Creation of innovative experimental prototypes to meet health safety challenges in thermal spas

It is essential to preserve the quality of natural mineral water from its origin to the points of use, so as to ensure sanitary safety for patients within the thermal spas. The complexity of water systems may lead to issues linked to microbiological and physico-chemical contaminations which are necessary to be solved in order to keep the installations in compliance with the regulations in force. In order to provide the thermal spa sector with means to achieve this goal, the team at the Institut du Thermalisme – Bordeaux University aimed at finding a relevant solution, i.e. designing and making two original and innovating prototypes which reproduce – in miniature – the natural mineral water system we can find in thermal spas. These two prototypes are different due to the nature of the materials they are made of. It is possible to get significant improvements in the research: on the one hand, linked to the general working of a thermal water system connected to individual or collective care units and, on the other hand, improvements in the research on keeping the quality of natural mineral water. Also, to solve microbiological and physico-chemical contamination issues, chemical and thermal treatments can be used.