The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has announced that the Louisville, Ky., Water Company won its annual "Best of the Best" water taste test. The event, comprised of North American winners of regional water-tasting competitions, was held at the AWWA's Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE08) in Atlanta.
The Louisville Water Company has provided water to residents of Louisville and surrounding areas since 1860. The agency previously won AWWA's Kentucky/Tennessee Section tasting competition to earn a berth in the event.
Second place in the competition was awarded to the Mal Paso Filtration Plant in Puerto Rico. The water utility of nearby Blythe, Ga., earned third place.
Other "Best of the Best" participants in the competition included: city of Aurora, Ill.; Jordon Valley Water Conservation District, Utah; Ames Water Treatment Plant, Iowa; city of Emporia, Kan.; Edwardsburg Municipal Water, Michigan; city of Albany, N.Y.; City of High Point, N.C.; Grand Forks Water Utility, N.D.; Medford Water Commission, Ore.; city of Clarksville, Texas; Western Virginia Water Authority, Va.; and La Crosse Water Utility, Wis.
An esteemed judging panel rated each water system on their flavor characteristics. Judges included Meridith Ford, dining critic for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Gil Kulers, a certified wine educator and contributor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Adam Murphy, CBS 46 News consumer investigator; Stephen Booth, chair of the AWWA's Taste and Odor Committee; and Linda Schweitzer, associate professor of chemistry and environmental science at Oakland University in Michigan.
This is the fourth year the national competition has been held. The previous winners are the Oklahoma City Water and Wastewater Utility (2007) and Illinois American Water, Champaign District (2006 and 2005).
Source: AWWA
