Wisconsin city has winning water

Stevens Point wins sixth annual AWWA taste contest

The Stevens Point (Wis.) Water Department won the American Water Works Association's “Best of the Best” Water Taste Test on June 22 at the AWWA Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE10) in Chicago. The event included regional winners from water-tasting competitions across North America. The Stevens Point department has reliably provided residents with groundwater since 1922.

Second place went to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, and Lincoln Water System of Nebraska and Silverdale Water District of Washington tied for third place. Other participants included Allegan, Mich.; Blythe, Ga; Aurora (Colo) Water; Ave Maria (Fla.) Utility Company; Massachusetts Water Resources Authority; Canajoharie (N.Y.) Water Works; Guaraguao Treatment Plant, Ponce, Puerto Rico; 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; Stratford, Ont.; Valley City (N.D.) Public Works; and Park Forest, Ill.

A judging panel rated each water system on its flavor characteristics. Judges included Dr. Stephen Booth of Kennedy/Jenks, also chair of the AWWA Taste and Odor Committee; Monique Durand, engineer at Hazen and Sawyer, P.C and member of the Taste and Odor Committee; Dr. Pinar Omur-Ozbek, research assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Colorado State University; and Matt Rodewald, reporter for the Chicago NBC affiliate.

Previous winners of the taste competition 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).

ACE10 gives its more than 12,000 attending water professionals a chance to network and stay abreast of innovative technology and best practices for providing safe water. To facilitate professional development, AWWA offers two exhibit hall education sessions, six in-depth Sunday workshops, and 92 professional sessions.



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