Harbin Hot Springs Water
The pools...
About our water...
Where does Harbin's water come from?
How are the pools heated?
What keeps the pool water clean?
Does Harbin recycle any of its water?
The pools...
About our water...
Where does Harbin's water come from?
How are the pools heated?
What keeps the pool water clean?
Does Harbin recycle any of its water?
The beauty of Harbin's water supply is that our tap water is actually 100%
spring water. Some of the more elegant spas in our area pump their water
from man-made wells or, worse yet, rely on chlorine-treated water from
municipal water supplies. Here at Harbin, more than 36,000 gallons of
mineral water flow daily from seven natural springs on our property to you.
Pure and simple.
The waters of Harbin
Our licensed Water Masters maintain the system of pipes, sand filters and
holding tanks to assure an uninterrupted flow of water throughout the year.
In conjunction with independent laboratories, they also monitor the
turbidity and purity of our water on an ongoing basis. Recent test results
have shown our tap water to be superior in quality to the bottled variety
from one of our more famous neighbors. We're not surprised.
If paying a dollar for a liter of water makes you feel better, make a
contribution to your favorite charity in the name of Harbin.
So drink it up. Splash it around. Soak in it. Fill an empty bottle or
two for the ride home. We're glad to serve only "nature's finest"
at our humble retreat. Enjoy!
The Springs of Harbin
The water originates as rainwater filtering down through the aquifer and
ancient water trapped in the aquifer from the times when Lake County was
a prehistoric sea.
The Hot Pool
Amazingly, no man-made heating system is required for these two pools. Although
the water has cooled considerably by the time it reaches us and fills the
Hot Pool, the resulting pool temperature is approximately 115F. The hot water
overflow from the Hot Pool is fed to the Warm Pool at about 14 gallons per
minute, supplying both heat and water refreshment. This maintains the
Warm Pool temperature at 95 to 98 F., depending upon the season.
The Warm Pool
The Heart Pool, Cold Plunge and Swimming Pool, in contrast, are filled and
refreshed with pure cold water from the same springs that feed our drinking
supply. The temperature in the Heart Pool is maintained at 95 to 98F by
an energy-efficient heat pump system. The temperatures of the Cold Plunge
and Swimming Pool are left up to Mother Nature.
The waters of the Warm Pool
Of course, all pool walls are scrubbed, the bottoms vacuumed, and the water
surface skimmed on a regular basis. The pools are occasionally emptied
completely to facilitate larger maintenance and repair projects.
One of the many Gardens
It's a sad comment that the term "tap water" has become associated
with chlorine, fluoride, and other chemicals that have little to do with
water. When it comes to drinking water, many of us now trust only the
bottled spring variety... pure uncarbonated water that bubbles up from the
Earth untouched by humans.
That means that you soak in natural hot spring water during your visit here.
You swim in cold spring water. You drink it from our fountains. You brush
your teeth with it. You cook with it, shower in it, even flush toilets with it.
Although there are numerous tiny springs all over the hills, seven springs
are currently being used by our water system: two hot springs (one sulphur,
one iron) feed our hot/warm pool complex; four cold soda springs feed the
other pools and our main "tap water" tanks; and one warm arsenic spring
(with only a trace of the mineral) which flows into the tiny footbath beside
the warm pool.
According to Pier, our pool system supervisor, two natural hot mineral springs
are the heart of the Hot and Warm Pool complex. These springs arise
from deep within the earth where volcanic action heats the waters, with
resulting steam pressure forcing the waters upward. We capture the springs
just before they reach the surface, combine and filter the water, and then
pipe it into the Hot Pool at a rate of about 14 gallons per minute...
over 800 gallons an hour!
The Cold Pool & The Swimming Pool
Water is constantly being pumped from all pools and passed through a
state-of-the-art treatment system using absolutely no chlorine. Instead this
system combines sand filters, peroxide and ozone (peroxone) injection, and
ultra-violet sterilizers to remove all foreign matter and bacteria before
recirculating the water back to the pools.
More than 75 gallons per minute are passed through this system from the
Warm Pool alone, assuring that its water is completely cleaned and replaced
every two and a half hours. The Cold Plunge water is replaced every hour.
In addition to being recirculated through the pool systems, a percentage
of our "used" water is reclaimed to feed the lawn sprinklers operated
on the mainside area.