Mineral Bath Spa Uses Plain Old Tap Water

When bathing in natural mineral waters at a spa, consumers assume they are bathing in pure mineral water. But according to state officials Monday, The famous baths at Saratoga Spa State Park in New York have been weakened down with plain old tap water for the last 20 years.

The Saratoga Spa State Park has been attracting around 14,000 people per year. The people attracted to this place are paying $20 dollars for the chance to soak in what they had believed to be, natural mineral water.

According to the New York Post the state and the company that runs the baths have been mixing heated tap water with the cold carbonated mineral water that is pumped up from over 1,000 feet beneath the surface. The practice of mixing the water began when the water heater used by the park stopped working in the 1930s.

Raymond Watkin who is the former Mayor of Saratoga Springs told the New York Post," They're lying to the public. It's the state committing fraud."

State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno also spoke out against this practice.

"The report that ordinary tap water has been secretly used at the baths could damage Saratoga's reputation and be harmful to business and tourism," he was quoted saying.

The State parks spokeswoman Eileen Larrabee stands by the fact that the state has never had a complaint from any of the people that had visited the bath waters and that the state just wants people to be aware of the bath mix. Apparently no one has noticed a difference with the bath waters.

The Associated Press had tried to contact Xanterra, the company that runs the bath house. The AP report that they did not get an immediate response from Xanterra's Colorado headquarters.

I personally went on a search of the Saratoga Spa State Park website. I found history of the mineral springs that spoke of the Indians that had found the springs and how for a long time people have come to the springs to try and cure ailments. I even found where they spoke of how much salt content, carbonation and radioactivity is needed for a spring to be considered to be mineral water.

But nowhere on their website do they mention that they are using tap water. There is just a rave about the history of the bath waters and how the rich and fashionable had once come to enjoy the mineral waters.

Kristina Weilbacher of San Antonia, Texas spoke with the New York Post, "I thought I was bathing in pure mineral water. I definitely should have been told."

Sources:

Associated Press:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20070319/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_mineral_bath_mixup;_ylt=AmDzHUcIfoYkZ2c5rG7zSaqs0NUE

Saratoga Spa:
http://www.saratogaspastatepark.org/

Xanterra:
http://www.xanterra.com