Water Myths - PUB2869

Everyone uses water. Everyone needs water for drinking. Water also is used for washing, watering the yard and garden, filling the swimming pool, and for many other purposes. Water also plays an important role in our society, as it is commonly used for power generation, ship navigation, industrial processes and recreational activities. Despite the importance of water in everyday life, many people don’t fully understand where it comes from. In fact, many myths and legends still persist today about this precious resource.      

Myth 1: Water divining can be used to find sites where groundwater is available

The instruments of a diviner, also known as dowsers or water witches, may be a “Y”-shaped peach or willow limb called a diving rod. Some use straight sticks, metal rods, keys, coat hangers, pliers, pendulums, boxes, batteries, electrical instruments or lights. Diviners claim to find water primarily but do not limit themselves to one claim (necessarily). They may attempt to diagnose disease, trace lost animals, reestablish property lines, locate precious metals, analyze personal character, or determine the sex of an unborn child. 

Few areas exist in Missouri where some amount of water cannot be found at some depth and therein lies the success of the diviner in our own state. Scientifically speaking, diviners are unable to match hydrologists at locating water and estimating the quantity and quality of groundwater produced at any particular depth. Numerous publications have been issued on this subject, and they indicate no scientific validity of water divining. 

Myth 2: Groundwater occurs as underground rivers and lakes

In one of the early episodes of the TV show “Gilligan’s Island,” the castaways run out of fresh water. They try everything from diving rods to rain dances to no avail. With a little help from a friendly frog, Gilligan eventually falls into a massive underground freshwater lake and saves the day.

Though underground lakes and rivers do exist, especially in caves (which are abundant in southern Missouri), most groundwater occurs in the natural empty spaces found in bedrock. These spaces can be anything from the small pores between grains or crystals that make up the rock, to the large network of fractures commonly found in bedrock. When groundwater occurs in large enough quantities and high enough quality to be usable to humans, it is referred to as an aquifer. Water from aquifers can be obtained by drilling a well or where it naturally comes to the surface at a spring. Most groundwater does not flow in an obvious channel like a river. Instead, it slowly moves through the pores and fractures of the bedrock. 

Nearly everywhere in southern Missouri has enough groundwater for a well to be drilled. Areas where the bedrock has larger and more well-connected pores or fractures have a higher potential to produce larger volumes of water. In northern Missouri, where the geology is more complicated, wells can be successfully drilled in deposits of sands and gravels where water is more abundant. Groundwater is produced from geologic deposits, not underground lakes and rivers.

Myth 3: There are healing properties and health benefits to spring water

Historically, springs have been places where health spas and hospitals were built. European cities such as Bath, England were named after the famous Roman thermal spas in the city. In America, settlers founded new towns such as Hot Springs, Arkansas, Thermopolis, Wyoming (located in Hot Springs County), and Excelsior Springs, Missouri, where it was believed special healing water was available. The spring water was advertised to help heal conditions such as hay fever, tuberculosis, polio, arthritis, and others. The natural waters and cool cave air were thought to be a perfect natural remedy. Today, many people still hold this belief, and many mineral hot springs continue to be visited for their advertised health benefits.

There is some validity to the benefits of springs and caves for medical purposes. Cave air is typically free of pollen and other allergens, and it temporarily offers some relief to people who suffer from hay fever. Hot springs can loosen muscles and ease certain aches and pains. However, this is solely because of the heat. Additionally, certain metals that are advertised as beneficial, such as lithium, are rarely found in spring water in significant amounts. There are no proven health benefits that solely come from the regular chemical properties of spring water.

If not treated properly, spring water may be harmful. Springs are a type of karst feature, as are caves and sinkholes. Water in caves and springs can easily be contaminated by local spills or waste, which can quickly travel underground. In many cases, water found in caves and springs reached the underground through a sinkhole, which are unfortunately often used as unofficial garbage dumps in Missouri. Untreated water may also have higher levels of bacteria, Giardia, cryptosporidium, and other organic particles that should not be ingested. If properly treated, spring water can be a satisfactory source of drinking water, but it has no natural benefits that make it superior to other water. 

Learn more about Mineral Springs in Missouri Resources Magazine. 

Myth 4: Artesian water is of higher quality than water pumped from a well

Similar to spring water, groundwater naturally flowing from a well without the need of a pump is often considered to be of higher quality. Many believe this flowing water tastes better and is healthier to consume. Often, local residents in the Ozarks fill jugs at artesian wells for drinking in their home instead of using water from their own well for drinking. In the Ozarks, the water flowing from the artesian well comes from the same aquifer as domestic wells. 

Instances exist where water from an artesian well is of better quality than water from a domestic well. In Missouri’s Bootheel, many wells drawing from a rock formation known as the McNairy Formation are artesian. The water coming from this formation is naturally soft as it flows through a sandstone aquifer. Many other wells pump from the shallow alluvial aquifer, which produces water that is naturally high in iron. In these cases, the artesian water may be of higher quality, but it is only because it is produced from a different aquifer. The artesian nature of the well has no significant effect on the water chemistry.