Water by the Gallon taps market.

Self-serve stores offer a low-cost alternative to bottled water deliveries

BEDFORD -- During the Y2K scare, people were filling up more than their gas tanks. At Water by the Gallon stores, they were filling up water bottles.

Now that the fear of an imminent water shortage is over, Matt Griggs, a partner at Bedford-based Water by the Gallon, hopes customers will continue to frequent his self-serve purified water stores, and that other business people will buy into the concept.

If Griggs gets his way, Water by the Gallon stores will spread "everywhere people drink water and it tastes bad."

What sets Water by the Gallon apart from its home and …