LYNNFIELD — A natural spring flowing quietly beneath eastern Massachusetts has become the focus of renewed attention as residents, athletes, and visitors seek alternatives to conventional drinking water.
The source, known as Pocahontas Spring, is stewarded by Boston Clear, which operates 24-hour self-serve fill stations at 165 Lowell St. Customers bring reusable containers and pay $1.50 per gallon to collect what the company describes as a naturally alkaline, mineral-rich substance emerging directly from the ground.
“Boston Clear is more than just water,” said Brian Russo, an ambassador and administrator for the spring. “It’s an experience. People come to the spring and see the water coming right out of the earth, flowing directly into the fill house. You’re experiencing a liquid as you’ve never experienced water before.”
Russo said first-time visitors are often surprised not only by the taste, but by how they feel afterward.
“When people try Boston Clear, they’re often really surprised by how it tastes and how they feel — more clear, more lucid, as the name implies. That’s what keeps them coming back,” he said.
Unlike most drinking water, which comes from rainfall and surface aquifers, Boston Clear’s source is believed to originate deep below the Earth’s surface. According to Russo, the spring is not part of the typical hydrologic cycle.
“It’s probably coming from 50 to 100 miles below the surface,” he said. “It’s a deep, deep aquifer, and there are only a handful like it in the entire world. That depth is what ensures the purity of it.”
The spring is located along the Bloody Bluff Fault, a major geological fracture beneath Massachusetts. Continuous free-flowing discharge and stable year-round temperature suggest the water rises under natural pressure rather than being pumped.
“We don’t even call it water half the time,” Russo said. “Anthony (Gattineri, the owner,) prefers to call it mineral elements because it’s the minerals, the electrolytes, that give people energy from drinking it.”
Laboratory testing shows consistent levels of naturally occurring minerals, including magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium. Tests have also identified trace rare earth elements, including gold at approximately 0.333 parts per million, a marker associated with deep geological origins.
A 2017 engineering report by CDM Smith confirmed the source is natural, according to company officials.
Boston Clear holds grandfathered distribution rights that predate modern water regulations, a status the company says makes Pocahontas Spring the oldest grandfathered source in Massachusetts and possibly the country.
That designation was not without controversy. Russo described years of disputes with local and state authorities over the spring’s classification.
“For years, the state tried to deny that it was a spring,” Russo said. “If they could say it wasn’t a spring, they could limit us to 2,000 gallons a day under groundwater rules. That was never the case. Last year, they finally admitted it was a spring.”
Russo said the disputes were tied in part to broader concerns over water quality in the region.
“There were forces at play that wanted to take the spring so it could be used to dilute contaminated municipal water,” he said. “Our position has always been that safety and water quality have to come first.”
Boston Clear acknowledges the spring sits on Indigenous land originally stewarded by the Sachem of the Mystic and later her son, Wenepoykin. Colonial court records show Wenepoykin fought unsuccessfully to retain control of the land before being captured during King Philip’s War and enslaved in Barbados.
The property later passed to colonial settlers and remained with the Smith family for generations. In 1901, Joseph Franklin Smith founded the Pocahontas Water Company, distributing water throughout the North Shore. The spring was also used during the Great Salem Fire of 1914 to help supply water.
Boston Clear assumed stewardship in 2014 after Gattineri, who had long been interested in water conservation, purchased the property.
“He’s not interested in drama,” Russo said. “He just wants people to have clean access to this source and to protect it.”
Boston Clear says its water consistently tests as non-detect for contaminants such as PFAS, chlorine, fluoride, and heavy metals at the source and fill stations. UV treatment is used to neutralize pathogens without altering mineral content, according to the company.
The spring has also drawn interest from endurance athletes. Russo cited marathon runners who say the water’s mineral content and natural alkalinity, measured at a pH of 7.7, helped reduce fatigue and speed recovery.
“One runner told us she never hit the wall,” Russo said. “She felt strong through the whole race and wasn’t sore the next day. That’s not something we promise — it’s her experience — but stories like that are why people pay attention.”
Boston Clear operates without single-use bottles, relying instead on customer-supplied containers.
“Just think about how much plastic we’ve kept out of circulation,” Russo said. “Single-use plastics are a huge problem, and this is one simple way to reduce them.”
The company also emphasizes local stewardship.
“Environmentalism isn’t just about checking boxes,” Russo said. “Without water, there is no civilization. We have a responsibility to the land and to the water. It’s not something we just take — it’s something we’re called to protect.”
As Aaron Kuhn, of Swampscott, has been filling up jugs at Pocahontas Spring for eight months. He said it is different in “every way possible” from tap water.
“Tap water has a lot of bad stuff in it. This water has none of that. It has a lot of minerals, electrolytes, and it energetically feels very good,” he said.
He added, “This is the best water I have ever had.”
Amanda Kuhn said it is important to support springs like Pocahontas Spring because of its water stewardship.
“There’s energetics to it that’s really important, and a frequency that we hold as we come together that protects the space. And I think that is really special and really important, especially in the world we’re in because our water sources are under attack,” she said.
As visitors continue to arrive at all hours to fill their jugs, Russo said the goal remains simple.
“We’re not trying to be controversial,” he said. “We just want people to be hydrated and to understand where their water comes from — and why it matters.”
