Nick Marlowe

Travis, thank you for your reply. Dousing has always fascinated me as well. A lot of the old timers will tell you if you want to find a spring or water, douse for it!

Judith Browning wrote:Hi Nick, You are in one of the best areas in the state! We love Eureka and have quite a few friends there.

I think if we had made a conscious choice of where to land in this state near Eureka would have been at the top of the list...and probably Fayetteville.

Lovely craft and music and food community......

Land with springs is such a bonus!

Hi Judith! Yes I love my area in the state. I have travelled almost every square inch of Arkansas and nothing quite compares to the Ozarks. Next time you are in Eureka stop by the Cathouse downtown. My girlfriend works there, Amanda. She will fix y'all up!

Ok one more, I dont believe I explained my pictures. The first picture is just one area on this spring that I have uncovered and is at the bottom of 3-5 shelves of rock, all with water coming out of the cracks. The water has obviously been running a long time because there are mineral deposits like stalagtites. Sorry if that isn't spelled right. I do not have pictures of the other spring but it is basically the same thing. 3-5 shelves, all about 3-5 feet tall, all with signs of water. I see a lot of pipe, brick and mortar, ferns up and down the slopes which means water. However there is 1-5 feet of rock/dirt and massive trees that have grown up around the areas. I am just curious about how to get this water flowing easier than hand digging the entire thing out. I was thinking I could drive a rock bar inbetween some of the shelves to open up the vein. Any thoughts?

I also wanted to add that it is common around these parts to build a spring box, spring house or use stone and mortor to build....well I can't remember what they are called but basically a bowl on the bedrock to collect water and then reroute through a pipe. I worked in a quarry for a brief while and learned a lot about shaping stones, uses for different varieties of limestone, how to use stone and mortar and many other things. There are thousands upon thousands of undeveloped, unused springs in my area due to there not being a "Spring Guy" around here. Well partially true, while working at the quarry I met a man who had developed a few dozen springs for a local wealthy land owner. He would come in and get our largest blocks (somewhere around 18"x18"x24") he could possibly lift by himself and that is what he used to build his spring boxes/house. I work for a man who's father quarried his own stone using some hand tools to drop, divide and split limestone shelfs. There are some amazing people around my area. If any of you have time, look up my home town Eureka Springs Arkansas. We are known for our "healing" springs and there are many pictures of ES being built in the 1800s. The quarry I worked in is called Ozark Southern Stone, however if you google Beaver Arkansas quarry you can find old pictures of the quarry and nearby train staion. Really cool place to live and I feel fortunate to do so. Thanks you guys for the responses!

Thank you TJ and Travis. I am interested in learning as much as my poor brain can handle when it comes to permaculture, survival and sustainability. I have lived in these woods most of my life, know most of the locals like family and love my area. It would be my great honor to learn more about the springs and water sources around my area, so that one day I might have enough experience to help others with their springs with safety and confidence. Being the, "Spring Guy," I like that! Again thank you guys!

Travis, thank you for your advice. I had the water tested, it is good clean water at both spring sites.There are too many old pipes run up and down this mountain for the spring to be small or unusable. A few of the old timers around here say that if I can clean the site and use a pressure washer to wash out the clay and dirt stuck in the layers of rock, it should start flowing again. The main reason I believe there to be an already existing, well running seep is because the ground is very VERY wet all around the area and there is several feet of rocks and dirt ontop. To see this much moisture is uncommon as most of the time the water simoly travels under all the rocks around here making it difficult to find.

Thanks again for your response Travis.

Thanks J Anderson, I should have worded that better. Yes I knew there was one spring, however I had not seen the boxes, nor the second "Bonus" spring that I found later! Look every day for property around here. I have been a local here most of my life, actively seaching for property for about 3 years now. I was online every day and still missed opportunities for beautiful land just because a good piece of property with everything a homesteader could want goes quick! And believe it or not relatively cheap compared to many other places. Thanks for the response and good luck finding a place.

Hello everyone, I was hoping to find some help from someone who has knowledge or experience of tapping into a spring like mine. I bought 22 acres in Eureka Springs Arkansas and discovered two springs on the property that had previous spring boxes. The springs start at about 1400 ft elevation and flow into a series of creeks, lakes and finally ending in Beaver Lake. The pictures below are of the spring where the most construction had taken place. There are at least three holding/cistern boxes that I have uncovered so far, so my guess is that this spring at one time had good flow. The spring its self appears to seep through the cracks in the different layers of rock. Interestingly enough, on the opposite side of the ridge is the other spring that is at the same elevation. I was wondering if I can hammer a rock bar into the cracks in the rock where the water is flowing, in hopes of creating a larger space for water to flow? If this is not the best way would someone please lend some knowledge my way? I would also like to draw/upload some pictures of the past configuration so that someone could explain how/why it worked.

Future plans for the springs on the property include Ram pumps where applicable, holding stations and irrigation. We discovered almost our entire property is covered in blueberries and I just got several thousand feet of chicken house pvc water dispensers perfect for irrigating for $100!! (Just had to brag on my find!)

Any help/advice or joke is appreciated!

Hey everyone, I am hoping to connect with some locals around the Ozarks! I would love to see your farm/homestead/projects/anything you want to show me! Is there a way to search for and message local members on this site?

Hello from the Ozarks! I am hoping to get some experienced Hydroelectric DIY'ers opinions on the best DIY Hydroelectric systems that I could make using only scrap/salvaged parts. I am mainly interested in the Water wheel and Pelton Wheel designs but am open to see it all! I have seen many videos and tutorials using old car alternators and even washing machines. Has anyone made their own Hydroelectric system? If so, can you explain the parts and procedure on how you made your system? Pictures? Lessons learned? What do you like/dislike about your system? What would you change? Thanks everyone!

Another question: Can someone please explain how diameter of piping in a Pelton wheel setup makes a difference? Why would I change the nozzle diameter?

Please excuse my confusion...I'm 26 years old, single father of one amazing little boy and have only dreamt of the day we get to start this life and it is finally here. I only have a million and one questions!