Stevens Point Water Tastes Best, AWWA Judges Say
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) on Tuesday announced that Wisconsin’s Stevens Point Water Department won the annual “Best of the Best” Water Taste Test. In second place was the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and there was a tie for third place between Lincoln Water System of Nebraska and Silverdale Water District of Washington.
The event, composed of regional winners from water-tasting competitions across North America, was held at the 129th AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE10) in Chicago.
The judging panel rated each water system on its flavor characteristics. Judges were Stephen Booth, Ph.D., of Kennedy/Jenks, who is also chair of AWWA’s Taste and Odor Committee; Monique Durand, engineer at Hazen and Sawyer, P.C and member of the same committee; Pinar Omur-Ozbek, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University; and Matt Rodewald, reporter for Chicago’s NBC affiliate.
Other “Best of the Best” participants included: City of Allegan, Mich.; City of Blythe, Ga.; Aurora (Colo.) Water; Ave Maria (Fla.) Utility Company; Massachusetts Water Resources Authority; Village of Canajoharie (N.Y.) Water Works; Guaraguao Treatment Plant, Ponce, Puerto Rico; City of Hamilton, Ohio; Hardin County (Ky.) Water District No. 2; Kearns (Utah) Improvement District; Marshalltown (Iowa) Water Works; Moorhead (Minn.) Public Service; San Patricio (Texas) Municipal Water District; St. Charles (La.) Water District No. 1; City of Stratford, Ontario; Valley City (N.D.) Public Works; and the Village of Park Forest, Ill.
This is the sixth year AWWA has held the national competition. Previous winners are Macon (Ga.) Water Authority (2009), the Louisville (Ky.) Water Company (2008), Oklahoma City Water and Wastewater Utility (2007) and Illinois American Water, Champaign District (2006 and 2005).