Mineral Waters of Kyrgyzstan

Medicinal iron mineral waters are those that contain at least 20 mg/l of dissolved iron. There are not many such waters in our country, but it was precisely at the iron-rich Marcial waters (located 50 km from Petrozavodsk) that the first resort in Russia was established in 1719 by a decree of Peter I. They are named Marcial in honor of Mars, the ancient Roman god of war, as it was believed at that time that consuming iron mineral water made a person strong.

An interesting historical fact about the resort is that for the medicinal use of these waters, the tsar approved the "Doctor's Rules on how to use these waters," which noted that they were developed to ensure health benefits from these waters: "...so that no one harms their health through improper use of them," and a warning was issued about the punishment of possible violators. However, even after more than 250 years, we are still far from using the healing power of mineral waters wisely, and Peter's warning is still relevant.

In Kyrgyzstan, there are no resorts based on iron waters, as these waters are not considered particularly valuable, poorly tolerate transportation and storage, and their sources are mostly located in relatively inaccessible conditions. However, many residents and guests of our republic have encountered springs where a bright orange-brown or orange-red slime is deposited along the streambed. This is the precipitated trivalent iron hydroxide, i.e., well-known rust.

In the upper reaches of the Yassy River, there are about a dozen groups of carbonated water springs containing elevated concentrations of dissolved iron, and several groups of purely iron springs, in which the carbon dioxide content is so low that it does not represent practical interest.

The highest iron content (45 mg/l) in a natural spring has been recorded at a spring located in the Savala area, 2 km northeast of the confluence of the Chitty River and the Arkarshur Stream, at an absolute elevation of 2870 m; an interesting feature of the spring's location is that its outlet is 70 m above the bottom of the local valley, which is generally not characteristic of mineral waters: they most often have an upward flow underground, and their appearance on the surface is usually associated with the bottoms of cuts and valleys.

A group of small streams of iron water flows from cracks in dark gray organic-rich aleurolites of the Tuyuk formation of Lower Jurassic age. The flow rate of the outlet is close to 0.1 l/s, and the water temperature is 7.6°C, which is 2-4°C higher than the most commonly encountered in this area at elevations close to the iron spring outlet.

According to its chemical composition, the water is bicarbonate calcium-iron, odorless, fresh, with a distinct taste of iron; its mineralization is 180 mg/l, and the amount of dissolved free carbon dioxide is 88 mg/l.

The spring is easily recognizable in the area by the bright color of the iron sediment and can be seen from afar. The approach to it is not easy—about 10 km along a trail on the right bank of the Chitty River valley from the place of its confluence with the Yassy River, and then one and a half kilometers through rough terrain. However, the effort spent is well justified by the memory of the beauty of those places and the not-so-bad taste of iron that lingers in the mouth; moreover, one who sets out to meet this spring may encounter another spring similar to the one described. And that spring will be just yours, although ours still does not have a name.

Another outlet of iron waters in the Yassy River basin is located in the upper reaches of the Arkarshur Stream, 0.5 km upstream from its confluence with the Agatan Stream (northern) at an absolute elevation of 3120 m at the base of the right slope, 8 m above the water level in the stream.

This is a single stream with a flow rate of 0.2 l/s from cracked aleurolites of the same Tuyuk formation as in the previous case; the water of the spring is colorless, odorless, fresh, with a distinct taste of iron. The mineralization of the water is 160 mg/l, and in terms of macrocomponent composition, it is bicarbonate magnesium-iron, containing 33 mg/l of iron and 15 mg/l of free carbon dioxide. The water temperature measured at the end of summer was 10.5°C, which is 6-7°C higher than the local background and indicates the presence of some energy sources that make the temperature of this water anomalous.

The approach to the spring follows a trail from the confluence of the Chitty River and the Arkarshur Stream upstream along the Arkarshur valley. The second outlet of iron waters may not deserve much attention on its own, but the route leading to it passes by the salty carbonated Arkarshur spring, and it is worth visiting—there is nothing else like it: it is not only highly carbonated but also warm and slightly salty, and its water is easy and quick to drink. The hundreds of meters separating the two Arkarshur springs will certainly not stop a person who has ventured into these places.

There are many springs with elevated iron content in the valleys of the Chon-Chavay, Jol-Chavay, Chon-Agatan streams, and others, often unnamed, but only in about ten cases does this content exceed 10-20 mg/l. The record concentration of iron in groundwater in Kyrgyzstan was identified during testing of well No. 7 at the Kara-Shoro deposit when it reached a depth of 80 m. The deposits of the Tuyuk formation uncovered here contain sodium chloride water with a mineralization of about 25 g/l, bitter-salty to the taste. The concentration of iron in it was 120 mg/l, with a theoretically maximum possible in nature under similar conditions being 144 mg/l, but since 2100 mg/l of free carbon dioxide was determined in the water, it was precisely the carbon dioxide that primarily determined the characteristics of the underground flow intercepted by the well. And although, of course, no one disputes or takes away the record of iron content in this water, we cannot shake the feeling that it was established under a "favorable wind," ensured by the presence of CO2.

In the basin of the Chemindy River (Jumgal district of the Naryn region), three groups of springs are distinguished, in the water of which the iron content is elevated, and although it does not exceed 3 mg/l, the springs leave an unforgettable impression upon encounter, and one group, with its colorful iron hydroxide deposits, even gave its name to the stream Kyzyl-Suu. A significant argument for choosing the Chemindy springs for consideration was also the fact that they are located along the route of the Chayek and Kazarman highways, and clear traces of it can still be observed in places along the valley. This facilitates progress.

Of the three groups of outlets, which are anomalous in appearance and water composition, the most impressive is the Chemindy outlet (middle). It is located one kilometer upstream from the ruins of the Chemindy village at the base of the left bank of the valley, 5 m above the river at an absolute elevation of about 2400 m.

Here, at a section of the riverbed's knee-shaped bend in the bank's cliff, travertine deposits formed from the precipitation of calcium carbonate are visible; iron hydroxide has given them a brown color in places, with various shades. At the top of this travertine shield, about twenty meters from the river, a spring with a flow rate of 20 l/s emerges from under the roots of a fir tree, with transparent cold water (6.5°C); it is slightly salty, with a barely noticeable taste of iron.

Chemical analysis has established that this water has a calcium sulfate composition, with an iron content not exceeding 2-3 mg/l and free carbon dioxide content of 80-90 mg/l.

An interesting fact is that when expressing the analysis in equivalent form, the sulfate ion content is 1.5-2.5 mg/equiv. higher than that of the calcium ion, which plays a certain role in determining the conditions of underground water formation.

As can be seen from the data presented, the Chemindy water (middle) is not considered therapeutic in terms of carbon dioxide or, even more so, iron, but it would not be fair to call it completely devoid of "specific" components—the concentration of both iron and free carbon dioxide in it is many times higher than in neighboring background sources. In terms of macrocomponent content, it is a complete analogue of the mineral water from the Krainka resort (Tula region), bottled as a therapeutic table sulfate calcium water with artificial carbonation.

The origin of iron waters deserves thorough consideration, at least because it is one of the few types of mineral waters whose formation conditions can be traced more or less reliably.

The accumulation of iron in natural water can occur through two main pathways—through the oxidation in the aquatic environment of iron-containing sulfides, the most common of which is pyrite, and through the interaction of iron-containing carbonates, such as the widely distributed vein mineral ankerite or the equally common siderite, with carbon dioxide-rich water.