The springs in Arad County, some with sparkling mineral water, are becoming increasingly sought after, especially on weekends, when people wait in line in front of the wells to stock up for the entire week, thus avoiding buying bottled water.

In Arad County, there are 50 public wells in rural areas under the monitoring of the Public Health Directorate (DSP), according to information provided by the institution at the request of AGERPRES. These are monitored on a rotating basis every year, but the local authorities are also required to conduct at least one set of tests annually.

According to DSP, in 2024, only 16 of the 50 public wells tested were declared safe for water consumption, with the remaining wells exceeding certain parametres, either those indicating bacterial contamination or those showing concentrations of harmful chemical substances.

However, according to DSP, the best-known water sources in rural areas, such as the Siria and Mocrea wells, have water that is safe for consumption. In urban areas, the most well-known public wells are in Lipova and Chisineu-Cris, which have been tested by local authorities, who guarantee that the water is suitable for consumption.

Residents of Arad city have two closer sources for spring water supply. The first is a well located in the centre of the Siria locality, about 25 kilometres away, and the second is in Lipova, approximately 30 kilometres away.

The well in Siria is located at the edge of the county road and has a spacious parking lot nearby, but it is almost always occupied by drivers who stop to fill their containers with spring water.

'The water is very good, it doesn't contain limestone, it's very clean, and we mainly use it for coffee machines, because it doesn't cause limescale deposits and the machine doesn't get damaged. Before, we used to buy water from the store until we discovered the well,' said a man from Arad.

A retired couple comes to Siria every Saturday with ten five-litre containers.

'We use the water for cooking too; the food tastes different. For example, beans cook much faster in spring water,' said the woman while waiting in line to fill their jugs.

Many locals from nearby areas come to Siria to avoid buying bottled water.

'Plain or sparkling mineral water has become more expensive in the past year, especially now with the tax on packaging. We don't buy anymore; we come to the spring and stock up. It's even better than the store-bought one, it's naturally purified by the rock layers,' said a man from Ghioroc.

The mayor of Siria, Valentin Bot, said that the well is over 100 years old and was modernised in 2014.

'People come in large numbers because they appreciate the spring water here, which has been valued since 1884, when the first public well was built by a local baron,' the mayor told AGERPRES.

In Lipova, mineral water is considered the most important resource of the city, mainly known to tourists because of the Baile Lipova resort. In 1928, it received the gold medal at a mineral water exhibition in Bucharest, when the city became the supplier to the Royal Court under the brand 'Borvizul de Lipova.'

The sparkling mineral water from the local resort is the most sought after by Arad residents, but the wells have not been operating permanently in recent years. Visitors can only stock up on sparkling mineral water if they are lucky enough to find the tap open, as the borehole is under concession to a plant that bottles the water for commercial purposes.

The mayor of Lipova, Florin Pera, told AGERPRES that the water flows from the wells in the park only when the company uses a lower flow rate.

'The borehole is under concession by the company that bottles the water, but there are also pipes leading to the places where visitors get their mineral water. These places no longer have continuous flow. In the period when the company's orders are higher, and the water is extracted more, it's necessary to manage the flow from the borehole, and the taps for the pipes in the park are closed,' said the mayor.

In Chisineu-Cris, in the centre of the town, near the Town Hall, another well has become popular with locals. Here, people can supply themselves with free still mineral water taken from depth. The well is over a century old, and ten years ago, the local administration invested in modernising it. Representatives of the Town Hall say that the well has become increasingly sought after by both local residents and passersby.

On the other hand, the water from Mocrea is sought after because it is believed to have therapeutic properties. In front of the two wells located at the edge of the county road connecting Arad to the city of Ineu, there is always a line. On weekends, hundreds of people stop to fill their containers with sparkling water that has an unpleasant taste and smell due to its sulphur content.

'We estimate that over 200 people stop daily at the two wells, which are next to each other. This water is very well-known for its therapeutic effects, especially on the digestive system,' says the mayor of Ineu, Calin Abrudan.

The properties of the water were first noticed during the interwar period, and, in 1979, the authorities set up a public-access well and installed an informational panel indicating that the water was beneficial for digestive disorders, diuresis cures, biliary lithiasis, urinary tract infections, or for recovery after surgeries on the urinary tract. The water was also recommended for diabetes.

Twenty years ago, the water from Mocrea was a business for some locals, who sold it in containers across the border in Hungary to those who used it in various treatments. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Marian Buga; EN - writing by: Adina Panaitescu)