The Story of Miller Springs Water
By Ellen Walsh

There are many ways to strike Gold.
One of them is to find Water. Very, Very Pure Water.

High in the mountains of British Columbia, a farmer named Dan Miller was having unusually good luck with his 200-acre alfalfa field. The fact that he could water his field for 90 straight days, sometimes 24 hours a day, was attracting a lot of attention. It not only produced noticeably superior alfalfa, but the water supply seemed to be endless.

A hydrologist’s test showed that the well was pumping 750 gallons per minute. A test performed to determine its purity showed it to be one of the purest forms of water he had come across.

What makes this water so pure?
Its pristine origin paints the initial picture. Located in a mountain spring on a plateau between British Columbia's beautiful Okanagon Valley and the Kootenay Mountain Range, and the water begins its journey 400 miles north of this destination, near Jasper Park. Fissures-- the earth's ultimate filtration system-– keep the water pure on its journey. Once nature has delivered the water to the spring, it is then bottled as Miller Springs Pure Canadian Spring Water.

An analysis of Miller Springs calculated that not only could the spring provide the purist water possible to consumers, but could do it at very reasonable prices due to the torrent of water coming out of the springs. At 750 gallons of water a minute, he could build 10 plants and run two shifts a day and never run out of water. They haven’t actually done that, but they could.

One of the keys to understanding what makes Miller Springs water so pure is a designation known as TDS – total dissolved solids. TDS is the amount of dissolved solids (typically various salts, minerals and metals) in a given volume of water. It is expressed in parts per million (ppm). The higher the TDS, the less palatable the water is thought to be.

The most common TDS range on municipally treated city water is 200 - 400 ppm. The maximum contaminant level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is 500 ppm but many brackish ground water supplies are used around California and some private well sources, thought to be pure, have a TDS of 1500 - 2000 ppm.

Generally, one wants a TDS of less than 500 for household use. When the levels start to exceed 1500 ppm, most people start to complain of dry skin, stiff laundry, and corrosion of fixtures. White spotting and film on surfaces and fixtures is also common at these levels and can be very difficult or impossible to remove.

Miller Springs water has a TDS level of 160 and is virtually salt free. The overall purity of the water is a huge contributor to the taste, and has been the deciding factor in many chefs using it as an ingredient for coffee, and other chef inspired selections where high quality is the issue.

Since Miller Springs water is bottled at the spring source surrounded by Crown Lands, the plant is easily able to maintain the integrity and purity of the water. The water is simply filtered, ozonated and packaged. Nothing is added to alter what is considered to be some of the finest spring water on earth.

The same standards hold true for Miller Springs sparkling water. Because Miller Springs’ TDS is extremely low, less CO2 is needed. The lower the TDS, the more the carbonation wants to attach itself to the water molecules, thereby retaining the "sparkle" much longer. Higher levels of TDS interfere with the water’s ability to retain carbonation.

So what separates brands like Miller Springs from more popular brands of bottled water? According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, popular brands such as PepsiCo’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola’s Dasani use regular tap water that has been purified by reverse osmosis, often taken from local rivers. The process of reverse osmosis removes most of the TDS but also removes many of the naturally occurring minerals and other trace elements common to spring water.

There is little debate over what difference spring water makes in terms of taste and nutrition. But in a world where the most prevalent bottled water contains filtered tap water, Miller Springs is a rare find. The job of mankind continues to use its best efforts to imitate nature.

Unfortunately, that is easier said than done. The details of the earth’s ecosystem continues to pump the liquid needs of mankind in lumps of individual – or better yet – unpredictable – locations. When analyzed, no two springs are ever the same. Often imitated, but never fully duplicated. Real spring water continues to be one of the true gifts to mankind. Enjoy nature’s most perfect beverage.

Miller Springs, Ltd.
RR#1,1410 Sidley Mtn. Rd.
Bridesville, BC VOH 1 BO
Phone 250 446 2125

Waterboy Distributors, Inc.
U.S. Distributors
7100 SW Hampton St., Suite 121
Portland, OR 97223
Phone: 503 670 1116
Toll Free: 866 322 1116
Fax: 503 598 7765
www.waterboydist.com

Price information available upon Request.