HENRY DARCY AND THE PUBLIC FOUNTAINS OF THE CITY OF DIJON

Henry Darcy’s law of fluid flow through porous media forms the basis of hydrogeology. Experiments on water flow through sand led Darcy to formulate the empirical law published in1856 as an appendix to his book Les Fontaines publiques de la ville de Dijon. Darcy wrote the book as a guide for engineers charged with constructing water supply systems. A recent English translation of Darcy’s 650-page book provides valuable information on the historical context of Darcy’s accomplishments and on Darcy the man.

Darcy describes how, as Engineer of the Corps of Bridges and Roads assigned to his native city, he gauged nearby springs and selected an abundant spring to divert to Dijon via a 12-km underground aqueduct. He built two reservoirs, 13 kilometers of pipes and 115 street fountains in Dijon. These fountains supplied free water for all inhabitants, water for flushing the streets, and water for fire pumps.

The book contains 4 parts and an appendix. Part 1 is a description of the historical water situation of Dijon and attempts to provide water for the city. Part 2 discusses the construction of the aqueduct and the internal distribution system. Part 3 presents experiments that Darcy conducted on the aqueduct and distribution system. Part 4 discusses the appropriation of the springs, which belonged to a nearby village. The appendix contains eight sections on such topics as the water supply systems of London and major French cities, artificial and natural filtration of river water, and pipe making. A separate 28-plate atlas includes drawing of the components of the Dijon water supply system, the Pitot tube, and the apparatus Darcy used for his experiments on water flow though sand.