New Reverse Osmosis Water Machine Replaces Old Machine

Recent concerns over water supply, sourcing and quality have prompted our customers and Co-op members to support our Reverse Osmosis Water Machine.  Although Burlington’s water supply is touted as one of the cleanest in the nation, demand for Reverse Osmosis (RO) water has never been stronger at City Market.

Co-op members receive water for free as a member benefit. Looking back I don’t think anyone in the store would imagine the water machine would be one of our most popular member benefits when it was first unveiled.  Since the inception of our “Free Water for Members” benefit, our little old machine struggled to keep up.  After just a year and a half in operation we decided to invest in a new water machine with a larger capacity to produce and store.  Though you may still find lines for water at the machine, you will find it vends much quicker, and more reliably than our previous model.

Reverse Osmosis Water has been increasingly popular over the past years and finding a replacement for our machine was no small task.  There are numerous companies who manufacture and sell RO systems.  In most cases their revenue is spent on impressive websites with little real credibility behind the veil.  We investigated a number of these companies before realizing the nature of RO sales.  We also were very close to placing a system from Culligan, only halted by the cost which would have required us to start charging Co-op members for water.  In true Co-op fashion we rolled up our sleeves and pawed through the various options only to settle on the same manufacturer we currently used.  Their customer service was strong and spoke to their commitment to build a relationship with us. 

The new system is a custom built system with a larger RO Membrane, storage tank, and vending cabinet. We are excited to say that feedback has been primarily positive despite some adjustments customers have had to make in getting used to the new setup.

Like any mechanical system we won’t go as far as to say that all of the kinks are worked out, in fact I just took a break in writing this to figure out why the tank wasn’t filling.  Despite this, the new system has been a breath of fresh air and a cool drink of water for us compared to its predecessor. We hope you’ll enjoy the new machine and thank you for your continued patronage!

By Chris Lyon, Assistant Operations Manager