BottledWaterWeb - Forum

nyspringwater · Joined: Jun 7, 2009 Messages: 1 Offline

I have natural springwater pouring out of my property in NY. I know the water is of high quality since there is a neighbor down the road who has created wells to pump out the water and sell to a water company. Trucks come at a set schedule and he gets paid for "x" gallons. I would like to team up with a bottling/distribution company and sell my water supply as well. Where do I begin? Do I first contact DEC and get the proper permits and test water? What are the approximate start-up costs to do something like what my neighbor has done (he has two massive pumps that go into the ground - although on my property, water is naturally flowing out of the mountain in multiple locations)? I have no experience in this industry but as a result of poor economic times, I am hoping to sell springwater to help pay my mortgage and property taxes. Please help! I have gone through this forum, have gone through bottledweb.org and started to go through the dec site. I obviously want to do all my research and collect as much information before launching anything - I have one shot to get this right and limited access to funds.

Lynn Martin · Joined: Aug 28, 2005 Messages: 25 Offline

You are doing the first step correctly which is to do research and not spend too much up front. Ultimately if you want to become a bulk water supplier you need to identify who is your potential customer(s). Who is your neighbor selling to and can you supply water to them as well? Here are the questions bulk water buyers will ask about your source:

1. What is the quantity of water available (gallons per minute)?
2. Is the water quality consistent (not getting recharged from surface waters)?
3. Is the source accessible for a tanker truck?
4. What kind of contract is possible (cost per gallon, exclusivity, collection station costs)
5. Are there county/city issues that would impact the removal of water from the area?

You asked what the cost is to build a collection station (pumps, holding tanks, grading for tanker trucks, etc ). Costs can vary depending on the environmental and natural conditions of the area. I have seen collection stations as inexpensive as $30,000 and as expensive as $500,000.

But identify the customer first. Ask the big guys if they need water. Sometimes a Nestle will do all the testing and evaluation of a raw water source for you and then propose a deal if they are interested.

PS - You should also join this site and mine the information in the news and articles section.