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When you live in the desert, water becomes important. Very important. About 100 years ago a local spring gained some notoriety and since then, it has been taking care of the bottled water business.

William Bailey, President, Mount Olympus Waters Inc.: "WE LIVE IN A DESERT AND WATER WAS VERY, VERY VALUABLE, ALWAYS. THIS WATER AND ITS PARTICULAR ATTRIBUTES, I DON'T THINK THEY REALLY KNEW THAT IT, OR COULD HAVE FORSEEN THE BOTTLED WATER BUSINESS WOULD BE THIS KIND OF INDUSTRY."

Mount Olympus had a birthday this year. And looking back 100 years, some things haven't changed. Water is still a valuable commodity, just as it was to Salt Lake fruit farmers and ranchers a century ago.

Mr. Bailey: "THE INITIAL TRADESTYLE WAS MOUNT OLYMPUS FRUIT AND LIVESTOCK COMPANY AND THE WATER WAS BASICALLY USED TO WATER FRUIT TREES AND LIVESTOCK."

But is there really a Mount Olympus spring?

Mr. Bailey: "THATS CORRECT. I GUESS THATS THE NUMBER ONE QUESTION WE'RE ALWAYS ASKED IS, IS IT REALLY NATURAL SPRING WATER? AND THE ANSWER TO THAT IS VERY MUCH SO..."

Not only is it spring water, but as time went on, people began noticing it was a tasty water as well.

Mr. Bailey: "WELL AS THE WATER WAS, AS I INDICATED, USED FOR LIVESTOCK AND FRUIT AND IRRIGATION, BUT AS TIME WENT ON THEY RECOGNIZED IT WAS A VERY LIGHT, FLAVORFUL SOURCE OF WATER AND PEOPLE BEGAN TO DRINK IT AND SO THE BOTTLED WATER BUSINESS WAS BORN."

Thats right. And as the demand for spring water grew during the decades, Mount Olympus became a pinnacle in the industry due to taste.

Mr. Bailey: "MOUNT OLYMPUS IS NATURALLY LOW IN TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS OR MINERAL CONTENT, ROUGHLY 50 PARTS PER MILLION, WHEREAS MOST OTHER WATERS WOULD BE IN EXCESS OF 400."

Sounds impressive. But how unique is the water that gushes from the aquifer high above Salt Lake?

Mr. Bailey: "ITS VERY UNIQUE. ALOT OF SPRING WATERS MIGHT BE AROUND 100 TO 150, BUT LESS THAN 50 IS PRETTY UNIQUE."

40,000 gallons of water are bottled here each day after arriving via truck from the spring, where it is quickly shot into bottles and sent out to four different states. A far cry from watering cows and apricot trees.

Mr. Bailey: "THE INDUSTRY WAS INITIALLY A TAPWATER REPLACEMENT BUSINESS AND THATS USUALLY THE FIVE GALLON BUSINESS, THE 2 1/2 GALLON, THE GALLON, BUT THE SMALL PACKAGE BUSINESS, THE LITRE, THE LITRE 1/2--1/2 LITRE, THAT'S AN INDUSTRY THAT'S IN A BEVERAGE REPLACEMENT CATEGORY."

The reason for this dramatic change is that more and more people are choosing water as a beverage of choice.

Mr. Bailey: "I THINK THE HEALTHY LIFESTYLE AS WELL AS PEOPLE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT DRINKING WATER, THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT OTHER PRODUCTS AND PEOPLE BUY BOTTLED WATER MOSTLY FOR ITS ASHTETICS. HOW IT TASTES, IT'S THE THINGS IT DOESN'T HAVE IN IT."

Once you consider that in order to stay in good health, you should drink 8-glasses of water a day, it helps to do so when the water tastes, well, good.

Mr. Bailey: "I THINK THAT WATER, CLEAN, SAFE WATER IS GOING TO BE A COMMODITY THAT WILL ALWAYS BE LOOKED FOR AND CONSEQUENTLY I BELIEVE MOUNT OLYMPUS SPRING WATER HAS A BRIGHT FUTURE."

Remember 8-glasses a day. Happy 100th birthday Mount Olympus!