causing a nuisance or hazard in the road.

At a minimum, you may get away with a trench and PVC pipe in a drain.
Or you may need an environmental impact study, engineered drain and
bridge system to allow natural flow. Seriously, these things do
happen.

Joe

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Dec 2, 2011, 12:10:45 AM12/2/11
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The builder/previous owner of the house must have known of the
problem. Consider getting legal advice as the situation could escalate
into something rather nasty.

Joe

Hank

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Dec 2, 2011, 7:09:26 AM12/2/11
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Are you sure it isn't a septic system blockage? If you, or your
neighbors don't have septic systems, disregard. :-)

Hank

busbus

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Dec 2, 2011, 8:14:55 AM12/2/11
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On Dec 2, 12:10 am, Joe <jbob...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> The builder/previous owner of the house must have known of the
> problem. Consider getting legal advice as the situation could escalate
> into something rather nasty.
>

Hello, Joe.

I have lived in the house since 12/1988. :o) It was never an issue
until this past spring (no pun intended). The area was, of course, an
old farm and I believe the spring house was possibly in the lot next
to mine. But I can tell you this: we put an addition onto the house
back in 1998. We broke ground the last week of July, the driest time
of the year, and there were FIVE springs flowing into the hole we
dug. We had to dig down another three feet and fill that entire area
with stone to make a huge French drain. Came to find that the exact
same thing occurred under the existing structure!

Fast forward to last spring: Once all the snow melted and the ground
started to thaw out, I noticed water pouring out of my flower bed next
to the driveway. I immediately thought it was a spring. My neighbor
was positive it was a leak in the water supply to the house since it
is sort of in that area. I decided to wait it out. It also crossed
my mind that it was the sewer line but there was absolutely no smell
and the water was always nice and clear. As I waited and the ground
started to dry up (which took a really long time because it constantly
rained!), I noticed it would ebb and flow. Them finally, in the heat
of summer, it dried up. But now it is back and for good reason
because it has been extremely wet the past several weeks.

So this is a new occurrence but I don't think it is unusual. Maybe
something happened to where an existing spring got diverted or maybe
the extreme wetness of the spring caused a new one to form. Whatever
the reason, it is there.

Now I know I will have the same problem with a cistern once it is
filled. I know you need to pipe that additional water someplace but,
as somebody here pointed out, I don't think I can divert it to the
storm drain. Especially since the storm drain is on the other side of
a public sidewalk. Well, I guess I can rip out a section of sidewalk
and break the curb so I can put a pipe thru but that is not something
I would be allowed to get away with.

I like the suggestion of getting the community inspector down to look
at it. Maybe a better question would be: do you think it is "worth"
installing a cistern as part of this? From the looks of it, I am sure
I can fill a 5,000 gallon tank! But just because I can do it doesn't
mean it is a good idea.

Thanks
ray

tra...@optonline.net

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Dec 2, 2011, 8:55:45 AM12/2/11
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Installing a cistern isn't a trivial job. And once it's full, then
what? You have to pump it out. Since you have to pump it,
a simple sump pump basin system would do the same
thing. But any such system would have to deal with freezing
issues in winter.
A drywell would at least
drain itself, but again given the conditions I suspect that if
you dug a hole it would fill with water on it's own, so that's
out.

Before contacting the town, I'd carefully consider where you
could channel the water to. If there are any reasonable options, you
might want to consider them first. If
there is some simple method that might not be 100%
Kosher with the town and you just do it, you'd probably
get away with it. Once you get the town involved, that
option is pretty much closed.

busbus

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Dec 2, 2011, 9:26:30 AM12/2/11
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On Dec 2, 8:55 am, "trad...@optonline.net" <trad...@optonline.net>
wrote:
>
> Installing a cistern isn't a trivial job.  And once it's full, then
> what?   You have to pump it out.  Since you have to pump it,
> a simple sump pump basin system would do the same
> thing.  But any such system would have to deal with freezing
> issues in winter.
> A drywell would at least
> drain itself, but again given the conditions I suspect that if
> you dug a hole it would fill with water on it's own, so that's
> out.
>
> Before contacting the town, I'd carefully consider where you
> could channel the water to.  If there are any reasonable options, you
> might want to consider them first.  If
> there is some simple method that might not be 100%
> Kosher with the town and you just do it, you'd probably
> get away with it.  Once you get the town involved, that
> option is pretty much closed.

I know it is a big job. That is why I was asking if I should consider
it as part of this job. I don't think I can divert the water to
without the municipality knowing about it. I would have to break up
the side walk and the break up the curb to put the drain pipe thru to
the street and, eventually, the water will drain into the storm
drain. I am sure I will get nailed if they find me breaking up the
curb and I also think I can be fined if I drain into a storm drain
without them knowing.

Well, I think the cistern idea is out. It seemed like such a good
idea even though I know the work and materials would cost a fortune.
I think the benefits don't outweigh the costs.

denni...@gmail.com

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Dec 2, 2011, 9:52:56 AM12/2/11
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On Dec 1, 9:49 pm, "EXT" <noem...@reply.in.this.group> wrote:
> If it flows over a public sidewalk and possibly onto the street, you need to
> get your city or town department involved as there could be some serious
> liability issues. Call them and get their engineer to come over and assess
> the situation. They may take on the project and pipe the spring into a storm
> sewer or some other place. They may want you to grant them permission to
> come onto your property and to do their work.

Hell, it still might be a broken water line... Better get the water
authority out there to check if you have municipal water.

In the summer it gets dry and the ground can absorb the water. Now
that the fall rains are going full swing, the ground is saturated and
it's got no place to go but up.

denni...@gmail.com

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Dec 2, 2011, 10:04:03 AM12/2/11
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On Dec 2, 9:26 am, busbus <bus...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I don't think I can divert the water to
> without the municipality knowing about it.  I would have to break up
> the side walk and the break up the curb to put the drain pipe thru to
> the street and, eventually, the water will drain into the storm
> drain.  I am sure I will get nailed if they find me breaking up the
> curb and I also think I can be fined if I drain into a storm drain
> without them knowing.

Where do the other French drains go? The most logical choice would be
to tie the drain for this spring into the existing drainage system.

busbus

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Dec 2, 2011, 10:28:57 AM12/2/11
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I suspect under the driveway.

Harry K

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Dec 2, 2011, 11:11:09 AM12/2/11
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If you _do_ have french drains already that don't feed into a dry
well, that is the place to lead a drain to. Would not be all that
expensive, walk behind trencher and a bit of pipe.

Harry K

bob haller

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Dec 2, 2011, 11:12:07 AM12/2/11
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get water tested for cholrine or whatever city water uses to make
water safe..

its possible to tunnel under a sidewalk to put in a drain line if you
have access to both sides..... i have done this in the past:)

local buiding inspector copuld be large help:) or royal PIA,....

largely depends on the person.

the excess water could also be from a sewer leak....... that happened
to a friend

des...@verizon.net

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Dec 2, 2011, 11:44:29 AM12/2/11
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"busbus" <bus...@gmail.com> writes:

> Hello,
>
> I have a problem that is becoming pretty big. Early this past spring, I
> noticed a lot of water running all over the bottom of my driveway and
> sidewalk. At first, I thought it was a broken water line but it really
> looked like a spring to me. So, I waited...and waited...and waited. Once
> summer came along, it stopped. So I now know it is a spring.

First thing, look at the overall lay of the land.
Water will flow downhill but also sink into the soil.
If it reaches any depression that will accelerate sinking into the soil.

Water getting into the soil causes springs.

You want to eliminate depressions and add drainage.
Places where the water leaves the soil and gets to the surface
to run off will help. As long as it's not your driveway or sidewalk.

I live on a street called Springridge. As the name implies there are
lots of springs. Every house has a pipe running through the curb to
the street surface. This is for sump pumps and gutters.

If you're going to break through the curb you're going to need a permit.
It's not like that can be hidden.

Good luck.

--
Dan Espen

Thomas

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Dec 2, 2011, 11:50:31 AM12/2/11
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If its potable, pipe it to your house.

Joe

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Dec 2, 2011, 12:15:20 PM12/2/11
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On Dec 2, 7:14 am, busbus <bus...@gmail.com> wrote:

> snip<

Before undertaking some major earthmoving/ remedial measures, it might
be prudent to get advice from a geologist familiar with the area.
There is a possibility that the entire neighborhood is underlain with
a network of (small) interconnected and shifting aquifers. If so,
the remediation will be best accomplished by diverting the flow at the
highest point of the tract. IIRC, water flow of this sort is sometimes
found in old glaciated areas, moraines, whatever.
Fascinating problem...

Joe

willshak

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Dec 2, 2011, 12:35:14 PM12/2/11
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busbus wrote the following:
You don't say where you are located, but here in the NE where we had a
lot of rain this summer and an early heavy wet snow that caused a 3 day
power outage taking out electricity, cable TV and internet, and the
phone lines. The streams and rivers are still running higher than
normal. At my house, there is an aquifer that is very near the top of
the ground and runs under my asphalt driveway. It caused a lot of damage
to the driveway after an extended period of rain or by snow melt, i.e.
the driveway looks like it was built using jigsaw puzzle pieces. The
water seeps out of the cracks in the driveway for a couple of days after
a heavy rain. My driveway is even with the ground at the house end, but
cuts deeper into the ground as it goes down some 90' to the street level
where it is about 5' below ground level, as is the street.
In case anyone is wondering, the driveway was built correctly by a
driveway company, including sub-grade materials.
The highway department installed a leech pipe under the driveway at the
street end to protect the street from damage, but that doesn't help me.



--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

busbus

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Dec 2, 2011, 4:23:32 PM12/2/11
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I live in southwestern PA. We had a really wet spring this year and a
lot of late snows. It has been a pretty wet autumn, too.

I think I will still have the water company come out and see what is
happening first. I suspect they can quite easily tell if there is a
leak in the yard. I understand what somebody else said here that it
could still be a water main break because of the ground will soak up
the water whenever it is really dry.

I still do not think it is the sewer line because the flow is
CONSTANT.

.

unread,
Dec 2, 2011, 5:16:38 PM12/2/11
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"busbus" <bus...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:e2ce4347-6f61-4903...@m7g2000vbc.googlegroups.com...
Good idea to have the water company check. It could well be a leaking pipe,
not a spring. What the water company does is simply test for chlorine
(assuming the public water supply is chlorinated) -- takes a few minutes.

Tomsic


DanG

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Dec 3, 2011, 8:46:41 AM12/3/11
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Talk to the inspector fella. He may be more interested in allowing a
remodel of the sidewalk and curb with the addition of a nice little sign
showing the spring as the head waters of "such and such" river. Our
city has just such a sign at a dry ditch stating it as the head waters
of the Deep Fork which ultimately gets pretty big.

--


___________________________________

Keep the whole world singing . . .
Dan G

micky

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Dec 3, 2011, 9:26:15 AM12/3/11
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On Thu, 1 Dec 2011 21:20:01 -0500, "busbus" <bus...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>I know it may be too late this year and I will have to deal with it but how
>does one stop a spring from running?

Turn the world upside down.

Make a channel with a waterfall and goldfish and little china
scuptures of boys fishing, etc.

Bottle it and sell it.

Stormin Mormon

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Dec 3, 2011, 12:17:35 PM12/3/11
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I'd be thinking of call several building contractors near you, and see what
they say. I'm guessing this has happened before. On the bright side, you've
got a source of water if the municipal water fails.


"busbus" <bus...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:fc36ed94-752d-47b9...@n6g2000vbg.googlegroups.com...

Stormin Mormon

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Dec 3, 2011, 12:18:35 PM12/3/11
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That would be a nasty surprise. The OP should call the water dept. That
could save the town a lot of disaster, the pipe could fail worse, and make a
total mess.

<denni...@gmail.com> wrote in message news:1d0f77d1-7a18-42d4-8573->

EXT

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Dec 3, 2011, 1:20:16 PM12/3/11
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"Thomas" <cano...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:22e91721-7c38-493a...@n35g2000yqf.googlegroups.com...
> If its potable, pipe it to your house.

Even if it is not potable, feed it into the toilets to save on the water
bill.

Robert Charles Browne

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Dec 3, 2011, 4:53:41 PM12/3/11
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> Once
>summer came along, it stopped. So I now know it is a spring.

There has been no answer given to your question.

The answer to the question is "pressure grout the stream".
http://www.chemgrout.com/
The answer to your problem may be more complex.
Consult a drilling firm and seek that professional's input.

--
rcb

micky

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Dec 3, 2011, 10:24:37 PM12/3/11
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On Fri, 2 Dec 2011 06:52:56 -0800 (PST), denni...@gmail.com wrote:

>On Dec 1, 9:49 pm, "EXT" <noem...@reply.in.this.group> wrote:
>> If it flows over a public sidewalk and possibly onto the street, you need to
>> get your city or town department involved as there could be some serious
>> liability issues. Call them and get their engineer to come over and assess
>> the situation. They may take on the project and pipe the spring into a storm
>> sewer or some other place. They may want you to grant them permission to
>> come onto your property and to do their work.
>
>Hell, it still might be a broken water line... Better get the water
>authority out there to check if you have municipal water.

I found a horizontal pipe in an overgrown field, away from any roads,
that was shooting water 8 feet from the opening. I had gotten there
by parking on the expressway, climbing down to stream level, going
under the Xway and climbing up until I was about 100 feet from the
xway.

It had flooded a couple acres where I wanted to work, land that was
dry when I first looked at it, but wet for months and months
afterwards. It was in Baltimore County so I called them. They said
to call the city, which maybe provides the water for the Country.
They said to call the County The second time, they took me more
seriously. They finally capped the pipe maybe 3 months after I first
reported it. I didnt' get back there much but when I did 3 or 4
months later, the land was dry again.

denni...@gmail.com

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Dec 5, 2011, 11:19:56 AM12/5/11
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On Dec 2, 10:28 am, busbus <bus...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Where do the other French drains go? The most logical choice would be
> > to tie the drain for this spring into the existing drainage system.
>
> I suspect under the driveway.

Same place the water's coming out?

busbus

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Dec 5, 2011, 8:57:26 PM12/5/11
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<denni...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:2a87e380-836f-42fe...@m10g2000vbc.googlegroups.com...
Well, I took the advice given here and had the water company come out to
take a look-see. I was right: it is water coming from behind the house. In
other words, it's a spring.

Darn. I know others in this group are absolutely right whenever they say I
need to give the old devil himself, the municipal inspector, a call to see
what I am "allowed" to do with all of this water. Part of me really hoped
it was the water line, mostly because I happened to sign on for water line
protection back in June, just in case. Whenever the water dried up, I
immediately suspected my initial thought was right and it was a spring. It
was made even more clear once the rain started this fall. But somebody in
here made sense whenever they said the dry ground could be soaking up all
the water if there was a leak.

So I went for the cheap way out...and lost. I guess I will see what the
inspector wants me to do...then PAY for it, garsh darn it.


Thanks for all the advice!


ray


bob haller

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Dec 6, 2011, 7:26:32 AM12/6/11
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On Dec 5, 8:57 pm, "busbus" <bus...@gmail.com> wrote:
> <dennisga...@gmail.com> wrote in message
call inspector give just first name, lock out caller id and ask lots
of questions.......

basically you can do what you want if no one complains..

BobR

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Dec 6, 2011, 6:28:45 PM12/6/11
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On Dec 5, 7:57 pm, "busbus" <bus...@gmail.com> wrote:
> <dennisga...@gmail.com> wrote in message
In all probability the spring was either dried up or had been plugged
during the construction of the house. In any case, if you try to stop
it the result will be an eventual reoccurance somewhere else on your
property. If the water has found its way to the surface once, it will
do so again. The next time it comes up may be in an even worse
location. My recommendation would be to clean it out to provide a
clear opening and then provide a drainage to the street or other
location that can accomodate a continous flow. Hell, you might even
tap it for irrigation of the lawn.



chaniarts

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Dec 7, 2011, 10:22:20 AM12/7/11
to
stick a pipe in it, lead it to a small wooden stand, add a hose bib off
the pipe, and put up a sign "$.10/gallon fresh spring water".

BobR

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Dec 7, 2011, 12:34:58 PM12/7/11
to
Sounds great except for the fact that it would be like waving a red
cape in front of the bull government. They couldn't allow such
withoug regulating the holy hell out of it and taxing it.


Oren

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Dec 7, 2011, 12:44:14 PM12/7/11
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On Wed, 07 Dec 2011 08:22:20 -0700, chaniarts
<chan...@nospam.yahoo.com> wrote:

>stick a pipe in it, lead it to a small wooden stand, add a hose bib off
>the pipe, and put up a sign "$.10/gallon fresh spring water".

Or put an environmentally friendly label on the jug and sell it for
$4.00 a gallon. It would be great for moonshine. :-/
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