An Oregon company peddling what it calls ‘raw water’ is at the forefront of a new trend tricking across the US.
Live Water sells spring water that it promises is ‘unfiltered, untreated, and unsterilized,’ taken straight from Opal Spring in Madras, Oregon and delivered without any treatment or chemicals added.
And for the privilege of drinking this untouched H2O, customers are willing to pay up to $36.99 for a 2.5 liter jug.
Fad: Live Water sells spring water that it promises is ‘unfiltered, untreated, and unsterilized,’ taken straight from Opal Spring in Madras, Oregon
Behind it: The company was founded by Mukhande Singh (who was born Christopher Sanborn)
Three years ago, Mukhande Singh (who was born Christopher Sanborn) launched the company on the West Coast. He had become convinced that tap water was full of dangerous chemicals and wanted an alternative.
‘Tap water? You’re drinking toilet water with birth control drugs in them,’ he told the New York Times. ‘Chloramine, and on top of that they’re putting in fluoride. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but it’s a mind-control drug that has no benefit to our dental health.’
He’s not a fan of home filters, either, claiming that it ruins water as well.
‘You’re going to get 99 per cent of the bad stuff out. But now you have dead water,’ he said.
So he began gathering fresh water from local springs, and built his company up. Juicero founder Doug Evans gave the brand a boost when he lent his support to it in 2017.
If you say so… The company claims that ‘raw water’ is better for you and doesn’t have harmful chemicals
Um, ew… The founder is not a fan of tap water and has described it as ‘toilet water with birth control drugs in them’
It worked centuries ago (when life expectancy was lower)! Singh claims the water tastes better and isn’t ‘dead water’ like what comes through the tap
Live Water makes several claims about tap and bottled water. Many — like the supposed mind-control properties of fluoride — are scientifically unsupported. The company also says that the sterilization process ‘destroys beneficial sources of minerals and probiotics.’
‘Spring water — like eating wild plants and game meat, or fresh wild fish, it’s just better. Better than anything from a bottle or a tap, it has a richer mouth feel, a cleaner flavor, and is distinctly more hydrating,’ Singh wrote on Instagram.
‘Our lives have become so domesticated — we are so factory farmed — that most folks have forgotten where water even comes from. We’ve become like adult sized bottle-fed babies who’ve never seen a lactating breast.’
The company’s water is collected from the spring into large glass jugs, then delivered straight to subscribing customers or to local grocery stores.
Customers in certain parts of California can get their Live Water straight from the company. Four 2.5 gallon jugs cost $16 each, and there are discounts for larger orders. That comes to $6.40 per gallon.
Ever heard of cholera? Experts, however, point to the myriad diseases that untreated water can carry
Lieutenant Dan, is that you? The water has a loyal fan base and stores that sell it are out of stock quickly
Price of hydration: Four 2.5 gallon jugs cost $16 each, and there are discounts for larger orders
At stores that stock the water, prices can be higher. Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco sells out quickly when a shipment comes in, even with a price tag of $36.99 per jug (and $14.99 per refill, if a customer brings his or her own glass jug).
HOW IS DRINKING WATER TREATED IN THE US?
Public drinking water systems use various methods of water treatment to provide safe drinking water for their communities.
How it is treated depends on the quality of the water that enters the treatment plant.
Typically, surface water requires more treatment and filtration than ground water because lakes, rivers, and streams contain more sediment and pollutants and are more likely to be contaminated than ground water.
Today, the most common steps in water treatment used by community water systems (mainly surface water treatment) include:
The Environmental Protection Agency’s image shows how public drinking water is typically treated
Coagulation and flocculation
Coagulation and flocculation are often the first steps in water treatment. Chemicals with a positive charge are added to the water. The positive charge of these chemicals neutralizes the negative charge of dirt and other dissolved particles in the water. When this occurs, the particles bind with the chemicals and form larger particles, called floc.
Sedimentation
During sedimentation, floc settles to the bottom of the water supply, due to its weight. This settling process is called sedimentation.
Filtration
Once the floc has settled to the bottom of the water supply, the clear water on top will pass through filters of varying compositions (sand, gravel, and charcoal) and pore sizes, in order to remove dissolved particles, such as dust, parasites, bacteria, viruses, and chemicals.
Disinfection
After the water has been filtered, a disinfectant (for example, chlorine, chloramine) may be added in order to kill any remaining parasites, bacteria, and viruses, and to protect the water from germs when it is piped to homes and businesses.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
That comes to nearly $15 per gallon for the first jug.
Meanwhile, the average cost of a gallon of tap water in the US is $0.004, or .4 cents, per gallon.
Even regular bottled water comes at an average cost of $1.22 per gallon, according to Slate.
Another thing that sets Live Water apart: Because it isn’t sterilized, it needs to be refrigerated and has an expiration date, typically a few months after it was bottled.
‘It stays most fresh within one lunar cycle of delivery,’ Singh told the Times. ‘If it sits around too long, it’ll turn green. People don’t even realize that because all their water’s dead, so they never see it turn green.’
According to several experts, however, water turning green could, in fact, be a bad sign. Many warn the dangerous of drinking untreated water, saying it can contain animal feces and carry dangerous diseases.
‘Without water treatment, there’s acute and then chronic risks,’ Dr. Donald Hensrud, the director of the Healthy Living Program at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told the Times, citing E. coli, viruses, parasites, and carcinogenic compounds.
‘There’s evidence all over the world of this, and the reason we don’t have those conditions is because of our very efficient water treatment.’
According to the World Health Organization, drinking contaminated water causes over half a million diarrhea deaths every year.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says drinking water supplies in the US are among the safest in the world, with water treated to remove disease-causing agents that cause cryptosporidium, hepatitis A, giardia intestinalis, and E. coli.
According to the agency, adding fluoride prevents tooth decay safely and effectively. It says: ‘Water fluoridation has been named one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.’
Still, Live Water has many fans who sing the company’s praises online.
‘The water is great. It’s a bit pricey but it’s worth it. I’m worth it. My family is worth it. These guys are doing a great service, and there is no other company delivering truly “raw” un-messed-with water,’ wrote Qmars Imandel on Facebook.
‘The tastiest water I ever drank,’ wrote Lauren D. ‘The fountain of truth is packed with minerals that actually make you feel healthier. I’ve been able to see positive side-effects, and the glass jug is beautiful.’
‘This is delicious, sacred water and I am so grateful for the opportunity to receive this abundance at my doorstep! Having access to the clean, fresh, unadulterated drinking water has totally changed my life,’ wrote Vanessa K.
Seattle-based food safety advocate and food poisoning attorney Bill Marler, who pointed out that untreated water can also contain animal feces, thinks it is important for people to understand what they are buying.
‘You can’t stop consenting adults from being stupid,’ he told Business Insider. ‘But, we should at least try.’