Imagine a water so pure, it doesn’t need any filtration before drinking. That’s the story of Jackson Springs, a naturally filtered spring water sourced from a private aquifer in Manitoba, Canada. For the backstory on the award-winning water, we spoke with Director of Marketing Ashley Nichol to learn more.
How did you decide to bottle water?
Back in 2004, Jackson Springs president Christopher Garrick and his wife Laryssa were working with top trainers and bodybuilders here in Winnipeg to research healthy solutions for Chris, who had decided to change his physical lifestyle. They all told him that not only did he have to be fueled properly with water, but to add lots of water with minerals. This was the first time Chris started to realize that not all water is created equal, and began looking into what exactly is in our water — tap water vs bottled water in stores. After coming across this company (previously operating under a different name) and coming to love and believe in the idea of natural spring water infused with minerals, he acquired it from its prior owners and named it for his son, Jackson.
Tell us about your source. How was the aquifer discovered?
Jackson Springs is sourced from a natural aquifer in one of the highest elevations in Manitoba, in an area protected by three provincial forests. The aquifer itself is a remnant of the last ice age dating back 13,000 years, responsible for all of the present-day lakes in Manitoba. It was one of those stumbled-upon places: It’s located on an old property, and was discovered when the previous owner was drilling for a family well. When they brought up the water for the first time and sampled it, whoever was drilling the well remarked that it was the best water they’d ever tasted — and they’d been drilling for a long time. Because of how secluded the aquifer is — there’s no agriculture around whatsoever — it’s maintained its naturally rich minerality profile, and its natural filtration means it has a unique taste.
Tell us about Jackson Springs's environmental efforts.
For all of our bottled water, we use 100 percent PET plastic, and our bottles are 100 percent recyclable. From an environmental perspective, we looked at glass, which is obviously also recyclable, but the weight causes issues with overall impact on the environment from a shipping perspective, as well as the cost for production and delivering to the customer. In-store, we make every effort to recycle any and all leftover materials, and we’re in the process of developing an overall sustainability program for Jackson Springs.
What is the most unique thing about your water?
What differentiates us most is definitely the source and taste of our water. Due to natural filtration and how the water rises from our source, it has an ideal pH profile of 8.1, as recommended by the World Health Organization. That’s consistent with every test we’ve done; sometimes it’s at 8.0 or 8.2, but on average our natural pH is 8.1. That mineral profile lends Jackson Springs its taste, which has won us Best Tasting Water in the World a few times now.