The Spring · Sortekilderne and Møllebækken

The water rises on its own

The estate exists because of the water. The springs Sortekilderne, “the Black Springs”, and the stream Møllebækken have driven mills, a brewery and a mineral-water factory. Today the water goes into every Hammer & Son spirit.

The artesian well

The well is 10 m deep. The water is held in a layer between confining layers of ground that keep it under pressure. Where the well opens into that layer, the water flows up the pipe on its own. There is no pump.

It yields about 50,000 litres a day. The water is shared with the neighbouring households.

Sketch of an artesian wellThe well runs 10 m down through a confining layer into a water-bearing layer held between two confining layers. The pressure in that layer pushes the water up the pipe, without a pump.Ground levelConfining layerWater-bearing layerConfining layerPressure lifts the water10 m
Schematic, not to scale.
The wellhead in the grass under a large tree, in summer light.

The laboratory

What the analysis shows

An accredited laboratory analysed the water at the outlet of the waterworks. The figures below describe the water as it was on the sampling day. Where a legal limit exists, the measurement is drawn against it.

Measured against the legal limit

  1. Colony count at 22 °C

Other measurements

Colony count at 37 °C
2 CFU/mLLegal limit: no limit stated
Coliform bacteria
< 1 per 100 mLLegal limit: no limit stated
E. coli
< 1 per 100 mLLegal limit: no limit stated
Temperature
10.7 °CLegal limit: no limit stated

Outside the laboratory's accreditation

Odour
None
Taste
Normal
Colour
None
Appearance
Clear
Show as table
ParameterResultLegal limitAccreditation
Colony count at 22 °C1 CFU/mL200 CFU/mLWithin
Colony count at 37 °C2 CFU/mL–Within
Coliform bacteria< 1 per 100 mL–Within
E. coli< 1 per 100 mL–Within
Temperature10.7 °C–Within
OdourNone–Outside
TasteNormal–Outside
ColourNone–Outside
AppearanceClear–Outside
Laboratory
DONSlab (R. Dons' Vandanalytisk Laboratorium A/S)
Accreditation
DANAK, Test Reg. nr. 48
Sampling point
Waterworks outlet (“Afgang, værk”), Vintre Møller 29
Method
Sampled according to DS/EN ISO 19458:2006
Limits
BEK nr. 504 af 14/05/2023

Odour, taste, colour and appearance fall outside the laboratory's accreditation.

See the report in the Record

The waterworks at Vintre Møller.
The waterworks, where the sample was taken.

Møllebækken

What the water has done

This water drove 5 watermills. Later it went to a brewery, and then to mineral water, which was made here until 1987.

Today it's the water in every Hammer & Son spirit.

650 years by the stream

The stream Møllebækken running through the undergrowth.