Illinois American, ‘Champaign’ of Water, Takes AWWA ‘Best of the Best’ for Second Year in a Row

Illinois American Water, Champaign District took home top honors at the American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) second annual water taste test held at AWWA’s Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE) in San Antonio, Texas. The ACE06 “Best of the Best” Water Taste Test is a national competition of winners of state and regional water-tasting competitions.

“Our operators work very hard to ensure the best quality water is delivered to our customers,” said Walter Voegel, production operations superintendent, Illinois American Water. “This win is truly a testament to them and all of the employees of Illinois American Water.”

Illinois American, which provides water to Champaign, Urbana, Savoy, St. Joseph and Bondville, Ill., residents and re-sells water to six other Illinois towns and water districts, previously won the Illinois Section AWWA tasting competition. In a taste-off between four of the nine competing utilities, Illinois American remained the undefeated “Best of the Best” champion.

An esteemed judging panel rated each water system on their flavor characteristics. Judges included Ed Tejerina, a San Francisco Express-News columnist; Marcia Torobin from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Andrew Whelton from Virginia Tech.

Source: AWWA