Fresh-picked water at St. Cloud State

The orange wedges floating in a water dispenser at St. Cloud State University's dining hall add a little color to an otherwise drab beverage bar. They also represent a tasty alternative to soft drinks that is hooking health-conscious students there and, perhaps soon, nationwide.

The new Hydration Station at SCSU's residential dining center, Garvey Commons, is a regular stop for freshman Amanda Glanz, who said she "lives off" the water -- especially the apple-flavored variety. "It tastes better than normal water," she said.

The Hydration Station features a row of water dispensers flavored with foods ranging from oranges and apples to mint and cucumbers. The SCSU innovation has become so popular that the idea will be encouraged at national locations as soon as this fall, said Monica Zimmer, director of public relations for Sodexo Inc., which manages dining service operations for SCSU.

Students with a meal plan can get unlimited refills while they eat in the dining hall. Freshman Toni Huber fills up her water bottle with the flavored water twice a week before rugby practice. She said the water is a good way to mix up her beverage routine.

"If you walk by it, it's attractive; it looks fresh," said Stephen Miller, dining services general manager and the man behind the Hydration Station idea. "When we add the fruit to it, you actually get the orange flavor instead of putting an orange in there and getting the flavor afterward."

Before, Garvey Commons had offered fruit for students to add to their water. The setup wasn't visually attractive, and the flavor wasn't as strong, Miller said. While on vacation, he saw fruit-in-the-water dispensers in a Texas hotel. He decided to bring the idea north.

Miller experimented with the new system last summer. After implementing it full-time during the fall semester, he took the idea to a marketing professional at Sodexo, and it caught on. About 35 schools in the Midwest now use the system, Miller said, including Drake University in Des Moines and Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa.

Garvey Commons now uses about 150 gallons of water and six to seven dozen pieces of fruit each day to keep the Hydration Station running, said Tim Ness, resident dining operations manager. That translates to about 200 glasses every hour. Citrus fruits, apple, cucumber and mint are the most common flavors, Ness said. They try to use local fruits and vegetables when they're available, and the array has included seasonal items, such as strawberries. Some fruits work better than others: Cantaloupe was too dense and clumped at the bottom of the containers. Watermelon easily disintegrated.

Liz Bester, who works full time at Garvey Commons, spends about 30 minutes in the morning cutting up fruit and prepping the containers. The response to the water has been so overwhelming, she said, there is usually a line of students waiting by 7:30 a.m.

"A lot of [the students] go work out in the morning, then they come in and they want something refreshing, something that's not soda," she said. "It's a good alternative."

The idea of naturally flavoring water with pieces of fruit and vegetables is "excellent," said Lisa Harnack, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health.

Health professionals now say the previously recommended six to eight glass of water per day isn't necessary, and drinking when you're thirsty meets most people's daily needs. However, that doesn't mean turning to high-sugar or high-caffeine beverages like soft drinks, which can actually dehydrate a person and add unnecessary calories, Harnack said.

Although soda pop remains the No. 1 beverage choice among consumers, consumption has slipped recently as health and wellness trends gain ground, said Gary Hemphill, managing director for Beverage Marketing Corp., which tracks beverage trend data.

"People want variety in their refreshment beverages," he said. "Over the last several years there has been an immense amount of innovation over water beverages."

Beverage companies have used water as a platform for this innovation partially because water-based beverages tend to be lower in calories, Hemphill said. Consumers should still be checking out the nutritional content of water-like products such as Vitamin Water, because not all of them are as healthful as they seem, he said.

Glanz said she doesn't think about making a more healthful choice when she comes in for the flavored water. "It just tastes good," she said.

Nicole Tommerdahl is a University of Minnesota journalism student on assignment for the Star Tribune.