Exports of Hawaiian deep-sea water more than doubled last year.

The water, pumped from 3,000 feet below the ocean's surface, has become a hit in Japan where it sells for $5 per 1.5-liter bottle and is marketed as a pure, nutrient-rich drink.

Exports reached $37.4 million last year and, for the second year in a row, the water was Hawai'i's leading locally produced export.

"I think it's going to continue to grow for the foreseeable future as people continue to ramp up production," said Ron Baird, chief executive officer for the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority in Kailua on the Big Island. The facility, run by the state, supplies water to several private bottlers.

Companies such as Koyo USA Corp. and Deep Seawater International are hoping bottled deep-sea water catches on in Mainland markets. Last summer, Koyo USA opened a third plant at the Kailua facility in anticipation of new U.S. and Asian sales.

4 MORE COMPANIES

So far, three bottling companies use deep-sea water supplied by the Kailua facility, and four more companies have plans to begin operations at the facility.

The biggest bottler is Koyo, which can produce 1 million bottles of water a day.

The water is touted as being thousands of years old and free of modern impurities.

"Everyone needs water and these days people don't mind paying something more for something good," said Yutaka Ishiyama, sales and marketing manager for Koyo USA. "This is the purest water on Earth. It's very natural and it's something very pure."

Springing up almost overnight, the bottled seawater industry has spent an estimated $120 million in capital improvements and employs about 100 people.

It is considered a "clean" industry that diversifies Hawai'i County's economy. In addition, the state receives hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in royalties from companies who use the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority's "100% Hawaii Deep Seawater" service mark on their bottled water.

The industry's growth isn't limited to the Big Island. DSH International Inc. last fall exported test cargo containers of desalinated deep-sea water pulled from the depths four miles west of Ko Olina on O'ahu. The company hopes to eventually ship 2 million gallons of desalinated seawater out of the state monthly.

DSH pumps the water from a depth of 2,000 feet, removes the salt and then fills plastic-lined cargo containers that can hold 5,200 gallons of water.

'A SPECIAL PLACE'

So what is it that makes Hawai'i water so popular?

"Hawai'i is a special place — we are producing a product from this special place," said Rich Treadway, a spokesman for DSH, which operates as D.O. Hawaii.

D.O. Hawaii plans to market its water for use in other types of beverages as well as cosmetics and even canned tuna. That could insulate the company if the current boom in deep-sea drinking water tapers.

"Even if it is a phase, we're excited because we're promoting our water for things beyond the water market," Treadway said.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.