For those who don’t already know, some people take the production of crystal clear, healthy and refreshing water very seriously. VERY seriously.
Some take it so seriously that they enter their expertly filtered drinking water into competitions and in this case, tap water produced by members of the Atlantic States Rural Water and Wastewater Association competed glass-to-glass for bragging rights, cash rewards and the chance to represent the region in a National competition.
So let’s stop with all the small talk and get right to the drinkin’…. drinkin’ WATER, that is.
WALLINGFORD, Conn. — How does your tap water stack up against the rest of the state? That’s what people at the annual drinking water taste test at the annual meeting of the Atlantic States Rural Water and Wastewater Association wanted to find out on Wednesday.
The water was judged on clarity, bouquet, cleansing properties and aftertaste.
…
Three judges blind-tested water from 12 water systems, six from chlorinated systems and six that were natural, in the state putting a lot of thought and tasting into each entry.
Scores were tabulated and winners were declared. The winner from the chlorinated category came from Sprague.
More testing, more tasting and more numbers later, the system from the Chatham Acres Senior Housing in East Hampton won in the natural filters division.
Then the two winners went head to head, or lip to lip and sip by sip.
“The winner had a little bit of a slight minerally taste,” said Ed Bailey, of Middlefield. “It almost seemed natural, whereas the other one had a soft taste to it.”
With the tension mounting an overall winner was declared — La Framboise Water Services, which handles the water at Chatham Acres. ( source )
So there you have it. Water testing of a far less technical nature, yet still a very important process since ‘chemically safe’ water tasting like raw sewage won’t get consumed by the average person.
Clean tasting water has zero contaminants, right?
Not by a long shot! Many very dangerous contaminants have no discernible taste or odor to them at levels potentially harmful to humans, pets, livestock, etc. Example: Bacteria in water.
Other contaminants may exist in water at levels low enough to escape detection, yet exposure to them over a prolonged period of time may result in serious harm to a person. Example: Arsenic in water.
