Could the wooden line be made useful again?
If it could deliver sufficient pressure, he might not need to spend thousands of dollars drilling a new well.
But if it failed, he would have wasted time and money pursuing something that belonged in the past.
Glenn decided the only way to know was to test it.
He returned to the springhouse and located the original outlet at the base of the stone enclosure. After cleaning the connection, he fitted a new copper section between the spring outlet and the old wooden conduit.
Martha installed a pressure gauge at the barn supply header.
They checked the fittings, inspected the exposed section, and prepared to open the inlet.
Glenn stood beside the spring box for a moment.
He knew the line had been abandoned for more than half a century. He had no way of knowing how much mineral buildup had accumulated inside it or whether the joints would hold.
Then he opened the valve.
Cold water entered the wooden conduit.
At first, there was little to see.
The spring continued flowing.
The inlet remained steady.
Glenn waited.
Then, near the exposed section, he noticed a thin movement of water through the bore.
The old line was flowing.
He followed the route downhill toward the barn.
Martha was waiting near the pressure gauge.
Glenn looked at the needle.
Four pounds per square inch.
He waited.
The needle barely moved.
Four pounds.
The automatic waterers required approximately fifteen.
He checked the connections again, but the result remained the same.
The old system was not completely blocked, yet it could not deliver enough pressure to serve the herd.
For a moment, Glenn felt the disappointment settle over him.
He had discovered a remarkable piece of family history.
He had found proof that his great-great-grandfather had constructed a working water system.
But history alone would not water thirty-five cattle.
He called Winkler again.
The retired specialist was not surprised by the low pressure.
Mineral deposits, he explained, could accumulate inside a wooden conduit just as they did inside metal or plastic pipes. Over decades, calcium buildup gradually narrowed the bore. A passage originally two inches wide might become only a fraction of that diameter.
The water could still move, but the restricted passage would greatly reduce the system's useful flow.
Glenn considered the explanation.
The logs themselves seemed sound.
The spring continued running.
If the obstruction could be removed, the system might work.
That afternoon, Merl Coffee stopped by.
He examined the arrangement, walked to the barn, and looked at the gauge.
"Four pounds," Merl said.
"I know."
"You need fifteen to run the waterers."
"I know that, too."