But the mining of the upper bed of salt by man does not account for the
subsidences here recorded. The name of the dangerous miner is "water."
When water reaches the upper bed of salt it dissolves it as water does
snow. Water can take in 26 degrees of salt and no more, and then it is
called brine. Underneath Northwich is a sea of brine which lies on the
top of the upper bed of salt rock. From this brine white salt is made by
a process of evaporation, and that is why all over Northwich you see
numbers of pumping stations which pump up the brine as fast almost as it
is made. As the brine is taken out fresh water flows in and takes up its
26 degrees of salt. In this way the great cavities under Northwich which
cause all the subsidences are made; they will grow bigger and bigger as
long as the pumping up of brine is continued.
Truly Northwich lives and moves and has its being in salt, and promises
to be buried in it too.
Brine pumping is the source of a terrible injustice. A man may buy a
piece of land large enough to erect a pumping station, and if on that
spot he can tap the brine there is nothing to prevent him from drawing
brine from any part of Northwich. And though his neighbour's house is
engulfed in the process, and though he is ruined thereby, he can secure
no compensation. If you were to mine salt or coal under your neighbour's
house you could be brought to book, but not if you take water, salt or
fresh.
Such was the law till a few months ago. But after a tremendous fight a
bill has been passed which gives a Compensation Board power to levy not
more than three-pence a ton on all brine pumped at Northwich. This levy
is to go to the compensation of those whose houses and property have
suffered. But at present not a penny has been paid and in no case will a
penny ever be paid for all the damage done before the passing of the
Act. Such is the tragedy of salt getting.