Quality comparison of the mineral waters sold in Hungary

and the drinking water in Debrecen

Péter Újlaki
Reason mining geological engineer, ed. water supply-sewerage-wastewater
treatment engineer
Debreceni Vízmű Zrt. 4025 Debrecen, Hatvan u. 12-14.
ujlaki@debreceni-vizmu.hu

Introduction

Today, consumer habits have changed to such an extent that a significant number
of people primarily drink bottled mineral water both at home and at work. This also
means the devaluation of tap water, although if we examine it with a professional
eye, it can be stated that the operators of the majority of our country's public water
supply systems comply with the 201/2001. (X.25.) They provide consumers with
mineral water that complies with government regulations.
Our country's public water supply is based on underground water bases. The water
resources here did not receive enough attention due to the advance of mineral
waters, even though in many cases one of the wells that are close to each other and
produce water from the same geological formation supplies consumers with official
mineral water, while the other "only" supplies tap water.
If we examine this tap water more carefully, it is clear that Debrecen tap water
complies with the 65/2004. (IV.27.) It is basically in accordance with the FVM-
EszCsM-GKM joint decree, i.e. the residents of Debrecen receive mineral water
through the tap.

1. Geological conditions

In Debrecen, the basis of public drinking water and industrial-agricultural water

supply is provided by layers of sedimentary rocks (sand, gravelly sand) that
provide water containing dissolved iron, manganese and a small amount of
methane at a depth of 80-270 m below the surface. Among these, the group of
layers of the Lower Pleistocene age, which is also called the "aquatic layer", stands
out. With the exception of three wells, the middle Pleistocene aquifers above this
and with less favorable development are used exclusively for water production for
industrial purposes, while two drinking water utility wells were built on the deeper
Upper Pannonian layers. The stratified water production wells are located on the
surface in four well-separated zones due to the public water production plants of
Debreceni Vízmű Zrt. and the industrial water users with independent wells (Figure
1).

2. Centers of gravity for water production

No. I in zone 1 in the western area . In addition to the 35 wells installed in the
lower Pleistocene strata (at a depth of 83-158 m from the surface) of the water
production plant, there are also the wells of some industrial consumers using
the Upper and Middle Pleistocene water sources.
Lower Pleistocene producing wells (depth range 116-181 m) in the northern zone
No. 2 is 40, of which 31 serve utility purposes ( Water Production Plant No. II ),
the rest meet industrial and institutional needs (TEVA Zrt., DEOEC, etc.). The II.
s. The water production site includes a Middle Pleistocene layer (bottom depth:
113.6 m, filtration: 86.0 – 104.0 m) and an Upper Pannon aquifer (bottom: 278.0
m, filtration: 246.3 – 266, 7 m) production well. The significant production of
water for industrial and other purposes in the zone takes place from nearly 20 wells
filtering the Middle and Upper Pleistocene layers closer to the surface (TEVA Zrt.,
MGM-Daewoo (FAG), Debreceni Köztemető).
3 in the SE part of the city, all three Pleistocene layers are used exclusively
for industrial water use. The activities here (canning industry and mineral water
production, thermal power plant, meat processing, etc.) withdraw water from the
Lower Pleistocene aquifer (depth interval 122.0-202.0 m) for almost a quarter of
the total production in Debrecen, while from the layers closer to the surface more
than 50% of industrial water from
4 in the eastern part of the city can be characterized by a total of 28 wells,
which were built in IV. It operates a water production plant according to needs.
In addition to the wells of the Lower Pleistocene layers (142.0-214.0 m depth
range), the plant filters the Upper Pannon aquifer with one well (base: 273.1 m,
filtration: 234.8-264.0 m).
water plant next to the Vekeri lake recreation center , SE of Debrecen ,
where two wells form the basis of the water supply. One of these filters the Lower
Pleistocene (bottom depth: 220.0 m, filtering: 181.0 – 215.0 m), the other filters the
middle Pleistocene layer (bottom depth: 97.7 m, filtering: 73.0 – 94.5 m). The
settlement part of Dombostanya is in the NE direction from Debrecen and its
115.0 m deep well produces a Middle Pleistocene layer (99.5 - 109.0 m). Since
November 2008, the Dombostanya well has been operating as a backup well and
only when necessary, because the water supply of the settlement part was solved
through a pipeline with two pressure boosters.
 Figure 1

3. Utility water production and its change over time

Within the zones, the production of the wells has changed over the years according
to the needs. From the 1910s to the 1970s, the use of the Lower Pleistocene strata,
which is decisive for water production, increased continuously from the 1910s to
the 1970s, so it became necessary to use the Keleti main canal as a surface water
base in order to preserve the stratified water base in the long term. (1976).
In Debrecen's drinking water supply, since 1976, purified layer and surface water
have been used together, so that at first the I. and then the II. s. The water
production plant also cleaned underground and surface water together, while the
IV. s. plant supplies only iron, manganese and degassed aquifer water to the public
utility water network. Parallel to the increase in water demand, well side
production increased until the years 1986-87, which is also clearly visible in the
Lower Pleistocene layers of the main aquifer (Figure 2).
 35000 A rétegvíztermelés és a vízátvétel
32238 alakulása a Debreceni Vízmű Zrt-nél
Átvett víz
29347
30000 Rétegvíz (ezer m3/év) 29528
Összes víz 25579
Összes
25000
víztermelés (ezer m3/év)

víztermelés

18988
20000 19210 17081
15813

15000
Rétegvíz
14760 14 924
termelés
10000
Átvett víz

5000

0
1971.
1972.

1973.
1974.
1975.

1976.
1977.
1978.

1979.
1980.
1981.

1982.
1983.
1984.

1985.
1986.
1987.

1988.
1989.
1990.
1991.

1992.
1993.
1994.

1995.
1996.
1997.

1998.
1999.
2000.

2001.
2002.
2003.

2004.
2005.
2006.

2007.
2008.
évek

Figure 2

The change in the rest level of the production wells follows the increase in
production, the peak years, the decrease in water demand in the 1990s and the
current state, which is characterized by the use of the balanced stratified water base
(Figure 3).

Nyugalmi vízszintek változása a rétegvíztermelő kutakban (1978-1999.)

100,00

fső pann.
IV. 2.
95,00

kpső pleisz.
90,00 II. 24.
vízszintek (mBf.)

85,00

alsó pleisz.
II. 21.
80,00 alsó pleisz.
I. B6

alsó pleisz.
75,00 IV. 1.

70,00
1978. 1979. 1980. 1981. 1982. 1983. 1984. 1985. 1986. 1987. 1988. 1989. 1990. 1991. 1992. 1993. 1994. 1995. 1996. 1997. 1998. 1999.

Figure 3
4. Water chemistry characterization of produced layers and water supplied by
water production plants

The deep water base means three aquifers of different ages in Debrecen's public
water supply, which are as follows:

- Middle Pleistocene layers 3 wells

- Lower Pleistocene layers 94 wells
- upper pannon layers 2 wells

I present the most important chemical components of waters from layers of

different ages as follows (Figure 4):

2000,0
Db-i rétegvizek összehasonlítása a mo-i ásványvizekkel MINÁSV
1800,0
MAXÁSV
ÁTLÁSV
1600,0
alsópl. (I / É8)
1400,0 kpsőpl. (II /24)
fsőpann. (IV/2)
1200,0

1000,0

800,0

600,0

400,0

200,0

0,0

Ca 2+ Mg 2+ Na + K+ HCO3- SO4 2- Cl - Összes

ásványi-
anyag
tartalom

Figure 4

It is also interesting to examine the chemical data of the supplied water per site,
especially considering that the I. and II. s. water producing plants a.k.a. mixed
water is provided. This means that the stratified water from the wells is sent to a
clean water pool after the cleaning process, where it is mixed with the cleaned
surface water.
The mixing ratio varies by season and time of day. On an annual average (data
from 2008), the share of purified surface water is 27.6% in relation to all supplied
water.
In figures 5, 6 and 7, in addition to the chemical data of the water fed into the water
network by the plants, I have also indicated the maximum and minimum values of
the chemical data of the mineral waters available in our country.
2000,0

1800,0 I. sz. Víztermelő üzem kimenő vize és a mo-i ásványvizek (mg/l)

MINÁSV
1600,0
MAXÁSV
1400,0 ÁT LÁSV

1200,0 MIN EKI

MAX EKI
1000,0
ÁT L EKI
800,0

600,0

400,0

200,0

0,0
Ca 2+ Mg 2+ Na + K+ HCO3- SO4 2- Cl - Összes ásványi-
anyag tartalom

Figure 5

2500,0

II.sz. Víztermelő telep kimenő vize és a mo-i ásványvizek (mg/l)

2000,0

MINÁSV

1500,0 MAXÁSV
ÁT LÁSV
MIN KKI
1000,0
MAX KKI
ÁT L KKI
500,0

0,0
Ca 2+ Mg 2+ Na + K+ HCO3- SO4 2- Cl - Összes
ásványi-anyag
tartalom

Figure 6
 2000,0 MINÁSV
1800,0 IV. sz. Víztermelő telep kimenő vize és a mo-i ásványvizek (mg/l) MAXÁSV
1600,0
ÁTLÁSV
1400,0
1200,0 MIN NKI
1000,0 MAX NKI
800,0
ÁTL NKI
600,0
400,0
200,0
0,0
Ca 2+ Mg 2+ Na + K+ HCO3- SO4 2- Cl - Összes
ásványi-
anyag
tartalom

Figure 7
Summary

In summary, it can be stated that the water of the water production plants operated
by Debreceni Vízmű Zrt., i.e. the quality of the tap water in Debrecen, corresponds
to the category of mineral water. It is calcium-magnesium bicarbonate water with a
low sodium content, which is especially recommended for everyday consumption
due to its low sodium content. This fact has more weight than just treating it as
interesting information. Consumer surveys also show that the taste and enjoyment
value of chilled tap water or soda water is the same as commercially available
bottled mineral water. This is reassuring for consumers and also a pleasure for the
service provider.

Bibliography
[1] Mineral waters and medicinal waters Edited by Béla Borszéki Mezőgazdasági Kiadó, Budapest
1979.
[2] Experiences and expected conclusions of the operation of the deep water base through the
example of Debrecen Péter Újlaki's water supply-sewerage-wastewater treatment engineering
diploma thesis BME 1993.
[3] Diagnostic examination of deep water bases declared vulnerable in Debrecen and Hajdúsámson
(1997-2000) Hungarian Hydrological Society National Wandering Assembly Miskolc, 1999. 666-
693. side
[4] Operational experiences of the stratified water base in Debrecen, especially the 1987-1998. for the
period between National Wandering Assembly of the Hungarian Hydrological Society Miskolc,
1999. 804-828. side
[5] 65/2004. (IV.27.) FVM-EszCsM-GKM joint decree
[6] The quality of aquifers in Debrecen in the light of mineral water classification XV. Conference on
groundwater, presentation by Péter Újlaki, Balatonfüred March 26-27, 2008.
[7] The effect of mineral water on the human body XVI. Conference on groundwater, presentation by
Péter Újlaki, Siófok March 25-26, 2009.