CRESTON – Creston-based Montana Artesian bottled water is now being distributed even after Flathead County voted yes to a zoning expansion to block the plant in a June ballot.
Montana Artesian Company representative Darryl James confirmed to MTN News on Friday that the company is distributing their product with the "Artesian" water being carried by Woody’s convenience store in Kalispell.
James also said that as of Friday the water was sold out and the store hasn’t reordered a new shipment. He added that some businesses are carrying it through private label. James says the company is also working with a local distributor to market it further.
The company worked for more than two years to get state approval for the plant which draws water underneath a slough area along the Flathead River. It won its water right permit to pull the equivalent of more than a billion regular bottles of water annually.
Owner Lew Weaver has been embroiled in a dispute with area landowners over the plant which he says he plans to keep small. The landowners sought a district zoning expansion in June to protect the area from industrial use.
They also backed a ballot measure initiated by another organization, Yes for Flathead Farms and Water.
