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This is a rough assembly of footage from Olympia Washington shot at the
The artesian water is forced from underground under pressure, and is sourced from glacier melt
from the volcanic Mount Rainer, approximately 160 km distant. The water
is filtered as it travels this
distance, taking upwards of a 20 years to get from the mountain to the parking lot.
While the well is
currently open and accessible to the public, there is some talk by the
city to close the tap and commercialize all the available water.
Glacial melt water is increasingly becoming an entreprenurial enterprise; last year actor
Sylvester Stallone (of "Rocky" fame) purchased rights to market water from the 10,000 year old
Carbon Glacier on Rainier.
As an free tap, this clean water source functions as a kind of commons,
as does the parking lot in which it is situated.
People come from all around the region to fill jugs, wash,
refresh, prepare food. People have tap water in their houses
but prefer this- probably more flavorful or has fewer chemicals,
but it is only quasi-legal. The sign indicates the water is potentially unsafe.
The lot has traffic for water all day long; foot/auto/bicycle etc.
NOTE: The sound will be replaced by mostly only water sound.
semi-public artesian well located at 4th Street downtown.