Bottled water of healing
A century-old well-spring in Zabloc will soon begin producing brine many people believe is beneficial to our health. The spring, in a city park near Strumien, has a hundred years of history.
Soon, after a long break, brine will again be drawn from the spring, bringing benefits to people who will be able to drink or inhale the iodine the brine consists of, Gazeta Wyborcza reported. The brine ledge shelf has accumulated in the millions of years that sea plankton have lived, died and decayed in the brine. The brine in question is actually just water, but thanks to its richness of minerals it is believed to be beneficial to our health and body. Water from the Zabloc well spring, called Zablocka, contains the world’s highest concentration of iodine and bromine. It also has high concentrations of calcium, potassium, ferrum, chlorine, sodium, selenium, magnesium and many other micro-elements important for good health..Poland is uncommonly rich in various mineral waters, including the famous well-springs in Krynica or Naleczow but also the smaller and sometimes overlooked water resources, like Zablocka.
This water is widely used at spas for rehabilitation purposes, in curing a variety of ailments from skin conditions to bladder trouble. Its influence on our body was discovered about a hundred years ago as Austrians searched for coal resources. They didn’t find them, but inside the 1 kilometer-deep hole (called the crown), which remained after drilling, saline produced so-called Zablocka iodine-bromine salt.
After World War II the saline was used by spas in Poland as well as in Austria and Germany. Many scientific papers were written on Zablocka’s positive influence on health. However its fame wasn’t enough to overcome the financial problems of Polish spas in the 1980s. They stopped buying the salt and because of that saline production was halted.
Two years ago a company was launched to re-open the excavation of salt, Gazeta Wyborcza reported. “We have already dealt with the whole bureaucracy. We have received the concession from Ministry of Environment at the beginning of this year and thanks to that we can start the excavation,” company owner Boguslaw Golik told Gazeta Wyborcza. The company is hoping the saline will become as well-known as it once was.
“It has a wonderful quality. It’s the world’s only brine of such sodium, with a concentration of even 130 mg per liter. Sea water has only 2 mg per liter,” Golik added. The company has already initiated a partnership with spas, pharmacy companies and other businesses who want to make use of the water.
The water can be purchased for private use in 2-liter bottles in markets, although there are more expansive plans for the product. Soon the saline will be used also in Strumien, where the brine is located. In spring the town will open a fountain with a saline circulation.
The water spread all over the park will make a mist and people sitting on the banks will be able to inhale the iodine.Strumien Vice Mayor Roman Gren told Gazeta Wyborcza, “We want to promote our saline and encourage tourists to come to Strumien.” Another idea is to use the brine to make pools with healing water. If investors can be found, such pools would no doubt become popular and attract visitors to the village.