The Ministry of Environment and Water sent an official letter requesting that mineral water well No. 36xg, located in the area of the former “Republika” swimming complex (now the “Maria Luisa” Baths) in Borisova Gradina Park, be included in the draft detailed development plan (DDP) for the Borisova Gradina Park. The goal is to ensure the protection of the facility and to prevent any planning decisions that could “affect” its future use.

Borehole No. 36xg reveals mineral waters from Deposit No. 102, “Sofia Basin.” The mineral water is exclusively state-owned under the Water Act, and the facility itself is public state property, registered in the Act on Exclusive State Ownership in 2023.

Between 2019 and 2025, the Danube Region Basin Directorate carried out a series of technical activities to restore the well – including inspection with a specialized camera, cleaning of the wellbore, water sampling and laboratory analyses, and its registration in the register of mineral water facilities. The completed activities lay the necessary groundwork for its subsequent commissioning.

In 2026, experimental filtration studies are scheduled to determine the facility’s technically feasible flow rate. Upon their completion, the well will be included in the order approving the deposit’s exploitable resources, and the sanitary protection zone around it will be defined.

In its letter to the Sofia Municipality, the Ministry of Environment and Water points out that the existence of the well was already known at the time the detailed development plan for Borisova Gradina Park was drafted. This was reflected in a 2022 opinion by the “Danube Region” Basin Directorate , yet the facility was not included in the draft plan.

The Ministry of Environment and Water considers that the inclusion of Well No. 36xg in the draft detailed development plan for Borisova Gradina Park is a necessary prerequisite for its protection and the future use of this valuable mineral water resource in the public interest.