New location for Diamond Waterworks in Neepawa
- Details
- Published on Thursday, October 31, 2013
By: Kate Jackman-Atkinson
myWestman.ca
Earlier this month, Neepawa’s Diamond Waterworks opened the doors to its new downtown location.
Offering 24-hour water refills, business and home water delivery, pool and spa chemical sales as well as water analysis, owner Grant Lukin said they are able to meet the water needs of the Neepawa area.
Formerly located on Highway 16, Diamond Waterworks can now be found at 302 Ellen Street, the former Food and Pop location. The new location is well tailored to Diamond Waterworks’ treatment and delivery business, as well as offering a convenient location for walk-in customers.
With the new location, Lukin hopes to see more people making use of his 24-hour water refill vending machine. “Everybody gets their mail, they might as well bring their jugs,” he said.
Lukin also sells a pre-paid smart card, which offers customers a lower price of $2 per refill as well as the convenience of not having to find change for the machine.
‘Nothing but wet’
While the Town of Neepawa’s new water treatment plant has improved the quality of tap water in the town, it is still producing water with eight grains of hardness and chlorine. Lukin said the said level of hardness will still leave calcium residue on taps and other fixtures.
All of Diamond Waterworks’ water undergoes a multi-stage filtration and treatment process before being dispensed. It starts with Town of Neepawa water, which first goes through a water softener to remove the calcium. Then, the water goes through a carbon filter to remove chlorine as well as any taste or odor. From there, it goes through a dual membrane reverse osmosis system and is then stored in three 150 gallon sealed tanks.
When it’s time to dispense the water, the water first undergoes UV treatment to kill any possible bacteria. Since the chlorine has been removed, the water in the tanks is unprotected. However, the tanks are sealed and Lukin has never had a bacteria test on the water from the tanks come back positive.
The water then goes through another carbon filter and a sediment filter before finally being dispensed. By the time the filtration system is done, the water that started out at 137 ppm of Total Dissolved Solids has been filtered to 0 ppm with no chlorine. “It’s nothing but wet,” said Lukin.
Lukin has been in the industry for 12 years and in addition to selling filtered water, he also sells water treatment products. Working with Regina-based Canature, he can provide systems small enough for a house or big enough for a school, hotel or farm. Through Canature, he can also access experts to help solve more difficult water treatment problems. “It’s not as simple as putting in a softener [anymore], there’s quite a bit of chemistry,” he said.
In addition to delivering to homes and almost every Neepawa business, Diamond Waterworks also delivers water to Minnedosa, Rapid City and Brookdale. “If you’re going to buy water, you might as well buy the best,” said Lukin.
