The American Water Works Association (AWWA) announced last week, that the Fremont Department of Utilities of Fremont, Neb. won the annual ?Best of the Best? Water Taste Test. The event, composed of regional winners from water-tasting competitions across North America, was held at AWWA?s Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE12) in Dallas, Texas.
The City of Fremont, Neb. receives its water from nine groundwater wells in the High Plains Alluvial Aquifer, with an average well depth of 90 ft. The utility pumps five million gallons per day through 160 miles of water main to serve 28,000 people.
Second place in the competition was awarded to Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District of
Herriman, Utah and third place was awarded to Arcadia Water of Arcadia, Wis.
An esteemed judging panel rated each water system on its flavor characteristics. Judges included Dr. Russell Ford of CH2M Hill, who is also vice chair of AWWA?s Taste and Odor Committee; Alan E. Davis of Alan Plummer Associates, Inc. and member of the Taste and Odor committee; Ari Copeland, who is a water engineer for AWWA; and Clarice Tinsley who is a news anchor for KDFW Fox 4 News in Dallas. This is the eighth year AWWA has held the national competition.