16 Brands Of Water That Are Not Purified

Many of us just want water in its natural state, meaning no sterilizing chemicals and no removal of healthy minerals. But since few of us are lucky enough to live near pristine springs to fetch our own water, we need to rely on bottled water brands that are not purified.

This article lists the best of these brands of water that aren’t purified.

What is Unpurified Water?

Purified water is water that comes from any source and that has been filtered or treated to remove metals, pharmaceuticals, bacteria, fungi, and many other contaminants.

It can be purified by the addition of sterilizing chemicals like chlorine. Or it can be processed through filters like carbon, ion exchange, or reverse osmosis.

Unpurified water usually originates from springs or underground aquifers and is not filtered. Or treated against any particles or biological organisms.

Raw water

In the United States, it hit the news some years ago as a new fad in Silicon Valley that has now fast spread to the rest of the country. Advocates call it “raw water” and tout its health benefits because of its perfectly natural state.

While health authorities warn that the bacteria and parasites that might be in it can cause cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, and other potentially deadly diseases.

As such, keep the following in mind:

1. There are fairly few American-sourced bottled brands that are genuinely raw or untreated in this sense. Most American states explicitly require providers to kill germs with ozone or ultraviolet light, except in cases where exemptions are granted. That’s why raw or pure water is so trendy here. That is also why we include a few brands from which germs have been removed, while leaving the water otherwise untouched.
2. European Union legislation defines spring water as fit for human consumption without requiring purification, which is why there are so many European brands on the list. It’s much more commonplace there.
3. Because genuinely raw/untreated water may contain live biological organisms, it has a short shelf life and tends not to be sold on amazon or other places where it sits in warehouses. The safest channel for these purchases is from the companies themselves. Although extremely clean springs with no live organisms can get away with warehousing.

Brands of Water That Are Not Purified

1. Acqua Panna

It’s a still mineral water with an alkaline score of eight or above. This fresh tasting spring water is naturally filtered when it flows through the underground rocks below the hills of Tuscany.

It’s also thoroughly tested for contaminants before it is bottled at the spring, but it’s not treated or altered at all. In fact, chambers between the springs and bottling plant are sealed, so the entire operation from the spring to you occurs without any human intervention.

2. Evian Natural Spring Water

The water then flows through layers of underground rock for 15 years. This unprocessed water then emerges from Cachat Spring in the French Alps in the town Évian-les-Bains.

It is rich in essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, silica, and potassium and has an approximately neutral pH of 7.2. Evian is bottled at the spring and not processed or filtered in any way.

3. Icelandic Glacial Natural Spring Alkaline Water

This untreated water emerges from the Ölfus Spring in Iceland with surprisingly low mineral content. It is also low in total dissolved solids (only 62 TDS), and a high alkaline pH of 8.4.

The company’s operations are completely hands-off with the water. Allowing the water to flow straight from the spring into the bottling plant and the bottles, with some water isolated for testing. They advertise their product as water to which nothing is added and from which nothing is taken away.

4. VOSS Artesian Still Water

Relatively low in total dissolved solids with a score of 44 mg/L and on the acidic end of the pH scale with a value of 5.9, it’s not treated or filtered and is completely natural and unaltered.

5. Summit Spring Raw Water

Its Raw Water brand is also completely untreated and untouched. Like the Tourmaline brand, it also passes the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s drinking water program quality standards.

In fact, Summit Spring Spring Water originates from exactly the same clean source as this raw water does, but it is microfiltered to remove particles and UV treated to remove biological organisms for the satisfaction of more consumers.

Unusually for spring water, Summit Spring Raw Water is low in minerals and scores on the acidic side of the pH spectrum (5.8 pH).

6. Aqua Pura Still Mineral Water

This untreated British water flows through a rocky aquifer where it collects calcium, magnesium, and many healthy minerals before it is pumped to the surface. It has a slightly acidic pH of 6.4.

Aqua Pura is bottled at the source and tested for cleanliness during the process, but not altered at all.

It is sometimes available on Amazon in the United States, otherwise you will have to be creative and ask British friends to pick it up for you at Tesco or Sainsbury’s and send it along.

7. Harrogate Still Spring Water

This water is sourced from the original spa town, Harrogate in Yorkshire, with its 88 mineral springs. The water flows through the rocks under a pine forest for 1,000 years before it eventually bubbles from the spring from where it is directly bottled.

Having won several gold medals at The British Bottlers Institute’s Tasting Awards, it is completely untouched from its original state. Although, it is constantly tested in case of possible contaminants.

At this stage, it is available only from Amazon UK but you can have it shipped to the United States.

8. Iceland Pure Spring Water

It flows out of the earth at springs in the protected Heiðmörk nature reserve after percolating through layers of lava and rocks for hundreds of years.

This gives it its unique mineral profile and its alkaline pH. While unavailable at Amazon, you can buy it from Walgreens in the United States.

9. Holywell Malvern Spring Water

The water used to be bottled and sold by Coca-Cola & Schweppes as Malvern Water. But when they closed their plant in 2010, a family-owned company took it over on a smaller scale. They now sell it as Holywell Malvern Spring Water around the United Kingdom.

This water is often hard to source in the U.S., although it is readily available from Amazon.co.uk.

10. Naya Spring Water

Like in Europe, Canadian law defines spring water as water that originates from a natural spring and that is potable without requiring purifying treatments. This is precisely what Naya Spring Water is.

It comes from a spring in the Laurentian Mountains in southern Quebec, is bottled on site, and is completely sodium-free.

Because it’s currently sold at Costco in Canada, you’ll have to make arrangements with Canadian friends to lay your hands on it.

11. Mountain Valley Spring Water

The company doesn’t filter any metals or minerals out of the water, but they do remove microbiological and organic organisms to make sure you can’t get sick. Accordingly, it might not be as completely unaltered as most of the other brands on this list. However, it is close enough to the water that naturally flows from the springs.

It contains calcium, magnesium, and potassium and has a slightly alkaline pH of 7.3.

12. Opal Springs Water

This company does treat it with ultraviolet light to remove biological organisms. This allows the water to last longer on grocery shelves without turning rancid. But other than that, it is unaltered spring water.

This spring water is available direct from the company by a simple phone call.

13. Tourmaline Spring Water

Tourmaline Spring Water produces bottles of water that are not purified. This water is completely untreated even against biological organisms. As such, this is water in its 100 percent untouched natural form.

It also escapes the safety concerns regarding bacteria. The company started working closely with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s drinking water program in 2009 to ensure that the water was clean and to be issued with a treatment exemption. While the drinking program doesn’t make its testing information public, the manager told the Portland Press Herald in 2018 that it was, as far as they were aware, the only untreated water that passed its regular inspections and tests.

This means that the spring’s water is naturally clean and safe. The tests are carried out regularly enough so that potential contaminants are hopefully flagged before the water makes its way to your grocery shelves.

While it is only occasionally available for purchase on Amazon, it is available in many grocery stores in New England – or directly from the company’s website.

14. Alive Water

The aquifer that feeds the spring holds water that meets federal and state water consumption standards without any treatment. This means it also does not required ultraviolet light to remove biological organisms.

This brand is often considered extremely expensive. It made a significant news splash some years ago for its popularity in Silicon Valley. But Men’s Health has since discovered that the water is actually sourced from Opal Springs by Deschutes Valley Water District. This water district then provides the water untreated to the taps of Jefferson County, from where Alive Water obtains it. The company confirmed this fact to the magazine, though it’s not quite as candid on its website.

Whichever way, it is untreated, the 100 percent natural spring water that are not purified can be found on elite grocery shelves in California or purchase from Alive Water’s own website.

15. Avion Water

Avion Water is not bottled water. You cannot buy it on Amazon or anywhere else online. However, we have included it on this list because it is pure untouched, untreated aquifer water from Oregon, provided to the taps of people in the Bend, Deschutes, and Crook Counties area.

In many ways, this shows how strange the pure or raw water trend in the States really is. The technical manager of Oregon’s drinking water program told the OregonLive newspaper in 2019 that there were approximately 1,300 water systems in Oregon that provided clients with untreated underground water. They received exemptions from the state to bypass normal treatment requirements because the underground sources were so clean.

Oregon’s farmers even water their crops with the water that California’s raw water advocates buy for $20 per gallon. If you live in Oregon and you have time on your hands, a business opportunity awaits!

So, if you prefer to drink bottled water that are not purified but are 100 percent natural and untampered with straight from the most pristine sources on the planet, this list is a great place to start your exploration of water that is not purified.