Corporate Headquarters:
Certified Pure, LLC.
PO Box 745
28 S. Main St
Randolph, MA 02368 781-963-8811
fax: 781-986-8223
sales@certifiedpure.com

Certified Pure Promises a Much Cooler System
-Laurie Russo, Beverage World

Standing around the office water cooler is an American tradition. Rumors, gossip, sports arguments and the like seem to gravitate toward the company refreshment point. And who can resist the healthy gurgle of that fresh, cool water as it passes from the bottle into your waiting cup?

But wait. Believe it or not, that gurgle may not be so healthy after all. CertifiedPureWater.com, a Boston-area company, has issued a challenge of sorts to the bottled water industry by introducing the A-Certi-Pure Drinking Water System. According to Paul David, Certified Pure's water treatment specialist, the A-Certi-Pure system has set out to eliminate the "hassles" of the traditional water cooler.

"We have a point-of-use triple filtration/purification system which has the look of bottled water with none of the headaches," says David, counting off some common noggin-knockers. "Changing 50-pound bottles every time-people run away from the cooler when it's time to change those, deliveries of 20-40 bottles, the inconvenience of storing the bottles."

"Tufts University did a study of the water coolers on their campus and found that the reservoirs had bacteria levels 2,000 times the government's recommended ceiling," David says. "When you introduce a new bottle, the neck of that bottle becomes contaminated by dirty hands, dust, etc., all of which get inserted into the reservoir without cleaning the bottle. It's like using the same cup over and over without washing it." Plus, every time water is drawn out, air is drawn in-remember the "healthy gurgle"?-which is unfiltered and loaded with bacteria and germs.

The A-Certi-Pure system, which features a continuously self-filling five-gallon bottle, removes such health concerns while utilizing the existing water supply. Says David, "Before going into our bottle, water goes through two-five micron filters. The now-clean water sits in the bottle, and when it's dispensed from the cooler, it gets drawn from the bottle into the reservoir through a granular-activated carbon filter, which then filters out the chlorine and micro-organisms." All the while, a .22-micro air filter removes any contaminants from the air that goes back into the bottle, which is sanitized every six months.

The other alternative to bottled water, a flat-top filtration system without a bottle, filters everything out of your existing water, including the chlorine. The water sits inside the tank, where it's dark and warm, and since there's no chlorine to disinfect the water, the tank becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and algae. This, explains David, is a slightly more convenient choice, but poses just as many risks.

So how can someone really know if he's serving healthy drinking water to those on the premises? According to Paul David, unless your water is filtered and purified without the introduction foreign contaminants, you can't.

"Bottled water companies have misinformed and confused the hell out of people," he charges. "They know people need to trust their drinking water. But these companies cannot guarantee that the water that comes out of their [cooler] bottles and goes into the user's cup is pure. The Tufts University study proved that the water in these cooler bottles contains harmful bacteria."

Aside from the health aspects, he continues, the way businesses traditionally receive their bottled water supply can involve labor, storage problems, and potentially alarming cost considerations. "Some bottled water companies charge $7.50 per 5-gallon bottled," he says in amazment. "If you're going through 20-30 bottles a month for your office [a company with 15 employees typically uses three bottles per week], you're talking some serious cash. Meanwhile, you could be using the water you already have-and already pay for."

The A-Certi-Pure bottle fits any cooler, so any existing water cooler system can be converted. Even those who presently have large plastic bottles delivered for refrigeration and don't have a cooler can eliminate storage and recycling concerns. There's also a counter top system. And if that still doesn't go far enough in easing customer concerns, the company produces straws to use while dining at a restaurant that filters the water as you drink. "We give those away," laughs David.

But while of course hoping to replace every traditional water cooler with one of his own, Paul David holds no grand illusions of wiping out the competition entirely. "Bottled water is successful," he admits. "People trust bottled water. There will always be bottled water in this country. But people are smarter than we think and we shouldn't take advantage of them; instead, we should give them our natural resources with no extra labor. It's really a win-win situation for all involved.

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