Karst Spring

Image: A typical karst spring called Kocherquelle in Germany.

Definition: A spring is a natural resurgence of groundwater, usually along a hillside or from a valley floor.

Springs in karst areas differ from normal springs: they normally have a much higher production, as they are just the end of a waterfilled caves system. Also they are highly dependent on the weather. Every rain and, of course, the snow melting leads to increasing production.

Karst springs regularly fall dry in dry periods in the summer! On the other hand, the water quality is often poor! Both effects have the same reason: the water flows rather fast through cave systems, there is not enough time for micro organisms to clean the water. So karst springs are not a good source for water supply.

A famous accident happend about 100 years ago in the karst area Jura, France. There is the location of the still existing and famous Pernod Company. One day there was a fire in the plant and many hectolitres of Absinth accidentialy oozed away. Already one day later the water of the Loue Spring got milky and the air smelled like anis and alcohol.

Examples:

Blautopf, Germany
Rhumequelle, Germany
The Pernod Accident, France

Intermitting Spring

This is a spring that falls dry several times or most of the year. Other names are seasonal spring (during a certain season, normally spring) and ephemeral spring (only for a short time).

In most cases this springs are situated above, but near to the groundwater table. As the groundwater table moves inside the rock over the year, it sometimes reaches the spring and the water starts to fow.

As very wet years often resulted in crop failure, the production of some wells were counted as a bad omen. The Hungerbrunnen (famine well) in Germany is an example.

Examples:

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