Two Bermudians want to start a local business. The brother is a former Bank of Bermuda executive possessing a degree in economics; the sister is a former accountant for a Bermuda small business; the sister's husband is a computer whiz; and a brother of the two is a handyman and builder. How about that for a combination? Add a dash of Bermudian enthusiasm, and all that is needed is a great idea.

And at a North Shore, Pembroke mini-factory the idea is right under their feet.

Purewater Bermuda has just entered the business of supplying crystal-clear Bermuda water in five-gallon containers to anyone who wants to drink water that is not coming from a water tank or a pipe, and who would prefer not to buy Perrier, Quibell, Poland Spring, and all those other bottled concoctions that cram the shelves of Bermuda's stores.

"Why buy a bottle that you will throw away afterwards?'' asks Allan Marshall, one of the co-founders of Purewater Bermuda.

"No-one in Bermuda recyles those plastic bottles, so they all end up in the Pembroke dump. And they will take two thousand years to rot away.'' In the shiny, antiseptic office of this fledgling company he is keen to emphasise that "we recycle every container that we deliver our water in''.

"Every container ends up back here and is scrubbed clean before we send it out again. If there was no other reason for using Purewater Bermuda, how about that one?'' Norma, his sister, says that people have become much more conscious of what is floating around in a glass of Bermuda well-water or tank-water, even if they are not aware that, by law, all Bermuda well-water now has to be treated.

With Geoff Marshall doing the contracting and Mike Cross -- Norma's husband -- grappling with the computer hardware and software, Purewater Bermuda will soon be flooding the Island's hotels, businesses, and perhaps most important, private homes.

If Alan Marshall's plans come to life, the handsome stylish porcelain jugs with their painted designs will appear in Bermuda houses. Complete with a wooden stand, they actually enhance a kitchen.

In what seems like a small, space-age factory resides Big Bertha, a massive water tank in which lies the water that has been drawn from over 140 feet down in the dark, water-filled cave that is known as "the Government House lens''.

Not a drop of water leaves the plant until Big Bertha has dealt with it.

But if we boil our tapwater, wouldn't that give us the same sort of water that the Marshall's are offering? "When you boil your water you are boiling the goodness out of it,'' says Alan. "Our water is not boiled, carbonated or fizzy. We add absolutely nothing to it. It is the purest Bermuda water you can get.'' Will this small, ambitious Bermuda business be able to wrestle business away from the bubbling springs of France, America and Canada? If determiation and ambition is any guide, there is little doubt about it.

HIGH PURITY -- Norma Cross and her brother Alan Marshall show off some of the water coolers they are persuading Bermuda businesses and homeowners to buy.