Ditch the bottled water. MWD, Santa Ana win prizes for best-tasting tap water in U.S.
BERKELEY SPRINGS, W.Va. — In victories that make the state’s drought even crueler, two Southern California water districts have won the top prizes for best tap water in the U.S. at an international tasting contest.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California finished first and Santa Ana took second place for the nation’s Best Municipal Water on Saturday at the 31st annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting in West Virginia. Those two competitors finished first in the category in 2008 and 2018, respectively.
Third place went to the Southwest Water Authority of Dickinson, in North Dakota.
Judges based their rankings on taste, odor, mouth feel and aftertaste. Nine judges chose from among entries from 19 states, three Canadian provinces and 14 other countries. Rossarden, a town in Australia’s Tasmania state, was selected as the best municipal water in the world.
The MWD, which is looking for a new general manager and battling a scandal over sexual misconduct allegations, took the tasting crown from 2019 winner Eldorado Springs, Colo. The 2020 championships were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The top award for bottled water was given to Ulunom in Shizuoka prefecture, Japan. Eldorado Natural Spring Water of Eldorado Springs finished second, and Jasa Spring Water of Gorham, in Canada, was third.
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