Tri State Water

What Tri State Water does

Tri State Water, Inc. is a privately held, locally owned bottled water producer and water treatment company headquartered at 1525 SD Hwy. 10 in Sisseton, South Dakota. Founded around 1991, the company serves residential and commercial customers across a defined tri-state footprint spanning South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota, with primary delivery coverage in Aberdeen, Mobridge, Sisseton, and surrounding rural communities. The company produces and bottles Tri State Purified Water at a local plant fed by a protected underground aquifer; water is triple-filtered, purified by reverse osmosis (achieving 0–80 ppm total dissolved solids, marketed as pharmaceutical grade), and treated with ozonation rather than chlorine for bacterial control, then bottled immediately before distribution.

The product portfolio has three legs: (1) bottled drinking water in 5-gallon, 3-gallon, 1-gallon, and 20-oz formats sold via recurring scheduled home and office delivery and a network of 20+ retail pickup/exchange partners (including Wolf Stop, Cenex, Nodak True Value, Sag's Hardware, and Farmers Union Oil); (2) water dispensers and coolers, including Brio hot/cold and touchless bottom-load models, available for outright purchase or small monthly rental; and (3) home water purification systems, specifically PuROTwist 4000 reverse osmosis units and Hydrotech 565 Series water softeners, sold with professional in-home installation and ongoing maintenance/salt replenishment service. Core technology is third-party supplied (Brio, Hydrotech, PuROTwist) and resold under Tri State's service umbrella, while the proprietary differentiation sits in the local purification plant's RO-plus-ozonation process.

The business model blends subscription-style recurring delivery revenue with hardware sales/rentals and installation service revenue. Go-to-market is sales-led and locally concentrated, driven by a toll-free phone line (1-800-871-5360), the company website and online bill-pay portal, a Facebook page, and the retail pickup partner network. The company is bootstrapped, with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, M&A activity, or management changes in the source data, and is operated with an 11–50 employee headcount.

Name

Tri State Water

Legal name

Tri State Water, Inc.

Website

https://tristatebottledwater.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Tri State Water is a locally owned, Sisseton, South Dakota–based bottled water producer and water treatment company that delivers purified water and resells home purification systems to residential and commercial customers across the South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota tri-state region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bottled Water Delivery and Water Treatment

NAICS

Bottled Water Manufacturing (312112), Plumbing and Heating Equipment and Supplies (Hydronics) Merchant Wholesalers (42372), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941), Bottled & Canned Soft Drinks & Carbonated Waters (2086)

akta.pro primary industry

Purified/RO Bottled Water Production (AFAFACAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reverse Osmosis (RO) Systems (Residential) (CRAJAJAK), Whole-House (Point-of-Entry) Water Treatment Systems (CRAJAJAE), Water Systems & Treatment (Pumps/Boilers/Water Heaters/Filtration) (IMAIABAK)

Keywords

• Bottled water delivery
• Water purification systems
• Water dispenser rental
• Reverse osmosis filtration
• Water softener installation

Headquarters

HQ city

Sisseton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Bottled Water Delivery: Recurring delivery of purified bottled water (5 gal, 3 gal, 1 gal, and 20 oz bottles) to homes and offices on a regular scheduled basis. Water is sourced from protected underground aquifer and purified at local plant.
2. Water Dispensers and Coolers: Sale or rental of water dispensers including standard coolers, hot/cold coolers, touchless bottom-load coolers, and FloJet dispensing systems. Available for purchase or small monthly rental fee.
3. Home Purification Systems: Sale and installation of home water purification systems including reverse osmosis systems (PuROTwist 4000), water softeners (Hydrotech 565 Series), and related products. Home installation and service offered.
4. Water Softener Salt: Sale of water softener salt for ongoing maintenance of home softener systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Tri State Water produces and delivers triple-filtered, reverse-osmosis purified bottled drinking water sourced from a protected underground aquifer near Sisseton, South Dakota, and sells or rents home and office water treatment equipment including reverse osmosis systems, water softeners, and point-of-use coolers. The company serves residential and commercial customers across South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota through scheduled home/office delivery, more than 20 retail pickup locations, and professional home system installation and maintenance.

Product overview

Tri State Water is a locally owned bottled water and water treatment company serving South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota for over 30 years. The company produces and bottles Tri State Purified Water near the source in Sisseton, South Dakota, using a triple-filtered and reverse osmosis purification process. Their product portfolio consists of bottled drinking water (available in 5 gal, 3 gal, 1 gal, and 20 oz bottles), home water purification systems (including PuROTwist 4000 Reverse Osmosis Systems and Hydrotech 565 Series Water Softeners), and water dispensers/coolers (including Brio 3000U and Brio Moderna Touch-Less models). Products are delivered directly to homes and offices, with additional pickup locations available throughout their service area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Tri State Bottled Water Triple-filtered and reverse-osmosis purified bottled drinking water sourced from a protected underground aquifer, ozonated for bacterial elimination, with minerals added for taste and total dissolved solids of 0-80 ppm. Available in 5 gallon, 3 gallon, 1 gallon, and 20 oz bottle sizes for residential and commercial customers on scheduled delivery.
• Water Dispensers and Coolers Water coolers, dispensers, and pumps (including standard coolers, hot/cold units, budget units, bottom-load touchless coolers, Brio 3000U Premiere Series, Brio Moderna Touch-Less Bottom Load Water Cooler, crocks, FloJet dispensing systems, and hand pumps) available for outright purchase or monthly rental for homes, offices, and public spaces.
• PuROTwist 4000 Reverse Osmosis System Under-sink 4-stage reverse osmosis system using a semi-permeable membrane that rinses contaminants to drain, stores filtered water in a sealed tank, and delivers through a lead-free faucet, providing purified drinking water at the tap for residential customers.
• Hydrotech 565 Series Water Softener Whole-home ion-exchange water softener with simple programmable electronics that reduces scale buildup in plumbing and appliances, lowers water heating costs, and reduces soap usage for homeowners experiencing hard water problems.
• Home Water Purification System Installation and Service Professional consultation, selection, in-home installation, and scheduled maintenance service (including filter replacement) for Tri State Water's reverse osmosis and water softening systems, targeting homeowners in the tri-state region.
• Water Softener Salt Consumable salt sold for ongoing maintenance and regeneration of residential water softener systems installed by Tri State Water.

Quantifiable outcome

• Water purity of 0-80 ppm total dissolved solids (including minerals for taste)
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• BriocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBrio is a manufacturer of water coolers and dispensers. Tri State Water resells Brio products including the Brio 3000U Premiere Series Point of Use Cooler, Brio Moderna Touch-Less Bottom Load Water Cooler (720 Premiere Series), and other Brio water dispensing equipment.
• HydrotechcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHydrotech manufactures water softening systems. Tri State Water sells and installs Hydrotech products including the Hydrotech 565 Series Water Softener designed to address hard water problems in homes.
• PuROTwistcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPuROTwist produces reverse osmosis water filtration systems. Tri State Water offers the PuROTwist 4000 Reverse Osmosis System as part of their home purification product line.
• Wolf Stop / All C-Express LocationsminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRetail pickup locations for bottled water in Aberdeen, SD where customers can exchange empty bottles for full ones outside normal delivery hours.
• Cenex Ampride / Cenex StationminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRetail pickup locations for bottled water in Eagle Butte, SD and Selfridge, SD where customers can exchange empty bottles for full ones.
• Nodak True ValueminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRetail pickup location for bottled water in Linton, ND where customers can exchange empty bottles for full ones.
• Sag's Hardware / Hardware StoresminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHardware store pickup locations in Wheaton, MN and other communities where customers can exchange empty bottles for full ones.
• Farmers Union OilminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPickup location for bottled water in Dupree, SD where customers can exchange empty bottles for full ones.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• BlueTriton Brands: BlueTriton (formerly Nestlé Waters North America) sells Poland Spring, Arrowhead, Deer Park, and other regional bottled water brands at massive retail scale — a broad incumbent whose bottled water competes with Tri State for retail and home consumption occasions.
• Niagara Bottling: Niagara is one of the largest U.S. bottled water producers supplying private-label and branded water to retail — a broad incumbent that pressures Tri State's retail pickup and bottled water economics through scale.

Direct peers

• Coway: Coway is a leading home water purifier and dispenser company with installed-base subscription models; it competes with Tri State's point-of-use cooler and home purification business on service and recurring revenue.
• Kinetico: Kinetico manufactures and sells residential and commercial water softening and RO systems through a local dealer network — directly comparable to Tri State's Hydrotech softener and PuROTwist RO offering.
• Sparkletts: Sparkletts (now part of Primo Brands) offers home and office bottled water delivery with dispensers — a near-identical offering to Tri State's core subscription delivery business.
• Crystal Springs: Crystal Springs provides bottled water delivery, dispensers, and filtration services to homes and offices, with similar subscription-based delivery mechanics and product breadth to Tri State.
• Mountain Valley Spring Water: Mountain Valley produces and delivers spring and purified bottled water in 5-gallon and retail sizes with a premium 'sourced' positioning similar to Tri State's locally sourced aquifer narrative.
• Culligan: Culligan is the dominant North American direct-to-home water treatment and bottled water delivery company, combining residential RO/softener systems with 5-gallon bottle delivery — the same dual model Tri State operates, but at national scale.
• Primo Water: Primo Water (formerly DS Services) operates a large bottled water and water cooler delivery business with both exchange and direct-service routes across the U.S., directly competing with Tri State's recurring 5-gallon delivery and dispenser rental model.
• Waterlogic: Waterlogic designs and distributes point-of-use water dispensers and coolers for offices and homes — overlapping directly with Tri State's Brio cooler line and dispenser rental business.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tristatebottledwater

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tri State Water