Hydrogeology

Kotelnikovsky Spring - Khakussy Spring - Dawsha spring - Snake spring - Goryaschinsk Spring - Arshan - Nilowa Pustyn - Zemchug

Nilowa Pustyn 1 (bath-tub)

The small village was founded by a physicist and chemist named Nil Stolbenski. In the area of the village three thermal springs exist but the Medical Center of Nilowa Pustyn receives the water from two drilled boreholes which are 120 m deep. This water has a high concentration of radon and silica acid. Because of its supposed healing effect the 41 to 43°C warm water is used for medical purpose. The Medical Center offers their hosts courses of bath, massages and a lot more to heal skin diseases, wounds, physical damages, eye diseases etc. To fill one bath-tub they need approximately 300 L water. Therefore an immense water amount of approximately 1800 m³ per day is required. The Medical Center counts about 2000-3000 visitors per year. The mineralization is about 1 g/L (commentary of a correspondent of the Medical Center).

The taken water sample from the bath-tub has been analyzed and showed the following characteristics.

Table: hydrogeochemical parameters (1)
---------------------------------------------
date 2004-08-05
time 0:45 pm
pH = 7.7
conductivity = 1372 µS/cm
temperature = 41.1 °C
E_H = 279 mV
O₂ = 3.1 mg/L = 55.2 %

 

The analyzed water shows at a temperature of 41.1 °C, a relative high electrical conductivity with about 1372 µS/cm and a more or less neutral pH with a little trend towards a basic character. On the base of an empiric formula the mineralization can be estimated by the multiplication of the measured value of electrical conductivity with the factor 0.725. In this case it would be:
1372 µS/cm * 0.725 = 994.7 mg/L = 0.99 g/L. This result supports the commentary of the correspondent of the Medical Center.
The oxygen saturation is about 55 % and not very high for example in comparison to the water samples of the Selenga. Taking these field-parameters into consideration perhaps the data of the photometric tests could better explained.

Table: hydrogeochemical parameters (2)
---------------------------------------------
Fe(tot) = 0.03 mg/L
Fe²⁺ = 0.00 mg/L
NO₃^- = 0.40 mg/L
NO₂^- = 0.077 mg/L
PO₄^3- = 0.51 mg/L

In comparison to all water samples taken the proportion of iron is very low. No Fe²⁺ was determined, trivalent iron accounts for 100% of the iron species. Considering the measured pH and the redox potential the main iron species may be Fe(OH)₂⁺. The contents of nitrogen and phosphor are also not very high.

Nilowa Pustyn 2 (silver spring)

Near the Medical Center of Nilowa Pustyn runs a river where the silver spring has its source. A little tube at the margin of the river marks this little spring.

[silver spring]

We took a sample of this water and got the following characteristics:

Table: hydrogeochemical parameters
-----------------------------------------
date 2004-08-05
time 1:30 pm
pH = 7.9
conductivity = 333 µS/cm
temperature = 16.2 °C
E_H = 393 mV
O₂ = 3.55 mg/L = 40.3 %

Fe(tot) = 0.03 mg/L
NO₃^- = 1.20 mg/L
PO₄^3- = 0.28 mg/L

In comparison to the water of the bath-tub there is a little rise of the pH of about 0.2 units whereas the temperature and the electrical conductivity drop significantly. The temperature of about 16.2 °C is relatively normal for a river. The value for electrical conductivity lies within the range of most water samples. The proportion of iron did not change and is still low. The content of NO₃^- is three times higher than in the bath-tub and that of PO₄^3- about the half of it. These differences are caused by the different origin of these watertypes.

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