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When the eruption of Krakataua sent an invisible pressure wave around the world seven times, and that pressure wave was unknowingly recorded on barometers world wide, two previously unrecognized phenomena came to light. The first was that volcanic eruptions emit invisible pressure waves. The second was that events can have global effects, causing disturbances or being recordable at amazingly distant outposts. The tsunami released by the eruption of Krakataua was recorded on tidal gauges as far away as France! The sound was heard almost 3,000 miles away. The event described below is new to me, somewhat whimsical, and is another example of this phenomenon, an earthquake at Mount St. Helens discoloring water in wells in Louisiana!!

Utility chief says quakes affect water

West Feliciana wells' output discolored

An earthquake Tuesday, March 7, 2006 near Mount St. Helens in Washington caused brown water to flow from faucets in rural West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana!!

On Wednesday, the parish's utility superintendent John Hashagen said “People don't want to believe me when I say an earthquake caused their brown water, but it's true.”

Hashagen says that strong seismic activity on the West Coast, in Central America and in Mexico affects two of the district's wells, causing them to briefly pump water discolored by manganese when seismic waves pass through the area. “It's only these two wells. They are about 500 feet from each other, and there's some instability underground for some reason,” Hashagen said. Hashagen said water district employees can prevent the wells from pumping the discolored water if they learn about an earthquake hundreds or thousands of miles away in time to temporarily shut down the wells. If they don't get an advance warning, they get ready to start flushing water lines.

Since 2002, Hashagen has relied on the U.S. Geological Survey's e-mail earthquake alert service to give him advance warning. The e-mails are sent to a computer which he checks frequently. Hashagen asked for alerts about earthquakes along the Pacific Coast that are measured 5.0 or higher on the Richter scale, a measure of earthquake magnitude. The 9:12 p.m. CST Mount St. Helens earthquake on Tuesday slipped by Hashagen because it measured only 3.1 on the Richter scale. About 22 hours later, Hashagen said, he got the first call about brown water in the northern part of the parish. He said the discoloration takes some time to move through the system.

Hashagen said he looks at U.S. Geological Survey seismograph readings, via the Internet, at two sites in Arkansas and one at Pickwick Lake, Ala., to verify his suspicions. “If they had movement at Pickwick, we get brown water,” he said. Hashagen said he began looking into the possible effects of seismic waves on the Laurel Hill wells after reading an article in WaterWorld, a magazine for the municipal water industry, on the effects the March 1964 Alaska earthquake had on water systems all across the United States. “Since we've been getting alerts, our brown water calls have dropped from 15 to 20 per month to one or two every 90 days,” he said.

And you thought you understood all the ways the internet has improved our lives!