Bore-Baths for The future

This information is on a notice board at the Lightning Ridge Bore-Baths.

The water comes from the Great Artesian Basin and is approximately two million years old. Natural pressure sends the water to the surface through an artesian bore and it maintains a constant temperature of 41.5 degrees Celsius.

Until recently the water flowed at 20 litres/second and passed through the pool into 100km of open bore drains to supply properties in the area. 4 million litres was wasted annually through seepage and evaporation. Water outflow meant 600 tons of salt entered the landscape each year.

Now the bore is capped and no longer flows continuously and is piped through 170km of pipes instead of the open drains. Water flow at the bore has been reduced saving 11 litres/second, the equivalent to 450 Olympic pools each year.

Used water from the Bore-Baths is piped to dams and used in opal dirt processing.

Some elderly people live here just for the relief the baths give to their arthritis aches and pains. It is amazing the benefit received by sitting in the hot water for 20 minutes or so. I have a soak every time I go to Lightning Ridge.

Some people return to Lightning Ridge every year for a week or so, just for the free therapeutic benefit

An aged miner said to me once while sitting in this pool, "This is better then heaven"

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