I guess if you have dry mouth or eat a lot of salt, Oklahoma City is a good place to live.
According to the American Water Works Association, we are home to the country's best-tasting tap water. It was described by judges as being "Plush, refined and impeccably structured; offering bold aromas of fluoride, metal and chromium with a hint of pear."
Via WaterOnline.com:
Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust’s tap water was recently crowned “Best of the Best” after beating out the competition at the 2013 American Water Works Association’s (AWWA) Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE) in Denver, CO. This is the ninth year AWWA has held the national competition.
Jeanne Bailey, Chair of AWWA’s Public Affairs Council, kicked off the final round of five tap waters to be tasted by recognizing the 23 section winners of water-tasting competitions that had taken place across North America. Then it was down to business as the judging panel began rating the finalists on their flavor characteristics.
Judges included Dr. Pinar Omur-Ozbek of Colorado State University and developer of the first international odor standard to be adopted and used for Flavor Profile Analysis of drinking water; Dr. Susan Mirlohi, a recent graduate of Virginia Tech and expert in water quality and treatment who has conducted research characterizing metallic off-flavors in drinking water; Ari Copeland, operational specialist for Black & Veatch; Kimberly Lord Stewart, director of content for Modern Healthcare Professional and contributing food editor for Denver Life magazine and CBS Denver; and Cathy Proctor, reporter for the Denver Business Journal.
I bet Russell Westbrook now feels a little silly for having his house stocked with all that Ozarka water.
Even though I view the taste of drinking water much like I do college football officiating or traffic – you only notice it when it's bad or live in Norman – I guess this is cool news. Just check out the other cities we beat in the finals:
Once the judging was complete, Bailey announced a tie for second place between the City of International Falls, MN, and Northeast Sammamish Sewer and Water District from Sammamish, WA, before announcing Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust as the winner. This is the second time the utility has won the “Best of the Best” title. The utility delivers tap water to more than 200,000 homes and businesses, and more than 20 nearby communities and water districts through a system of more than 3,200 miles of underground pipes.
Take that City of International Falls and Sammamish! Our drinking water is so totally better than yours. To celebrate, I say we dump a big bucket of tap water over Mayor Mick Cornett following the next City Council meeting.
Anyway, I wonder if our Chamber of Commerce is going to do anything to promote this? Since our water tastes so great, I guess it means we also have better Kool-Aid, Crystal Light and Sonic Ice, too. That would look good in a relocation brochure. Also, they should recruit some entrepreneur to make and distribute an Oklahoma City branded bottled water to sell at Whole Foods across the country. Just put it in a fancy bottle, give it a cool name, and I'm sure it will sell great.
