Artificial spring on the Szentendrei Island

IN HUNGARIAN

Despite the fact that the collector wells on Szentendrei Island supply a significant part of Budapest's drinking water needs, there is no natural lake or watercourse on its surface. This is why the spring at the Upper Torda groyne opposite Vác is a curiosity. 

Emerging gravel bank above the groyne at the Torda Island

There are no streams or natural lakes on Szentendrei Island, except of course for the backwaters of the smaller islands nearby. And there is no natural spring. This 'dryness' has geological reasons, the island is mostly made up of river gravel and sand, blown out of the riverbed. In such an environment, rainwater immediately drains away, down to the groundwater table, which is heavily influenced by the Danube. At low tide, the groundwater mirror follows the Danube's water level, allowing precipitation to flow below the surface into the river. When the groundwater level rises, the Danube also swells the groundwater.

It is important to note that this is the natural state. Three lakes have been created on Szentendre Island as a result of human activity. All of them are gravel or sandpits. There is one east of Kisoroszi, one near Pócsmegyer and one at the former highest point of Szentendrei Island, Surány. It is not only the lakes that are man-made but also the only spring I know of.

Minimalist film footage of the Danube and this spring, for example, is occasionally taken during field trips and can be followed on the Danube Islands YouTube channel.

This spring is located at the base of the 1682 river kilometer table, about 100 meters above the groyne, opposite the upsilted southern tip of the island of Buki in Kisvác. There is a dirt road from the Tótfalu side of the Vác river to this point. On the way, you can also see the Révész Island and the island of Torda, unless a large flock of sheep prevents you from passing. Its location means that it is certain to be flooded by the highest tides. Its waters run in a straight line between a few coastal willows to the river, with no major bed.

View on the Torda gravel bank at Vác

The existence of this spring is a curiosity on the "dry" island of Szentendre. Its development is linked to the collector wells of the waterworks from Kisorossi to the 1682 river kilometre marker. It emerges just below the southernmost well, separated from it by a planted poplar forest. It is probably an overflow from the pipe network, so it is possible that there are several similar ones in areas of Szentendre Island that are closed off to visitors by armed guards.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)