Good Practices of Quality Control in the Area Surrounding of Natural Mineral Water Abstraction of São Pedro Do Sul Medical Spa (Portugal)

São Pedro do Sul medical spa is a space with a millenary tradition in providing health services from the natural hot groundwater. The main source of supply of this thermal unit, was along the time, the Traditional Spring, which in the last decades has been controlled, and shows to have constancy in the flow rate, with about 10 L/s, with a temperature of 68.6°C in the origin. From 1999 onwards, with the construction of new abstraction, Well AC1, with 500m deep, with a maximum flow rate of 12.2 L/s, at 67°C, the exploitation potential of this resource increased. Due to the fabulous characteristics of the resource’s potential (hot natural mineral water), there has been over time a great development in the spa medical activity, having already frequented these spa 25450 users per year, reflecting a maximum annual turnover of 5.4 million euros, coming from thermalism alone. Currently, there are two Bathhouses in operation and the resource is used, not only for therapeutic and wellness thermalism but also for geothermal uses and yet in the cosmetic area. This situation becomes the perfect scenario for attracting investment, increasing the circulation of people and goods, but also in the interest of building new bathhouses, hotels and restaurants and subsequently new roads, gardens, public drinking water and sanitation networks. All this pressure causes a lot of potential damage to the environment, including the underground water environment, and could eventually lead to the closure of the medical spa, if the natural mineral water from the abstractions become contaminated. In Portugal, there are several legally imposed defensive mechanisms of the mineral aquifer system, namely the implementation of the Protection Perimeter, but also the analytical control of the natural mineral water, at the abstraction head, both in chemical and microbiological terms, in addition to the orientation to have an automatic, on-line, record system associated to the abstractions, monitoring parameters such as: water level, flow rate, temperature, pH and conductivity of the water captured. However, the Sao Pedro do Sul medical spa go further, implementing an external monitoring system, consisting of: i) double piezometers (to sample groundwater at different depths), ii) street rainwater samplers, and iii) records precipitation and respective quality. Thus, in this paper, after a brief presentation of the importance of the resource and the physical aspects of the place (geology, hydrogeology and quality of the resource), the fundamental elements of the implemented external monitoring system and its main results are presented, showing that precipitation itself is already contaminated, that street rainwater sample presents chemical elements that are highly harmful to public health, and that groundwater sometimes presents very worrying results. Finally, some actions are mentioned that have been implemented to minimize the potential for contamination of natural mineral water from abstractions and the mineral aquifer system.

Protection Perimeter of a New Mineral Water in an Essentially Urban Environment: The Case of the São Tiago Medical Spa (Portugal)

São Tiago medical spa is an integrated structure in a new Health Tourism Complex, in Penamacor, Portugal, with a recent start of operation, due to the classification of a new natural mineral water in place. That medical spa bases its exploration on the natural mineral water obtained from the Well P1. Thus, to facilitate the preservation of the quality of the resource, natural mineral water, one of the fundamental instruments is the implementation of a Protection Perimeter of Well P1 and its associated aquifer system. In this sense, in this paper, after briefly presenting the basic geoenvironmental aspects that are the base for the elaboration of the Protection Perimeter, the methodology of its elaboration is explained, with the final solution, which constitutes a territory organized by three zones: Immediate Protection Zone, Intermediate Protection Zone and Extended Protection Zone. The official restrictions legally foreseen for those zones are mentioned and the official systematization of the current occupation of the territory is presented, in terms of the Municipal Master Plan (PDM), while emphasizing the potential sources of existing pollution. Finally, some comments are made about the future orientation regarding the occupation of the territory in the interior zones of the Protection Perimeter, so that the new Health Tourism complex, consisting of a medical spa, hotel, and aqualudic spaces, endures in the time, and helps the sustained economic growth of the region.

Temperature and discharge variations in natural mineral water springs due to climate variability: a case study in the Piedmont Alps (NW Italy)

In the context of global climate change, understanding the relationships between climate and groundwater is increasingly important. This study in the NW Alps represents the first regional-scale investigation of the groundwater feature variation in mountain aquifers due to climate variability. The analysis of groundwater temperature and discharge in 28 natural mineral water springs and meteorological parameters (rainfall and air temperature) permitted us to evaluate the annual behaviour and possible trends of these parameters during the period from 2001 to 2018. The air temperature showed a positive trend almost everywhere, with a rise of up to 0.03 °C/year. In contrast, only ten springs showed a positive trend for groundwater temperature, but with the smallest rates of increase. Moreover, despite the substantial stability of the rainfall amount, 50% of the analysed springs showed a trend (29 and 21% for positive and negative trends, respectively) with low discharge variations. Finally, cross-correlation analyses proved the close relationship between air and groundwater temperatures, with a time lag between 0 and 3 months, and between spring discharge and air temperature, with a time lag between 1 and 3 months. In particular, spring discharge is closely connected to snow melting in spring and subordinate to rainfall. These results highlight the existing correlations between spring discharge and various meteorological and topographic parameters in the studied mountain area and provide a preliminary framework of the impacts of climatic variability on the availability and temperature of the exploited water resources.

Lithium in Portuguese Bottled Natural Mineral Waters—Potential for Health Benefits?

There is increasing epidemiologic and experimental evidence that lithium (Li) exhibits significant health benefits, even at concentrations lower than the therapeutic oral doses prescribed as treatment for mental disorders. The aim of this study is to determine the content of Li in 18 brands of bottled natural mineral waters that are available on the Portuguese market and from which the sources are found within the Portuguese territory, to provide data for Li intake from drinking water. Analyses of Li were performed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The results indicate highly different Li concentrations in natural mineral waters: one group with low Li concentrations (up to 11 µg Li/L) and a second group with Li concentrations higher than 100 µg/L. The highest Li concentrations (>1500 µg Li/L) were observed in the highly mineralized Na-HCO3 type waters that are naturally carbonated (>250 mg/L free CO2). As a highly bioavailable source for Li dietary intake these natural mineral waters have potential for Li health benefits but should be consumed in a controlled manner due to its Na and F− contents. The consumption of as little as 0.25 L/day of Vidago natural mineral water (2220 µg Li/L), can contribute up to 50% of the proposed daily requirement of 1 mg Li/day for an adult (70 kg body weight). In future, Li epidemiological studies that concern the potential Li effect or health benefits from Li in drinking water should consider not only the Li intake from tap water but also intake from natural mineral water that is consumed in order to adjust the Li intake of the subjects.

Behavior of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter aerogenes in Water from Filter Jugs

Careless use conditions of filter jugs were applied to simulate and evaluate the behavior of two ubiquitous aquatic bacterial species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterobacter aerogenes. According to a reference protocol, nine different jugs of popular brands sold in the Italian market were used for the test. Separately, a suspension of the two bacteria was spiked in water used for filling the jugs. The concentration of the test organisms and total aerobic microbial count (TAMC) was measured daily in the filtered water along a period corresponding to the cartridge lifetime. Results showed a different trend of bacterial behavior. E. aerogenes was detectable exclusively on the first day after jug filling, while P. aeruginosa confirmed its persistence over time in all the jugs and its ability to potentially colonize surfaces and cartridges. The TAMC was detected at a concentration range from 102 to 107 CFU/100 mL in all the tests, high values that were not far from those raised in bottled flat natural mineral water weeks after bottling.