In Europe, ca. 1900 "mineral water" brandsare officially registered and bottled for drinking. Bottled waters isgroundwater and is in large parts of the continent rapidly developing into themain supply of drinking water for the general population.This book is the first state of the art overview of the chemistry ofgroundwaters from 40 European countries from Portugal to Russia, measured on1785 bottled water samples, equivalent to 1189 distinct bottled water brandsfrom 1247 wells in 884 locations plus an additional 500 tap water samplesacquired in 2008 by the network of EuroGeoSurveys experts all across Europe.In contrast to previously available compilations, all chemical data (containedon the enclosed CD) were measured in a single laboratory, under strict qualitycontrol with high internal and external reproducibility, affording a singlehigh quality, internally consistent dataset. More than 70 parameters weredetermined on every sample using state of the art analytical techniques withultra low detection limits (ICPMS, ICPOES, IC) at a single hydrochemical labfacility. Because of the wide geographical distributionof the water sources across 40 European countries, the bottled mineral,drinking and tap waters characterized herein may be used for obtaining a firstestimate of "ground- water geochemistry" at the scale of the EuropeanContinent, previously unavailable in this completeness, quality and coverage.The data published here allow for the first time to present a comprehensiveinternally consistent, overview of the natural distribution and variation ofthe determined chemical elements and additional state parameters of groundwaterat the European scale. Most elements show a very widerange, usually 3 to 4 but up to 7 orders of magnitude, of natural variation of their concentration. Data are interpreted in terms of their origin, considering hydrochemical parameters, such as the influence of soil, vegetation cover and mixing with deep waters, as well as other factors (bottling effects, leaching from bottles). A chapter is devoted to comparing the results from the bottled waters with those of European tap waters and previously published datasets. The authors also provide an overview of the legal framework, that any bottled water sold in the European Union must comply with. It provides a comprehensive compilation of current drinking water action levels in European countries, limiting values of the European Drinking/Mineral/Natural Mineral Water directives (1998/83/EC, 2003/40/EC, 2009/54/EC) and legislation in effect in 26 individual European Countries, and for comparison those of the FAO and in effect in the US (EPA, maximum contaminant levels [MCA]). The accompanying CD contains the extensive data sets, sample data (of 1189 different brands) and two previously published European water chemistry data sets.

This book provides information about springs, mineral waters, and thermal waters used for municipal, industrial, and agricultural water supplies and the rapidly expanding bottled water industry. The role of springs is described for ancient civilizations, military campaigns and, in more recent times, for tourism and health spas. In addition, their source, occurrence, and methods for development and use are described. The book contains data obtained from major hydrogeologic databases and from leading hydrogeologists.

The Grand Spas of Central Europe leads readers on an irresistible tour through the grand spa towns of Central Europe—fabled places like Baden-Baden, Bad Ems, Bad Gastein, Karlsbad, and Marienbad. Noted historian David Clay Large follows the grand spa story from Greco-Roman antiquity to the present, focusing especially on the years between the French Revolution and World War II, a period in which the major Central European Kurorte (“cure-towns”) reached their peak of influence and then slipped into decline. Written with verve and affection, the book explores the grand spa towns, which in their prime were an equivalent of today’s major medical centers, rehab retreats, golf resorts, conference complexes, fashion shows, music festivals, and sexual hideaways—all rolled into one. Conventional medicine being quite primitive through most of this era, people went to the spas in hopes of curing everything from cancer to gout. But often as not “curists” also went to play, to be entertained, and to socialize. In their heyday the grand spas were hotbeds of cultural creativity, true meccas of the arts. High-level politics was another grand spa specialty, with statesmen descending on the Kurorte to negotiate treaties, craft alliances, and plan wars. This military scheming was just one aspect of a darker side to the grand spa story, one rife with nationalistic rivalries, ethnic hatred, and racial prejudice. The grand spas, it turns out, were microcosms of changing sociopolitical realities—not at all the “timeless” oases of harmony they often claimed to be. The Grand Spas of Central Europe holds up a gilt-framed but clear-eyed mirror to the ever-changing face of European society—dimples, warts, and all.