I'm surprised that I've not written about this before. Warsaw sits on top of reserves of water trapped 200m below the ground in rocks laid down in the Oligocene period. The city has 107 of these artesian wells (click for full list of addresses and opening times). Above: here is our local one on ul. Buszycka, close to W-wa Jeziorki station.
Drawing spring water from here is free (as opposed to the shop-bought stuff that typically costs around 1 zł 50 for a litre and half bottle). You can often see people dragging large cannisters to them for a free fill-up with drinkable water.The woda oligoceńska comes out of taps at a fierce pressure, enough to fill a five-litre container (right) in a few seconds.
Access to free spring water is a wonderful institution; while our tapwater is chlorinated and of dubious potability, the water filtered through rocks from the Oligocene 25 million years old, is made out of 13.7 billion year-old hydrogen atoms and slightly younger oxygen atoms, mixed to a precise ratio of two to one, pure and eminently drinkable.
A propos of water, an interesting article from this week's New Scientist. Why does water freeze from the top down when every other liquid freezes from the bottom up?
Michael - is the water tested regularly?
ReplyDeleteCouldn't tell you, but I've not heard of any cryptosporidium enteritis outbreaks in my 12 years in Warsaw. In London there would be occasional cases, vans driving round telling people to boil their water.
ReplyDeleteThe only caveat re: woda oligoceńska is to drink within 24 to 48 hours of drawing it.
I wonder what would happen to this water if a sealed container of it would be put on the shelf for a week or two? Would things start growing in it?
ReplyDeleteWhere I live in Ohio the tap water will go greenish if it sits in a sealed bottle for as little as 1 day. The local water authority admits no problems. I have a source of reverse-osmosis purified water I use for my home drinking supply or to take in large jugs on camping expeditions.
Anonymous - the water is tested, last one is sticked to the front door.
ReplyDeleteAll parameters passed, with A mark :-)
Michael,
You've missed a figure of The Lady on the left side of the front wall. Those living on Buszycka have asked to have a niche in the wall for the figure. This differs our well from a very similar one on Puławska near Farbiarska.
This is the place where local "council" (Zarząd Jednostki Pomocniczej Osiedle Etap) gathers with the community from time to time, to announce what has been done for the locals.
This is also the place where locals gather at 19.00 every Saturady in May to sing.
http://jeziorki.blogspot.com/2008/05/devoted-shriners.html
The well has been drilled to the depthe of 260m in mid 60-ties last century, to feed Buszycka houses. Unfortunately there was too much iron (rather ferrum ? don't know) and the community was connected to Warsaw water system running along Karczunkowska.
About 10 years ago "the council" started enquiries at the Gmina to rebuild the well with water treatment station. Then the old well chamber has been demolished, the well itself cleaned and new building has been built. Finally it has been opened in 2004 as far as I remember.
Best regards,
Here you have more info:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ursynow.waw.pl/page/index.php?str=425&date=2004-03-00&id=554
BTW - not all wells are true "oligocene". Only those that go deeper than 200m. Our does the one on Puławska in Pyry doesn't only 60m deep.
And nothing "greens" on the sides of a container, if you change it often. we us a 5-liter one when we buy de-ionised water for the steam iron. So every 1-2 weeks it's replaced.
I often wondered what was going on in those little huts, but we don't have them down here in Krakow so I forgot about them. Now I know.
ReplyDeleteThere are wells in Krakow though: there's one on that little square between Pilsudskiego and Krupnicza (near Studencka) and there's another one near Rynek Debnicki. I'm not sure where the water comes from though.
ReplyDeleteKraks? Water? I'd be less surprised to hear that Kraków has beer wells where oligocene beer is drawn up into the parched mouths of stag partiers...
ReplyDeleteYou see, this is EXACTLY the kind of fiddly nonsense that people should read this blog for!
ReplyDeleteVery interesting.
A company called Eden deliver our water every month. They say it was gently scraped from the underparts of Jurassic dinosaurs, 17 trillion years ago. Not sure I believe them though.
Anon - the water is tested weekly. The results are published each Monday and posted in the door to the well. Tests are done for e. coli and other bugs, as well as acidity, clarity, taste, smell and chemical composition.
ReplyDeleteShort film shot in Żoliborz at the well
ReplyDelete