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The Riuet de Coma-ruga, in El Vendrell (Baix Penedès), is an ideal place to enjoy with the family, where adults and children can practice balneotherapy activities in complete safety, benefiting from the many benefits and properties of these thermal waters, such as we see in this report in La Vanguardia’s Readers’ Photos.

The Estany de Coma-ruga is a natural lake, urbanized years ago and the bottom was covered with artificial slabs (between which water also flows) that are covered with spontaneous vegetation, such as algae and phanerogamous plants (their reproduction is carried out by of seeds and because they have flowers, each with a pistil and stamens).

As for the fauna of the Estany del Riuet, we find many fish that are not fished. The most common species stand out such as carp, mullet, eels and some very small crustaceans.

In Coma-ruga, the main source of income is family tourism and summer areas. The first reference to this town that we know of appears in 1180, when the abbot of Sant Cugat granted Arnau Sunyer y Berenguer, the alodio (regime of ownership of real estate), called “ipsum vilare (“to fly himself”) of Coma-Ruga”, within the limits of the castles of Calders and San Vicent. The concession excepted the Coma-ruga pond, which remained in the power of the Monastery of Sant Cugat.

In 1892 the waters of the spring of the pond and the riuet (stream) of Coma-ruga were declared mineral-medicinal by opinion of the Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery of Barcelona.

Following the discovery of the therapeutic properties of these waters, a spa hotel was built in the 1920s, which marked the beginning of the urbanization of the center of Coma-ruga, converted over the years into an important tourism and tourism complex. summer

The water of the spring is born in an upwelling (movement of deep waters towards the surface), from calcareous rocks of the Bonastre massif (municipality of Baix Penedès, Tarragonès) and descends to a considerable depth through the faults that delimit the Penedès tectonic trench, until reach Coma-ruga, where it spontaneously surfaces on the surface.

Currently, the entire area is urbanized, but in the past this outcrop formed several ponds of warm thermal waters. For this reason, this place was called calders (cauldrons).

In the 19th century it was discovered that water with medicinal properties emerged from this spring, with a constant temperature between 18ºC and 25ºC degrees Celsius all year round.

As a result of this discovery, in the 40s of the 20th century with the construction of the Brisamar company, in 1946, the strong urbanization process of the area began at the hands of the brothers Joan, Sebastián and Andreu Trilla Bragulat.

In the first stage, the project focuses on completing the rate of land drainage and urban adaptation (paving avenues, areas with trees and urban adaptation paving of avenues, wooded and landscaped areas, electricity, telephone, water, drinking, sewage, etc. ).

Currently, the spring water “is sweet, not drinkable”, it is channeled to an outdoor ornamental fountain, from where it passes to the Estany (pond) and from here to the Riuet, which flows onto the beach. Throughout the year it is common to see people of all ages taking baths here to take advantage of its healing properties.

The high concentration of chlorinated sodium salts (they stimulate multiple organic functions and help treat rheumatological processes, as well as skin conditions), which the water presents, does not make it suitable for food use, but it is suitable for external therapeutic use.

It was declared mineral-medicinal water by opinion of the Royal Academy of Medicine and Surgery of Barcelona in 1892. Dr. August Pi Sunyer determined in 1919 that, due to its properties, it should be classified as alkaline, brominated and almost isotonic chlorinated thermal water.

Externally it is indicated in the form of baths for all types of joint, bone and rheumatic pain, and also in inflammatory, lumbago and sciatic processes. It facilitates the healing of skin pathologies (psoriasis, eczema, wound healing, etc.), while toning and relaxing the nervous system.

Taking into account the special properties of the upwelling of these waters, their therapeutic properties can be applied on the Coma-ruga beach itself.

The bottom of the Riuet is covered with beach sand brought by the wind. The intense current that it constantly presents prevents mud and algae from accumulating at the bottom of the river. For this reason, the bottom is not slippery.

This characteristic and the shallow depth make the Riuet an ideal place for families, where adults and children can practice balneotherapy activities in complete safety, benefiting from the many benefits and properties of these thermal waters.