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Saratoga Springs and Early Hydrogeochemistry in the United States
Author(s) -
Davis Stanley N.,
Davis Augusta G.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1997.tb00092.x
Subject(s) - spring (device) , allowance (engineering) , mineral water , water quality , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental science , fresh water , water resource management , geography , archaeology , geology , engineering , mechanical engineering , ecology , geotechnical engineering , biology
The earliest quantitative chemical analysis of ground water from the United States was probably made during 1807. The largest number of early analyses were of water from various mineral springs in and near the towns of Ballston and Saratoga Springs, New York. Although most of the scientific and economic interest at the time centered on the reported health benefits from the water, some of the earliest reports describing the springs contained rudimentary yet scientifically based hydrogeochemical explanations for the dissolved constitutents in the water. One motivation for the early analytical work was the desire to concoct a dry mixture of chemicals that would duplicate the mineral water when mixed with ordinary drinking water. The use of a powder would simplify distribution and bypass dealing with owners of the springs. Early analyses of water from Congress Spring published by different individuals between 1817 and 1856 are similar, and if allowance is made for minor temporal changes in quality, the results would be considered useful even by modern standards.