Tuesday, May 27, 2014

USA, Idaho:

History Lesson - Over 120 Years of Geothermal in Boise (The Idaho Statesman)

Boise's first natural hot water system helped form the city's character, influenced other cities and still operates


Like Boise's Foothills and dry desert air, there is nothing more definitive of this place than natural hot water. Grow up around here, and you'll find nothing strange about catching sulfuric aromas in certain parts of town or coming across a wet, fuming patch of mud on a winter hillside.

Today, four separate geothermal networks warm much of Boise. The Boise Warm Springs Water District is the oldest hot water system in the city. It heats buildings in East Boise and along Warm Springs Avenue.

Native tribes had known for centuries about the natural hot springs seeping around Table Rock. Former Statesman editor Milton Kelly owned a hot springs east of town. Boise Water Works drilled its first hot water well near the Old Pen in December 1890. The district's wells pump water from the same site today.

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