When this headline caught my attention this morning, I thought "Big Spring"? hmmm... must have had better water days in the past. Sure enough, a quick visit to Wikipedia gave the story:
"The city got its name from the single, large spring that issued into a small gorge between the base of Scenic Mountain and a neighboring hill in the southwestern part of the city limits.
"The spring was sourced from a relatively small aquifer situated on the northern end of the Edwards Plateau and the southern end of the High Plains,
"The spring was of major importance to all life in the surrounding area. In the early-1840s, it was the center of a territorial dispute between Comanche and Pawnee tribes, and has been a major watering hole for wildlife and prehistoric man in this semi-arid area. Early military scouting reports and pioneer accounts describe the water as cold, clear, and dependable; the spring pool was approximately 15 feet (5 meters) deep, with the overflow going only a short distance down the draw before it sank beneath the surface.
"The spring's discharge volume was in excess of 100,000 US gallons per day at the time of the railroad's arrival in the area in the late-1880s. The water was heavily mined by wells built by both the railroad and the early town of Big Spring greatly in excess of its modest recharge rate, until the water table first dropped below the level of the spring outlet, and, finally, was completely depleted by the mid-1920s. The city now artificially fills the spring from Comanche Trail Lake as a means of allowing residents and visitors to maintain some idea of how it appeared in times past."
And now they'll be drinking recycled urine in Big Spring.
