Buhl Water Co. is expanding

BUHL - The tiny Iron Range town of Buhl, located halfway between Virginia and Hibbing, is the source of "the finest water in America."

That's what the town's water tower says -- and so do a lot of other people.

"Buhl Water is big in the Twin Cities," said company owner Kym Drain, who grew up in Eveleth and drank Buhl water.

Drain, whose license plate reads "BUHLH2O," purchased the Buhl Water Co. in April. She has focused on building the company to compete in the fast-growing bottled water market.

Buhl Water has been making a name for itself.

People from New York, Arizona, Colorado and Mexico call to ask how they can get a few bottles. Drain makes regular shipments to a Missouri customer -- the six-gallon case of water costs $3.75, and the shipping is close to $50.

"People don't care," Drain said. "They want the water."

At a time when water bottled in France and Fiji is routinely sold in the United States, shipping water from Buhl to New York may not be such a wild idea.

Drain is working with a Twin Cities distributor to market Buhl Water in Iowa, the Dakotas and more states in the West. Buhl Water is also available at Cub Foods, Lund's and Byerly's grocery stores.

The water comes from an underground aquifer that's 700 or 1,000 feet deep, depending on who you ask. The city has been drawing water from the aquifer since 1901, and selling it for close to 20 years.

The only problem with selling the product, Drain said, is that water is heavy. One gallon of water weighs more than eight pounds.

"Why couldn't I have bought a cotton ball company?" Drain wondered recently as she lugged a case of water across her office.

Buhl Water was once jointly owned by a handful of local and out-state business partners, including Minnesota basketball great Kevin McHale. The company sold water locally, but hadn't really tapped the national bottled-water market. More time and attention were needed to "bring the company to the next level," Drain said.

After she bought the water works, Drain invested in a 20-ounce sport bottling machine -- the future of bottled water, she explained.

A gallon of Buhl Water sells for about 75 cents, while a 20-ounce sport bottle goes for 89 cents. Sport bottles are also more easily shipped long distances.

Local mines are big Buhl Water consumers. Minntac and Hibbing Taconite both buy a pallet of 20-ounce bottles three times a week -- that's close to 8,000 bottles a week, and more in the summer.

Drain has also started printing private labels on water bottles, for businesses like Giants Ridge Golf and Ski Resort as well as private parties.

Buhl Water has become so popular that the company warehouse is "bursting at the seams," Drain said. Pallets of water can't be stacked on top of each other because of the weight, so employees spend a lot of time rearranging.

Drain points to Buhl Water's purity as a reason for its popularity. The water passes through three filters and a blast of ultraviolet light before being bottled. No chlorine or fluoride is added, and no special treatment is needed.

"You never have that 'bluh' aftertaste with Buhl Water," Drain said, sticking out her tongue to demonstrate.

"Other companies take bad water and try to make it palatable," said Johnny Markas, a Buhl resident and former company partner. "The only other good water is Evian."

But even Evian isn't good enough for Adam Rossman, who has been drinking Buhl water for 85 years.

"There's no comparison at all with other waters," said Rossman, who now lives in Virginia. Rossman either buys Buhl water for drinking, or imports gallons of water from his son's home in Buhl.