| Alderwood Water and Wastewater District wins Best of the Best Tap Water Taste Test
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Alderwood Water and Wastewater District wins Best of the Best Tap Water Taste Test

The American Water Works Association announced today that the Alderwood Water and Wastewater District of Lynnwood, Wash., has won the thirteenth annual Best of the Best Tap Water Taste Test. The event, which was sponsored by Layne®, was composed of regional winners from water-tasting competitions across North America, and was held at AWWA’s Annual Conference and Exposition (ACE18) in Las Vegas, Nev.

Second place in the taste test went to the City of Sherbrooke, Quebec. Third place in the competition went to the City of Moline, Ill. The People’s Choice award winner, as determined by the conference attendees, was awarded to the City of Hamilton, Ohio.

Incorporated in 1931, the Alderwood Water & Wastewater District (AWWD) is located in Lynnwood, Washington, approximately 20 miles north of Seattle. An organization with 140 employees, AWWD provides water and/or wastewater services to more than 250,000 people in Snohomish County and has more than 53,000 water accounts. The origin of the Artesian Well dates back to its original drilling in 1956. Alderwood’s artesian well site is a popular attraction in Lynnwood. People often come from significant distances to the well and wait in line for their turn to fill up their bottles and haul away the free water.

Other Best of the Best participants in today’s competition included: Boston Water and Sewer Commission, Boston, Mass.; Buffalo Pound Water Treatment Corporation, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan; City of Ames, Iowa; City of Ann Arbor Treatment Plant, Ann Arbor, Mich.; City of Baltimore, Md.; City of Bloomington, Minn.; City of Bozeman, Mont.; City of Denton Water Utilities, Denton, Tex.; City of Iola, Kan.; City of Greeley, Colo.; City of Pocatello, Idaho; Columbia Water & Light, Columbia, Mo.; Georgetown County Water & Sewer District, Pawleys Island, S.C.; Hardin County Water District No. 2, Elizabethtown, Ky.; Huntsville Utilities, Huntsville, Ala.; Jacobs- Americus Water Works, Americus, Ga.; Lee County Utilities, North Fort Myers, Fla.; Little Thompson Water District, Berthoud, Colo.; Maple Shade Water Department, Maple Shade, N.J.; Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County Indian Creek Water Treatment Plant, Greensburg, Penn.; Oklahoma City Utilities, Oklahoma City, Okla.; Pueblo of Laguna Utility Authority,Laguna, N.M.; Saddle Brook Water, Anchorage, Alaska; and Spotsylvania County Utilities, Fredericksburg, Va.

An esteemed judging panel rated each water system on its flavor characteristics. Judges included Ari Copeland, operations specialist for Black & Veatch; Jonathan Cuppett, research manager for The Water Research Foundation; and James Naylor, associate and project manager with Freese and Nichols, Inc.

Previous competition winners are Greeley, Colo. (2017), Bloomington, Minn. (2016), Big Sky, Mont. (2015), Boston Water and Sewer Commission (2014), Oklahoma City Water and Wastewater Utility (2007 and 2013), Fremont, Neb. (2012), Greenville, S.C. (2011), Stevens Point, Wis. (2010), Macon (Ga.) Water Authority (2009), Louisville (Ky.) Water Company (2008) and Illinois American Water, Champaign District (2006 and 2005). 

CE18, which has brought an estimated 12,000 water experts to Las Vegas, is the longest-running water conference in the world, having first convened in 1881. The event features several hundred expert presentations and an exposition of more than 500 companies showcasing the latest innovations in water technology. 

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