Water company files paperwork for its Orland bottling plant (California)

Published 10/07/2009
Crystal Geyser Water Co. filed paperwork Monday to move forward with plans to build a sparkling water bottling plant in this Glenn County city.

Crystal Geyser recently approached the city with plans to build a 112,500 square-foot bottling plant at 1507 County Road 200 on 10.35 acres of land zoned for this type of use. The plant would use 160 acre-feet of water a year from a well on the property.

One acre-foot of water is 325,851 gallons, or enough water to sustain two California households for a year. The city has said the proposed bottling plant would use about the same amount of water used for 50-60 acres of orchard crops.
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Eureka Springs’ food, festivals and family fun keep tourists entertained (Arkansas)

Published August 20, 2009 - The Jopling Globe
Founded in 1879, Eureka Springs’ first claim to fame was the healing water that flowed from the natural springs that gave the town its name.

“The town was founded on the healing properties of the local waters that come from places like Blue Spring,” Rundel said.
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Salt Springs still open (Pennsylvania)

Published June 24, 2009
Salt Springs Park in Susquehanna County is the only park in the state system that is managed by a nonprofit organization: the Friends of Salt Springs Park. In recent years, the state has provided limited, one-time funding for special projects, such as repair of a flood-damaged stream. The Friends have raised their own funds for day-to-day operations and maintenance. Many of the improvements to the grounds and facility have resulted from the efforts of dedicated volunteers, funded by membership and community support.
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Beat the heat: Camp Tonkawa Springs offers cool, spring-fed recreation (Texas)

Published June 28, 2009 - The Lufkin Daily News
Camp Tonkawa ...only went public in 2001.

In the early part of the 20th Century the Tucker family bought the land and began leasing it to the Boy Scouts in the 1930s, who used it as a summer camp until the 1980s.

During that time Ozarka Spring Water leased the springs and used the crystal clear streams for their trademark bottled water. After the eldest Tucker died, his children decided to make Camp Tonkawa open to the public so everyone could enjoy it.

Camp Tonkawa's official Web site at http://www.camptonkawa.com or call (936) 564-8888
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A dozen great Texas swimming holes (Texas)

Published June 26, 2009 - The Dallas Morning News
Krause Springs, Spicewood
Ask any five people to name the most beautiful swimming hole in Texas, and all of them will name Krause Springs. A 20-foot, spring-fed waterfall cascades over a fern-bedecked ledge into a clear, blue-green pool. Hanging onto a rope swing, you arc out over the water and splash into the cool pool (a constant 70 degrees). Krause Springs is open all year for camping and swimming.

Little-known fact: The campground has 32 springs.

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Hamilton Pool Nature Preserve, Travis County:
Spring-fed Hamilton Creek becomes a 50-foot waterfall as it launches itself off rocks into the lovely natural pool, edged by a sandy beach and shaded by a cave-like overhang.

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Balmorhea State Park pool, Toyahvale:
It may be the biggest swimming pool you've ever seen. The V-shaped, 77,000-square-foot pool was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s in the foothills of West Texas' Davis Mountains. The crystal-clear, 74-degree, untreated waters of San Solomon Springs gush through the two-acre pool at the rate of a million gallons an hour.

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Barton Springs Pool, Austin:
This tree-shaded oasis is a favorite summertime site for cooling off – really cooling off. Flowing through the 1,000-by-125-foot pool every day are 27 million gallons of spring water at a goose-bump-inducing 68 degrees


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Silent Springs (Texas)

Published May 15, 2009
Jacob’s Well, an artesian spring that for thousands of years has pulsed iridescent blue-green water from the Trinity Aquifer to the surface.

...spring flow: has slowed to an anemic of five gallons per second which means that the spring has basically stopped flowing.

The trouble is hardly limited to Jacob’s Well or the Hill Country. Groundwater scarcity is a looming crisis across Texas. Because of drought, overpumping, and the loss of natural recharge, state water planners estimate that groundwater available for pumping will decrease 22 percent by 2060.
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Mammoth Spring State Park To Dedicate Cannon Plaza (Arkansas)

Published Aug 12, 2008
Mammoth Spring State Park may be best known for the largest natural spring in the state, but each August, it’s known for old soldiers. Each August, the park serves as host for a long-running event that draws visitors from near and far – the annual Old Soldiers’ Reunion. This year’s event, scheduled for Aug. 11-16, will feature a special dedication of Cannon Plaza, the new home of the Civil War cannon used during the annual event.

Mammoth Spring State Park is located on U.S. 63 in Mammoth Spring. For more information on the Cannon Plaza dedication ceremony or the 115th annual Old Soldiers’ Reunion, contact Mammoth Spring State Park at 870-625-7364 or log on to http://www.ArkansasStateParks.com/mammothspring/
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The Great Outdoors (New York)

Published July 26, 2008
The Saratoga Spa State Park, has 2,200 acres of natural and cultural beauty nestled between routes 9 and 50 in Saratoga Springs. Designated a National Landmark in 1987, the park has so much to offer, both in the way of outdoor and indoor activity.

“I like the Polaris Spring because that’s the weakest one,” said Schweizer, referring to a popular mineral spring in the park. “It has a lot of carbonation and that makes the mineral taste go down a bit easier. The natives seem to like the stronger water better, but I send all my friends to Polaris.”
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More Info:
Saratoga Spa State Park,

Experience some serenity.....Blue Spring (Arkansas)

Published June 24, 2008
The Blue Spring Heritage Center combines extraordinary beauty and a rich cultural experience.

Located just a few minutes west of Eureka Springs on U.S. Highway 62, this attraction is built around Blue Spring, which pours 38 million gallons of cold, clear water each day into its trout-filled lagoon.

Blue Spring captures the rich history of the Ozark region, from American Indian journeys and early settler life to prehistoric civilization.There is evidence of an old mill powered by the spring and other remnants of community centered on the water.

More information on weddings or other activities at Blue Spring is available by calling (479) 253-9244 or visiting their website http://www.bluespringheritage.com/

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Bottlemania

Published 6/19/2008
Poland Spring is the best-selling spring water in the nation, even in a city with some of the best tap water in the world. Everyone is drinking the stuff, and other waters like it. In the West, it's Arrowhead and Calistoga; in the South Central region, Ozarka; in the Midwest, Ice Mountain; in the mid-Atlantic, Deer Park; and in the Southeast, Zephyrhills--all owned by Nestlé, a company with estimated profits of $7.46 billion in 2006. Pepsi (nyse: PEP - news - people ) and Coke (nyse: KO - news - people ) are bottling water too, and making billions.

The company has been bottling water from the town of Poland since 1845. Legal history recorded no objections when Hiram Ricker began to sell water from his family farm there, though a Portland newspaper, anticipating the nuns and the Canadians, scoffed at "selling something that God gave everyone for free." In recent years Poland Spring, which was bought by Perrier in 1980 and then Nestlé in 1992, has expanded its reach into other Maine aquifers, and the objections have been hard to miss.
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