12 replies to this topic

[billyk]

Hi all, just thought I'd get the views of some creative people on this board. hope nobody gets offended that it's off the industry subjects. My brother & I have a place in Northern WI. We were talking to a neighbor across the street from us & he told us that his well water was tinted yellow & had a bit of a sulpher smell to it. He brings in Culligan water. We are on a river & also apparently on an Artisian spring. Our water is crystal clear & comes out at 38 degrees even in mid August. It is also filtered naturally through the sand. He thinks we have a good chance to market this water locally as water is becoming the next big commodity. Just want to get some opinions on what we might do after the lab tests the water in the spring should it test very high quality. Thanks, billyk

[Allan]

First get the test and then decide if you want to start producing it yourself or do you want to get a contract with an established water supplier.

[Tigerpaw]

Bill...
Where is the source of the water... in Wisconsin or Illinois?

Following Allan's suggestion (above), it may be helpful to determine the amount of water available. The last thing you want to have happen is to invest heavily into the project, only to learn the water supply is limited.

Tom

[steveb]

This is fraught with trouble. Think of the agencies that will be involved in this project and then think of how much you want to ignore your core business to mess around with this thing, about which you (sorry to be blunt) know nothing.

[LOGO emPower]

Billy I had the same idea, I own a large parcel of property in Idaho with natural springs. The water is the best I ever tasted and other local wells produce the highest quality spring water in the country.

My issue is caused by first the restrictions of water I can take from the land and second the unbelievable names of my area. The land is in Bone Idaho and the spring is called Poison Creek. Do "Gothic" teenagers drink bottled water? :)

[Chris Miller]

LOGO emPower said:

the spring is called Poison Creek.

WOW! Any known history on that one? Why was it named that?

[Promotions Division]

May not be as lucrative but if you want in the water business just buy it and have your custom labels put on it for resale. Didn't Trump do this in an episode of the Apprentice?

Know a guy that got into the canned drink business as a distributor. Investment was low, drinks were good, about 10 flavors but his drink disbributorship never really got off the ground. Probably too large a territory (an entire state), a lot of saturation in the market, and insufficient way / means to market efficiently & effectively.

Water is a different story but developing that niche market will be key.

[ridety]

Chris...

I dunno why Scott's place is called Poisen Creek...

But I know here in Kentucky, many places got "scary" names from Moonshiners hoping to keep away "revenuers" (law enforcement)...

Maybe somebody was makin' some shine down there on Scott's creek back in the day...

[Chris Miller]

Lemme just say this. I left the electronic security industry and I have seen every type of business known to man.

My favorite is our water treatment plants where **** filled water flows in, travels through a facility that looks like an amusement park for turds and comes out as clean drinking water. You can stand next to the "Clean" drinking water and smell the **** because it's only 10 yards away. We installed systems in these places that monitored the pumps and everything else that make the place go. It was rather entertaining to see these guys go for a swim in a lake of poopoo because a pump went down. They seemed to love their jobs though.

Anyway - I have water in my area too. Unless you own one of the great lakes and plan to supply the eastern states then I would say leave it alone. How profitable can it really be? My new house has a septic system that filters into the same ground and water table that my neighbor down the hill taps into with his well. Just like the turd factory mentioned above.

I think brewing beer might be more profitable:D

[billyk]

Tigerpaw said:

Bill...
Where is the source of the water... in Wisconsin or Illinois?

Following Allan's suggestion (above), it may be helpful to determine the amount of water available. The last thing you want to have happen is to invest heavily into the project, only to learn the water supply is limited.

Tom

Tom, the source is Wisconsin. It's on our property. We've had it for 6 years but have been going there for 20. Bill

[LOGO emPower]

I did a little research online today as to how the name Poison Creek was established. Not much info, but perhaps since the surrounding area is volcanic rock that will explain it.

I did have fun with all the links I found that showed my property.

Here is one I like (Click on Satellite View): http://www.clocation...ille&lid=499944

My property is the Green area to the left of the bend on Kepps Crossing road... I have 3 fish ponds, so bring your poles!

[LOGO emPower]

Here are other interesting tidbits on my property I found today:

A Bigfoot Sighting!

http://www.bfro.net/...rt.asp?id=16527

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It truly BLOWS in Idaho!

also, I have the highest wind lift in the country with my canyon walls on my property.

http://www.slopeflye...e-soaring.shtml

[EagleMountain]

Having great water is one thing. Distribution is another. Coca Cola and Pepsi and others do well with bottled water since they already had the production and distribution systems in place for other bottled products. The actual product -- water, whether natural or filtered -- is the least expensive component in the chain. I'd look real deep into the bottling and shipping costs.

Oh, and kudos to Promotions Divison who worked in the term "saturation of the market" into a discussion about water.:D