It just might make you think before you buy your next bottle of water.
Earlier this month the American Water Works Association gave the thumbs up to Oklahoma City as the first-place winner in the annual Tap Water Taste Test. The event is composed of regional finalists from tap water tasting competitions across North America. The finals are held AWWA’s Annual Conference and Exposition, which was hosted in Denver this year. This is the ninth year AWWA has held the national competition. This is the second time the utility has won the title of “Best of the Best”, the last time being in 2007.
The Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust delivers tap water to more than 200,000 homes and businesses, and more than 20 nearby communities and water districts everyday through a system of more than 3,200 miles of underground pipes. At Oklahoma City’s three water treatment plants – Draper, Hefner and Overholser – crews test the water every two hours – on raw water, treated water and water leaving the plant – then conduct quality assurance and quality control processes to ensure the accuracy of their tests. In addition, chemists in the water quality laboratory conduct weekly testing on the source lake water and on the tap water throughout the entire distribution system.
Utilities Director Marsha Slaughter said she’s proud of the win and says residents don’t realize how good Oklahoma City water is until they travel outside the area. Delivering quality tap water throughout our city takes a lot of hard work and dedication by a team of professionals from employees who manage the City’s water supply lakes and water pipeline delivery infrastructure to those at the water quality laboratory.
Let’s raise a glass to them!!