The Bathtub Spring
In southwestern Wisconsin you can find an endless supply of fresh water flowing into a roadside bathtub — a place known as the Bathtub Spring.
Endless Water
The Driftless region in southwestern Wisconsin is known for a few things. Trout fishing. Organic farming. Small town charm. Environmental stewardship.
But one of the defining features of the Driftless is sandstone and limestone karst geology. Water flows easily through karst, and that means there are numerous freshwater springs throughout the area that flow year-round.
But if you’re not local, you probably won’t ever come across one of these ever-flowing founts of water. Unless, of course, you’re driving along and see a line of people with water jugs in their hands standing on the side of an otherwise unremarkable stretch of Wisconsin road.
Or unless there’s a bathtub on the side of the road.
The Towerville Bathtub Spring
Located in the boundaries of Towerville in the town of Utica, about five miles north of Gays Mills and five miles west of Soldiers Grove, the Bathtub Spring sits on the western side of County C at the junction with McManus Road.
Two metal pipes extending from the adjacent hill are connected to the bathtub, and fresh spring water flows out of the hill, through the pipes, and into the tub.
The bathtub looks somewhat unappealing. It’s a bit rusty on the edges, moss is growing inside the tub, and there’s usually a fine layer of sandy grit in the bottom. In short, the water in the tub is not exactly clean.
But the bathtub itself is does not hold a large volume of water. In fact, the water flows out of it pretty quickly. The water that flows out of the pipes, though, looks very clean.
The bathtub seems to serve as a convenient spot to place your water containers as they’re filled from the pipes with fresh artesian water, filtered through sandstone and limestone.
The Bathtub Spring has reportedly been in the same place for something like 100 years. Regional lore says that the tub used to be used to water horses and livestock back before the road was paved.
But is it safe to Drink?
People in the region have used the Bathtub Spring as a source of fresh, clean drinking water (and occasionally as a community beer cooler) for decades.
Whether or not the water is safe to drink is the subject of many an angry internet debate. Some people say they’ve been drinking from it their whole lives with no ill effects. Other say due to the rural location, any untreated water is at risk from livestock manure, pesticides, and harmful microorganisms.
But only you can decide if you want to drink water flowing out of pipe into a bathtub along the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.
People who drink from the spring regularly say it’s the best water they’ve ever tasted. And if you’re interested in verifying that, there’s really only one way to find out.
Bathtub Spring
- 51465 Co Rd C, Soldiers Grove
- GPS Coordinates: 43.389880, -90.886261 { Google Maps }
- what3words: ///herself.asked.divided
