Entrepreneur of the Year 2024: Delta-based Santevia Water Systems founder Yvonne Anderson filters out the noise

THE KICKOFF: Some people have no filter. Yvonne Anderson has many—and they’re all made in Canada. Anderson and her husband David founded Santevia Water Systems in 2007, thanks to what she calls a “perfect storm” of conditions.

First, they had three impressionable teenagers (“We wanted to teach them the entrepreneurial spirit,” Anderson says); second, they were interested in philanthropy; and third, David was diagnosed with chronic acid reflux and found that drinking filtered, mineral-rich water virtually eradicated his symptoms.

“All of a sudden, his acid reflux disappeared. He’s never had it again, and he’s never been on medication,” Anderson says. Her background working in the natural health industry reinforced her belief in natural remedies. Plus, the filtered water tasted better. “And when people like the taste of something, they drink more—have you ever had a good martini?” she jokes. So, launching their company in the family’s Tsawwassen backyard, the couple dove into the water filtration biz.

ACTION PLAN: At first, Santevia outsourced its filter manufacturing to Asia, but the founders weren’t pleased with the quality. “I care that our products actually do what they say they do,” says Anderson. She and her team made the pricey decision to build a custom lab and manufacturing facility in Canada, sourcing as many local materials as possible and leaning on automation to lower production costs. Anderson explains that, unlike other brands, Santevia systems don’t just filter out the “bad stuff” (lead, chlorine, PFAs), they also “put the good stuff back in” (calcium, magnesium, potassium). “We try to mimic a fresh mountain stream,” she says. Over the years, as the makeup of tap water has changed—“when I started, nobody had heard of microplastics,” she says—so has the technology in Santevia’s products. The company offers pitchers, countertop gravity water systems, water bottle filters and bath filters. The philanthropic side of the biz is devoted to reducing water poverty in Uganda, and Santevia partners with ACTS (Africa Community Technical Service Society) for Water to provide clean drinking water to communities in need.

CLOSING STATEMENT: Santevia’s 24 employees work out of a 12,500-square-foot manufacturing facility in Delta, and sales of the filtration systems have made a splash in Canada, the U.K. and beyond. This November, the founders will fly to East Africa and join with partners from NGOs, rotary clubs and the government of Uganda to celebrate the launch of a half-million-dollar gravity water system that will serve 14 villages and tens of thousands of people in southwestern Uganda. Anderson says that the village taps are “strategically close to the schools,” explaining that it’s typically the responsibility of girls to fetch water, and this placement lowers barriers to their education. And the co-founders’ entrepreneurial spirit did, indeed, trickle down to their children: one (Matthew Gohl) stepped into the position of CEO of Santevia in January 2023, and the other two (Christina Tudela, an MBA grad, and Makena Anderson, a lawyer) serve on the company’s board. “That’s what I love about a family business—it’s intergenerational,” says Anderson. 

Q+A

What’s your most-used app?

The weather app—I spend a lot of time outdoors, running and hiking. My motto is: there is no bad weather, only bad clothing!

What’s your favourite part of your job?

Hiring great people.

Do you have any embarrassing obsessions?

I am in the health business and my obsession is potato chips!