Henry Darcy’s

The Public Fountains of the City of Dijon

Patricia Bobeck

Geotechnical Translations, P.O. Box 161391, Austin, Texas  78716

ABSTRACT

The science of quantitative hydrogeology began with the publication of Darcy’s Law in Darcy’s 1856 publication The Public Fountains of the City of Dijon.  Darcy wrote the book shortly before the end of his life as a guide for water engineers in the planning and construction of water supply systems.  Appendix D of the book contains the 1855 experiments on water flow through sand that Darcy conducted after his retirement.  The results of these experiments became known as Darcy’s Law.  Originally published in French, this now rare book has been translated into English, making it possible to read Darcy’s own words describing the experiments that led to his law and the construction of Dijon’s water supply system in 1840.

In planning one of the first modern water supply systems, Darcy calculated the population’s daily water needs and selected a nearby spring to supply the necessary amount of water to Dijon.  He then constructed a 12.7-km (7.9 mi) aqueduct, two reservoirs, 13 km (8 mi) of distribution pipes, and 118 street fountains.  The fountains supplied free water for domestic purposes, street cleaning, and fire fighting.  Darcy’s discussion of the water supply systems of numerous European cities and the filtration methods used in treating surface water led him to conduct the experiments on water flow through porous media.

The presentation will include biographical information about Darcy, discussion of the 1856 book and presentation of its engineering drawings, photographs of the present-day remains of Darcy’s water supply system, discussion of the Darcy’s understanding of groundwater, and Darcy’s approach to issues that confront 21st century hydrogeologists.

Bobeck, P., 2009, Henry Darcy’s The public fountains of the city of Dijon:  Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 59, p. 115-120.

AAPG Search and Discover Article #90093 © 2009 GCAGS 59th Annual Meeting, Shreveport, Louisiana