Karen Dillon

Karen writes about the people and places of Smith Mountain Lake in "Shorelines," published bi-weekly.

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Lake entrepreneur Shane Bramlett is at it again. This time he's focused on ridding the earth of plastic water bottles by promoting and selling XZIEX Atmospheric Water Generators.

"We're ruining our earth with plastic bottles," said Bramlett. "There's a big industry out there that's making money just by bottling water."

According to the vision statement on the XZIEX Web site, the company aims to "provide pure water from thin air to those who are dying of thirst; understand our divine responsibilities to help those in need; research additional ways we can help heal our planet; and extend a pure opportunity for a richer life to those who want it."

Similar to a dehumidifier, XZIEX (pronounced "ZYE-ex") water generators claim to extract moisture from the air and, through a six-step, patented purification and condensation process, transform it into drinking water.

According to the company's Web site under the "How It Works" section, "Through a patented technology, XZIEX is able to create safe, clean drinking water directly from the air we breathe. No more lugging around those five gallon water coolers, no more buying overpriced, environmentally harmful bottled water. Now you can have your very own water factory. For less than 10 cents a gallon you can enjoy drinking water from the air."

The company is only about three months old, said Bramlett, who recently signed on as an independent business owner of the water generators.

"It takes about 4-6 weeks to get a machine because they are so new," he said.

The water generators start at $2,000 and can be used in the home or in businesses.

"We have payment plans and you can either rent or purchase," said Bramlett.

So what about bacteria and other germs in the water? The Web site explains the six-step purification process as follows: "The XZIEX water generation process utilizes high intensity UV (ultra violet) to eliminate any microorganisms including bacteria and viruses. Ultraviolet light has been used for over 50 years to purify water and is accepted by the United States Public Health Service as a standard methodology for water treatment."

In addition to selling XZIEX water generators, Bramlett is involved in operating Smith Mountain Lake Business Network, a business networking group. He's also a mortgage planner and a member of Smith Mountain Lake Green Drinks, a networking group that meets regularly to talk about environmental interests.

In the near future, Bramlett hopes to launch a program that places recycling bins around lake area businesses to encourage recycling plastic bottles.

"If we buy bottled water, we're putting 50 billion plastic bottles in the landfill every year," he said. "There is 3.5 million tons of plastic floating in the Pacific."

And while XZIEX encourages its business owners to branch out and bring in other potential business owners, Bramlett said he just wants to do his part to help the environment.

"I'm not marketing it as signing a bunch of people up," he said. "It's more about getting the awareness out. It's important that everyone does their part, even if it's a small part."

For more information about XZIEX Atmospheric Water Generators, visit goodsolution.myxziex.com.