C. Oregon water sold at spendy prices to Californians

There’s an online company selling Central Oregon water to Californians for a shocking amount. The company is called Live Water, and it’s recently made waves over the health benefits it says come from drinking it.

Live Water delivers glass jugs of water to customers in California. It’s considered ‘live’ because it is all sourced from a natural spring. That spring just so happens to be the Opal Springs aquifer.

The aquifer sits at the bottom of the Crooked River Canyon and provides tap water to Madras, Metolius and Culver residents through the Deschutes Valley Water District.

The water is unusual in that it is untreated, because it comes from a deep aquifer. It is tested monthly for bacteria, according to the district’s general manager, Edson Pugh.

“Opal Springs is good the way it is — we don’t have to do anything to it all,” Pugh said Tuesday. ‘So even though it is untreated water to our customers, it is safe to drink tap water that we’re serving at a reasonable cost, also.”

Customers in Central Oregon pay about one-third of a penny per gallon of water, while Live Water customers are paying $16 for 2.5 gallons.

The company maintains the water offers benefits that include reducing wrinkles, keeping hair long and nails healthy, increasing joint strength and reversing the aging process.

Live Water actually buys its water from Opal Springs Water, a company that buys its water from the Deschutes Valley Water District.

NewsChannel 21 contacted Live Water for a comment, but hasn’t heard back.

Better-known Earth2O is another bottling company that get its water from the Opal Springs aquifer.

Madras and the Opal Springs aquifer were mentioned in this recent Men’s Health article:

https://www.menshealth.com/guy-wisdom/silicon-valley-raw-water-live-spring-water-overpriced