Jiujiang News - Wang Xuemei and Chief Reporter Cao Chengping reported with photographs: On the 11th day, Liu Bangbiao, a resident of Heqiao Village in Sancha Bridge Town, Yongxiu County, called the reporter and said that more than a month ago, the water temperature of his family's well suddenly rose. Since his home is near the Lushan Xihai Hot Spring, he suspected that the spring water gushing from his well might also be hot spring water.
The well water temperature reached as high as 40℃
At around 10:30 on the 11th, the reporter arrived at Liu Bangbiao's house in Heqiao Village, Sancha Bridge Town, Yongxiu County. Liu Bangbiao's well is in his courtyard, and it was dug seven years ago. The reporter used a hand-cranked compressor pump to draw water, and immediately clear well water flowed out. After testing the temperature with his hand, the reporter found that the well water temperature was significantly higher than the outdoor temperature, slightly warm to the touch. The reporter measured the water temperature with a thermometer and discovered that the water temperature was as high as 40 degrees Celsius! After moving the well cover, a wave of heat hit the face. The reporter touched the inner wall of the well, and the cement wall was also warm to the touch.
Subsequently, the reporter went to a neighbor’s house less than ten meters away from Liu Bangbiao's house, drew well water using a hand-cranked pump, and measured the temperature with a thermometer. It turned out that the well water temperature was 22 degrees Celsius. In other words, the temperature of the well water in Liu Bangbiao's house was 18 degrees Celsius higher than that in the neighbor's house.
A sudden rise in well water temperature one month ago
Liu Bangbiao told the reporter that more than a month ago, during the Dragon Boat Festival, a relative came to visit and noticed that the temperature of the well water was much lower than usual when washing hands, so cold that they dared not wash their hands. A few days later, Liu Bangbiao found that the cool well water had suddenly turned into "hot spring water," making it feel slightly warm even when washing hands. More than a month has passed, but the well water still remains abnormally hot, scalding to the touch.
Villagers have four guesses
With the sudden rise in temperature in Liu Bangbiao's water well, people have speculated on various reasons, mainly resulting in four theories.
One theory is electrical short circuit. In addition to the hand-cranked pressure pump, there is also an electric water pump installed in Liu Bangbiao's well. Some guessed that the wires of the electric pump might have short-circuited, causing the wire temperature to rise and heating up the well water. However, if there was a short circuit in the wires, it would affect the electricity supply not only to Liu Bangbiao's house but also to the entire village. Nevertheless, there has been no abnormality in Liu Bangbiao's electricity usage.
The second theory speculates about nearby factories. Some residents assumed whether there were large factories nearby with hot water discharge pipes or heating pipes passing near the well? This guess was also denied because there are no large factories within tens of kilometers around Heqiao Village, nor any department here that has buried pipelines.
The third theory involves underground coal spontaneous combustion. About 1 kilometer in front of Liu Bangbiao's house, there is a coal mine on the mountain. Some speculated that the underground coal might have caught fire spontaneously, heating up the well water. However, if it were due to underground coal spontaneous combustion, why is the water temperature in the neighboring well completely normal?
The fourth theory suggests underground hot springs. Villagers believe that the most likely reason is the presence of a hot spring beneath the village, as Liu Bangbiao's house is near the Lushan Xihai Hot Spring. It could be that the water system near Liu Bangbiao's well communicated with the hot spring water system of Lushan Xihai. However, if there really were hot springs, why didn't other villagers' wells exhibit this phenomenon?
To solve the mystery of the sudden rise in temperature in Liu Bangbiao's well, the reporter took a bottle of well water to the Jiujiang City Water Supply Company and asked them to help detect and analyze the composition of the well water. The test results will be available in a week.
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