Spring Water Near Lake Chelan

There are hundreds of springs in the Lake Chelan area. The most substantial one that I have seen personally is at the base of McGregor Mountain here in the Stehekin Valley. As I write in May it has the flow of a lively brook, at a guess I'd say 60 gallons a minute. The 'drinkable' quality or purity of the water in any Lake Chelan spring is something you'll have to decide for yourself. Here in the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area (part of North Cascades National Park) few of the springs are named or on the maps. At the lower end of the lake, around Chelan, Manson and 25 mile Creek, historic settlement and land use was more intense, and there are many named springs. On the Forest Service's ?Lake Chelan Ranger District? map you can find Handy spring, Grouse spring, Coyote spring, Poison springs, and dozens more. In the Lake Chelan NRA a Research Permit is necessary for research projects. This is because these resources are owned by the public and we are the caretakers. It's our job to make sure that no harm is done to the subjects of research and that we get to share in the information you find. The Forest Service has similar requirements. It sounds like you have the desire to be responsible and your project may be simple, low-tech and harmless. All the same, do contact the Resource Manager where you want to run your experiment. The resource folks will want to make sure your techniques are benign. If you want to follow through on this I'll be happy to help. E-mail me at mark_scherer [at] nps [dot] gov and I'll put you in touch with the appropriate Park Service or Forest Service Resource Manager.