The Wells, The Roots, The Slice The Ditch Water Discovery Center

The Wells, The Roots and The Slice are three art installations at The Ditch Water Discovery Center in Stephenville, Texas, a park that showcases sustainable land development and groundwater conservation in north-central Texas.

The Roots depicts Purple Coneflower (Echinaceae sp.), Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), and Yucca (Yucca sp.) in cut steel. Compared to the above-ground part of the plant, root systems can be surprisingly large, with extensive networks burrowing 15 feet below the surface. Little Bluestem's mat of filigreed fibers is contrasted with the Yucca's stout tap root. The Coneflower has adapted an approach somewhere between the two.

The Wells is a dimensional mural composed of stainless steel tubes, stain and acrylic paint. Each stainless steel tube represents 50 individual wells, distributed across four counties in the district. Above ground lakes and waterways are drawn onto the wall in grey. The Trinity Aquifer outcrop, or recharge area, is stained in dark grey and indicates the aquifer layers that are exposed at the surface.

The Slice is a rammed-earth wall that mimics the geologic strata of the region surrounding Stephenville, Texas. Each layer represents millions of years of environmental change. The Slice's blue layers indicate the presence of water in specific strata of the Trinity Aquifer. These waters follow a general pattern, moving deeper and deeper below ground as you travel east across the Aquifer. Exact depths of the wet strata vary widely, but the scale on the end of the wall indicates general depth with 50 foot hatch marks. The embedded stainless steel rods represent wells used to access this precious resource.