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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Since We Asked Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Readers Choice 2006 Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Our Valley Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend August 13, 2006 Butte Falls water plan dries up By Bill Miller for the Mail Tribune BUTTE FALLS — The dream of bottling and marketing Butte Falls' pristine water has suffered a setback, but residents remain optimistic that eventually they will succeed. Earlier this year, the Butte Falls Community Development Corp., a driving force behind the plan to build a water-bottling plant east of town, decided to disband and transfer all of its funds to the city. "We just couldn't secure grants to fund the project," said Joyce Hailicka, chair of the corporation. "That was our sole purpose." The city will use the corporation's funds to bring a new six-inch supply pipe to the plant site and use it to deliver spring water to tanker trucks and individuals. Created six years ago, the nonprofit corporation had hoped to revitalize the economy of this former timber community, which lost most of its better-paying jobs to the industry downturn of the 1980s. Advertisement In its 60-page marketing strategy, the group offered a plan that would divert surplus water from the town's gravity-fed water source at Ginger Springs. The non-chlorinated water would travel 500 yards downhill to a bottling plant on land donated by the Superior Lumber Co. After charcoal filtering and ultraviolet treatment, the water would be sold under the brand name Ginger Springs Water, and profits would help support the town's schools and police and fire departments. "We thought about marketing it as 'baby's first water,' " said Hailicka. "All we needed was about $1.5 million." Before the corporation disbanded, a last appeal for an appropriation was made to Congressman Greg Walden's office. "We said that we would not only bottle water for sale," Hailicka said, "we would become an emergency source of water. I talked to the Forest Service and I was amazed at how much bottled water they buy for their firefighters during fire season. The idea was that we would keep a water bank of more than 1 million bottles and we would rotate those bottles for emergency use, in boxes, ready to be moved out with very short notice. "Everyone said they liked the idea, but in the meantime there have been so many emergencies, like New Orleans, that the proposal just didn't go anywhere." Although the corporation wasn't able to complete the bottling plant, Hailicka is proud of its accomplishments. "We were able to acquire the land for the plant," she said. "We were able to take that land and annex it to the town of Butte Falls, and then we were able to get permission through the statewide planning process to allow that land to be used for the plant. All of that remains in place and it's my greatest hope that one day we will find a way. "This is not the end. It may just be a way for the community to rethink how the plant could be funded." Bill Miller is a freelance writer living in Shady Cove. Reach him at [email protected]. Advertisement s Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2006 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems California Casinos Men's Clothing Southern Oregon Loans --> GMAT Prep Fundraisers Send Flowers Entertainment Guide --> Casinos Canada Trunks, Footlocker Online Casino Reviews