Nestled in the pristine foothills of Paradise, a remote region of Southern Idaho, lies a fairly new arrival on the bottled water scene, Trinity Springs. Founded in 1990 by Jock Bell, Mark Johnson and former partner, Stan Acker, Trinity has moved into an advanced stage of production and distribution over the last six months, aggressively pursuing the health food and alternative healing markets. Trinity is unique when it comes to bottled water for a variety of reasons, but it’s most impressive calling card, is the classification of “Naturalichs Heillwasser” (natural health water) given to them by Germany’s prestigious Institute Fresenius. As of now, Trinity is the only bottled water in North America with the “Heilwasser” rating. Trinity’s strategy is to appeal to a demographic increasingly known as “cultural creatives”, people who are both consumers and shapers of cultures and trends. One well known cultural creative is the Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir, a member of Trinity’s board of investors.

Trinity came onto the scene two years ago when they had an agreement with Odwalla to distribute water drawn from the two-and-a-half-mile deep spring. “At the time we thought it was a great arrangement” said Johnson. “We believed in Odwalla’s business model and they had refrigerator space--but they were in uncharted territory when it came to the bottled water market and they were having their own problems at the time (referring to Odwalla’s Ecoli crisis). “About a year ago Trinity and Odwalla parted ways (amicably). but not without attracting some of Odwalla’s sales and marketing team who were attracted to the water as Bell and Johnson’s laid back approach to business and life.

Asking Bell about Trinity opens the floodgate of enthusiasm for the water that he knew as a child, spending summers swimming in the Silica rich springs of Paradise, “this water is alive--we’ve carbon tested it at 16,000 years old and what comes up through the artesian (not pumped) process is what you get. Our water isn’t filtered or ozonanted and we bottle it at the source.” When asked about the mineral properties of the water, the former geologist lights up, “this water comes up through a mile of quartz crystal--that’s why it’s so rich in Silica.” Teetering on the metaphysical edge he adds, “there are some unusual properties in this water that we have yet determine.” But one thing that they have determined, is that sealed bottles of Trinity stored in moderately cool environments have had a shelf life of up to seven years.

Over the past weekend Bell and Johnson handed out “thousands of bottles” at The Whole Life Expo, to what Bell has termed, “our people.” “Alternative health workers love this stuff” he enthuses. Classified as a “Dietary Mineral Supplement,” Trinity might not be flowing into California if it weren’t for an act of Congress that the two have deemed an “act of God.” In 1997, Congress passed DSHEA, which stands for the Dietary Supplement Health And Education Act . It’s passage allowed Trinity to be sold in California as a “Dietary Mineral Supplement” instead of a spring water, thus allowing greater flexibility and entrance into one of the largest markets in the nation. “California has such high standards concerning disinfected bottled water that we would have had to compromise our water” says Johnson. “Thanks to DSHEA, we’ve been able to maintain it’s integrity and bring it to the consumer as is.” adds Bell.

Johnson and Bell came together through Acker, a former founding partner. Johnson was giving a lecture on Archio-Astronomy (the science of sacred structures) in Ketchum, where Trinity’s offices are now based. Bell and Acker had just become aware of the springs availability, then owned by a woman that Bell knew as a child. “They were bottling three gallon containers at the time--a very basic operation” says leprechaun-like Bell. His familiarity with the seller gave him a leg up when it came to the sale. Rumor of a California investor accelerated the process and attracted Johnson who was looking for pure water to grow botanical extracts. Acker and Bell approached Johnson who brought in investors and Trinity was formed. Trinity refers to the three springs that we have access to--not to the original partnership or some sort or religious symbolism,” says Bell.

A hay-bale structure without rebar serves as home for their bottling facility which allows Trinity to bottle 120 bottles per minute. “That’s like crawling compared to other companies such as Calistoga and Crystal Geyser who can pump out at least 600 bottles per minute” says Gunther de Vincent, a former East German resident who used to renovate cathedrals for the Vatican before becoming Trinity’s Water Master. Adjacent to the Mud-Colored plant is the spring itself. Johnson’s background in Archio-Astronomy has helped create a geomantic jewel in the forest that resembles more of a meditation chamber than a spring house. “It reflects our collective efforts,” says Johnson.

But in a multi-billion-dollar-a-year-industry, powered by growing concerns around contaminated ground waters, heavyweights abound. Nestlé who owns a host of domestic and European bottled waters including Calistoga, Perrier and Arrowhead is just one giant invested in the water world. Pepsi has been bottling Aqua Vita for the past three years and Coke has just announced plans to bottle and distribute it’s own line of water. When asked about playing with the big boys, Bell and Johnson believe that due to the geographic and hydrologic limits of Trinity, they’re not in a position to corner the market--nor are they interested. However, others taken notice. Most recently, Bell and Johnson received a polite warning from Crystal Geyser regarding a claim in Trinity’s water education booklet, that they’re “the only US water pure enough to be bottled in it’s live organic state without disinfectant.” But according to Crystal Geyser, they (Crystal Geyser) have been classified as “eau de source” by the European Union to sell water in Europe without the same standards set forth in California and have instructed Trinity to alter their information. When asked about Crystal Geysers potential pre-emptive strike, Johnson said, “We‘re looking into different classifications, regulations and overseas distribution in regards to their letter, and have thus far thanked them for their heads up around and are working on modifying future materials.”

But perhaps the most interesting aspect to the Trinity story is their relationship as “stewards” to the springs. This relationship has spawned a collaboration with the Earth Justice Legal Defense Fund who have enlisted Trinity as a sponsor for their fund-raising CD, “Fish Trees Water” which includes tracks by Robert Cray, Ani DeFranco, Keb Mo, Branford Marsalis, Etta James and other contemporary roots artists. When asked about the conflict between idealism and the rough and tumble world of tapping the planets most precious resource, Bell says, “we hit some rocky spots every now and then, but we just seem to go with the flow and things work out--we’re at our best when we just stay out of the way.”

It’s the fluidity of their philosophy that will be tested as Trinity is about to shoot the rapids of growth and change in a world where purity of content is sought after, oft disputed and eagerly embraced. It may have taken the water 16,000 years to reach the shelf, but it will only take months to know if the bottled water market can sustain one more brand, even with a highly selective European pedigree and progressive management team and concept. Just like the water, it will reveal itself in time.