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   Taking the Waters by Joe St Clair
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Today when we think of ’mineral water’, we immediately think of the fashionable ‘designer drink’ of the 21st century distributed in highly-priced bottles in supermarkets and restaurants. To anyone born in the last 10 years, a plastic bottle of mineral water is just as much a cultural icon as a can of Coca-Cola. Expensive bottled water is the must-have necessity of joggers, tennis players and the diet conscious. Drinking mineral water though is not a new phenomenon. Fashionable society in Europe has ‘taken the waters’ or ‘taken the cure’ since the Romans opened many mineral springs to public use. But what exactly do we mean by ‘mineral water’ and how does it differ from what we might call ‘ordinary water’? 


Mineral water is simply water containing minerals from the rock or soil it passes through. Different types of mineral water have different tastes depending on the type of rock or soil they pass through. This is why some people are prepared to pay a high price for water with a distinctive taste. Some types of mineral water have natural bubbles in it. But many mineral water operators now add bubbles to their water artificially. However, it is not legal to add extra minerals. The US Federal Drug Association (FDA) for example classifies mineral water as “water containing at least 250 parts per million total dissolved solids and is water coming from a source tapped at one or more bore holes or springs originating from a geologically and physically protected underground water source”.

In ancient times, people viewed the site of a natural spring as ‘sacred’ because the water rarely ran out in times of drought. However, over time, people also noticed that those who drank or bathed in the waters tended to enjoy good health. Warm mineral springs tend to reduce the impact of arthritis or aching joints. For this reason, many resorts have developed around mineral springs. These towns are known as spas, baths or wells. A spa, bath or well indicates a place where people come to take the water for health reasons. A “well” describes a place where people drink the water, a “bath” indicates a place where people generally bathe in the water while a “spa” indicates a place where people tend to do both. Over the years, active tourist centres grew up around these various mineral water sites. In England, the ancient towns of Bath and Tunbridge Wells have acted as health resorts for the past 5000 years or more. Some 2000 years ago, the Romans made Bath one of the most important towns in Britain. Taking the waters at Bath remains popular with hundreds of thousands of visitors to this day.

Nowadays, people buy mineral water without ever travelling to the place from which the water comes. Amazingly, there are over 3000 brands of mineral water now commercially available worldwide. The most famous mineral water tends to come from different spa towns in France. As some of the first tourist destinations in the world, the spa towns of France rank among the most prestigious health resorts in the world. There are more than 50 spa towns in France, including Vichy, Evian, Volvic and many others ending in the words ‘Les Bains’ meaning ‘the baths’.

However, opinion is divided about the relative merits of fresh tap water versus bottled mineral water. In the UK, for example, the quality of tap water is extremely high. UK tap water undergoes more rigorous checking than spring water. For this reason, advocates of tap water say UK tap water is always fresher and better to drink than bottled mineral water.

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Glossary

Drought (n)
a period of time when there is no rain.

Advocate (n)
a person who strongly supports someone or something.
  Last Updated ( Wednesday, 10 February 2010 11:40 )