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New water source could help Shady Cove Mail Tribune / Melissa Martin Retired drill sergeant Wayne Barnes stands on the edge of a pond that is fed by one of the underground springs flowing on the east slope of Board Mountain three miles from Shady Cove. The property is owned by Bill Meilicke and Bob Oliver. City hopes to tap 21 springs found on a mountain By MELISSA MARTIN SHADY COVE - A dead tree may be a sign of life for a town that needs a city water supply. The brown, brittle cedar standing near a trickling spring died from too much water, forester and logger Bill Meilicke said. "Look up at the trees and see how great they are growing on this south slope, three feet a year," he told a group of visitors touring his property last weekend. "It takes a lot of water to get growth like that." Members of the Upper Rogue Power and Water group have found a mountain spring water source they hope can serve the 2,315 residents of Shady Cove. Water percolates among fracture systems in rocks SHADY COVE - If the slopes of Board Mountain were made of glass and a visitor could look beneath the earth's crust, they would see the springs moving in and out of "fracture systems." The fracture systems are breaks in the rock caused by tectonic forces or by lava flows cooling, retracting and breaking. "These big, long breaks in the rock can be anywhere from a fraction of an inch to (several) feet wide," said Charles Lane, Southern Oregon University geologist. Add the human element and the water that collects in rock pockets moves in and out when it's pumped by a well. Snowmelt and rain can recharge the pockets. "The water is known to collect and be most easily produced out of fracture systems," Lane said. "That's an explanation why some folks in Shady Cove - and it's true in Sams Valley too - have fine wells and not far away, their neighbor is bone dry or has a poor well. "Part of the trick is to identify the density of the fracture systems and the orientation system, especially when you are trying to drill a well." Geologists can look at aerial photos or walk the property and look for surface features that offer clues. More expensive is electrical or geophysical testing, he said. The group wants to tap 21 springs discovered on a former cattle ranch on the east slopes of Board Mountain. They would drill wells or capture the water underground, piping it three miles to Shady Cove, and possibly to Sams Valley. Shady Cove depends on private and shared wells for drinking water. In some parts of Shady Cove, wells are artesian-like, but in other parts of town, wells are drying up or yielding little water. Shady Cove voters twice rejected bonds to build a water system that would have used treated Rogue River water. Two groups in Shady Cove are backing two different water projects - Upper Rogue Power and Water supports the use of springs while The Organizing Committee to Create The Shady Cove Water District proposes drawing and treating river water. "This (well) project will have no property taxes and no bonds," said Upper Rogue Power and Water chairman Wayne Barnes, a retired Marine drill instructor. He hopes to get financing from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, where he is a council member. The water project costs could be offset by selling and generating electricity, he said. The group is seeking the help of a geologist to determine whether the springs can produce the estimated 500,000 gallons needed to supply Shady Cove's daily water needs. "It's a complete unknown," said Charles Lane, geology professor at Southern Oregon University, who has visited the springs and is advising the group about how to measure their volume. "Nothing at the moment makes me think there is a deep-seated groundwater source," Lane said. "It's basically an upland collection area for precipitation. It's so preliminary, there's no calculation on what the potential storage might be." The Board Mountain springs don't have the benefit of being in the shadow of a snow-packed volcano like Big Butte Springs, located near Butte Falls. Big Butte Springs, which helps supply water for 100,000 people in the Rogue Valley, is recharged by snowmelt and other precipitation. "In terms of scale, there's no comparison," Lane said. "But there might be enough water to put together a water district for Shady Cove." A hike on Board Mountain's eastern slope reveals water-loving vegetation. Marsh plants dot the hillsides and south slope firs display bright green new growth. "This looks just like the Butte Falls area to me," said Vic Corchero, a City Council member who hiked the property. "If you start digging, you will hit water." That's just what Calvin Rhodes did during the tour, digging through the mud to find the source of a spring feeding a swampy area. "Here it is," he said, as water bubbled out of the ground. Rhodes is a council member of the Confederated Tribes of the Rogue, which would work with the Umatilla Tribes if the project gets off the ground. "This is a good idea," he said of tapping the springs for a city water supply. "I'll watch and wait." Arthur Smith, chairman of the committee that favors river water, also hiked the springs property. "Nobody wants taxes or bonds and with the springs, we'd be getting a better quality of water than comes out of the river," Smith said. "But right now, what I can see is, it's a lot of work. We've got people who need water now." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.