Water Types

Oligomineral waters contain very low total dissolved solids (below 500 mg/L). They are the gentlest on the kidneys and urinary tract, making them ideal for daily consumption. Their mild diuretic effect promotes hydration without mineral overload. Many of the world's most celebrated bottled mineral waters — Evian, Volvic, Acqua Panna — are oligomineral springs. These waters are often found emerging from granite and crystalline rock formations where minerals dissolve slowly.

Sulphurous waters contain hydrogen sulphide (H₂S) and/or sulphur compounds, giving them their characteristic rotten-egg odour. Despite this, they are among the most therapeutically potent mineral waters. Sulphur is essential for collagen synthesis, liver detoxification, and glutathione production. Sulphurous springs are predominantly found in volcanic and geothermally active zones. They have been used since ancient Roman times for skin, respiratory, and rheumatic conditions.

The most abundant category of therapeutic mineral waters, bicarbonated waters contain elevated levels of bicarbonate ions (HCO₃⁻). They are alkalising, reducing acidity in the stomach and blood. European spa towns built around bicarbonated springs — Karlovy Vary, Vichy, Spa — became the playgrounds of royalty precisely because these waters were prescribed for the digestive and metabolic disorders of the aristocratic lifestyle: gout, liver disease, and obesity.

Iron-rich waters with a characteristic reddish-brown colour and metallic taste from dissolved ferrous iron (Fe²⁺). The city of Spa in Belgium gave its name to all spas precisely because of its cold, iron-rich, naturally carbonated springs. Ferruginous waters were the 18th-century prescription for anaemia, fatigue, and "weakness of the blood." Many are cold springs where iron-bearing groundwater emerges at the surface and oxidises on contact with air.