Artesian Water for Minneapolis. — Winchell. 287 
to predict that in the future, as in the past, the .St. Paul deep 
wells will increase both in number and in popular esteem. 
Stillwater. — McKusick lake has until last year been the 
source of water for the city of Stillwater. But because of its 
impurities it has been abandoned and artesian water has been 
adopted by the city, 
Winnipeg. — Owing to reports that the artesian supply at 
Winnipeg had failed, and that resort was about to be had to fil- 
tration of river water, I applied for information to the city en- 
gineer of Winnipeg, Col. H. N. Ruttan, asking him certain 
questions, and from him received the following courteous reply : 
The geological situation at Winnipeg is quite analogous to 
that of the old river valley at Minneapolis, the confining strat- 
um being a laminated clay and till sheet, holding the water in 
the underlying rock under hydrostatic pressure. 
Letter from Col. H. N. Ruttan. 
Mr. N. H. Winchell:— 
Dear Sir: In answer to yours of the 24th inst., I have much 
pleasure in sending you copies of reports by Mr. Rudolph Hering 
and Mr. Allen Hazen on our water supply. 
I may answer your questions as follows: 
(1) Did the artesian supply give out, making it necessary to re- 
sort to river water? 
Answer. — No; the supply from our well has been constant in 
amount since we began pumping some five years ago. The capacity 
of our well is about 2J/2 million imperial gallons per day. It has 
often been pumped in excess of that quantity. 
We used river water on the 10th October last, and again on the 
26th December to supplement our fire service, and since early in 
January we have used river water almost daily during the hours of 
heavy draught. 
We now have, almost completed, a new well which we hope will 
give us plenty of water for our immediate requirements, and last 
until a further extension of the well system is made, or water is ob- 
tained from some other source. 
How our supply is to be supplemented depends largely upon the 
results of pumping at the well and the effect upon test wells which 
we are sinking. 
(2) Is the artesian supply apparently as good as usual, or was it 
some unusual emergency that overtaxed the wells in operation? 
Ans. The artesian supply is quite as good now as it has ever 
been. The reason it is overtaxed is that our new well has not been 
completed in time to meet the increased number of consumers. 
In 1902, when an extension of our supply was recommended, we 
had about 3,000 connections. We have now about 7,000 connec- 
