Getting award-winning drinking water is as easy as turning on the tap for residents of two area towns.
The Town of Niskayuna on Thursday, Aug. 30, was announced the winner of the 26th annual New York State Drinking Water Taste Test. The Town of Guilderland captured second place. The towns had tied at the regional competition held in Albany during the Alive at Five concert on Aug. 2, which allowed two Capital District samples to be entered in the state contest.
The contest was held at the state fair in Syracuse and was sponsored by the New York State Environmental Facilities Corp., the New York State Department of Health and WSYR-TV’s mid-day morning show, Bridge Street. More than 400 people voted on drinking water samples from 10 communities across the state.
“Congratulations to the towns of Niskayuna and Guilderland, and all the municipalities who were selected to be part of this year’s contest,” State Health Commissioner Nirav R. Shah said in a statement. “They are the among the hundreds of municipal water supplies in New York State that provide clean, great tasting drinking water to their residential and business customers.”
After Niskayuna won the groundwater competition at the contest, it was pitted once again against Guilderland, which won the competition for best surface water systems.
Niskayuna Supervisor Joe Landry was pleased the town’s water took top honors.
“We are very proud and honored that our water was selected as the best tasting drinking water in the state,” Landry said in a statement. “This honor is a reflection of all the hard work by our employees in the Water Department, especially those at our water plant.”
The annual Best Tasting Drinking Water in Schenectady County contested has spurred a friendly rivalry between municipalities. The county isn’t new to securing the state title either, with Niskayuna now added to the ranks.
Two years ago, Niskayuna surprised some by capturing the county title. The contest was historically fought between former state title winners Schenectady and Rotterdam. Last year, the City of Schenectady reclaimed the local title.
All of Schenectady County’s drinking water comes from the Great Flats Aquifer.
Schenectady and Rotterdam’s well fields are neighboring each other, which could account for the rivalry and similarity in taste. The two well fields are also sourced “fairly close” to the Mohawk River and receive some recharge from the river, county Groundwater Management Planner Jason Pelton previously said.
Niskayuna’s water is sourced outside of the “main body” of the aquifer, Pelton said, and is adjacent to the Mohawk. The other four well fields are fairly close to one another.
Niskayuna’s water system serves more than 21,500 people and has an average demand of approximately 3.7 million gallons per day.
Environmental Facilities Corp. President and CEO Matthew Driscoll said the agency offers low-interest financing, grants and other forms of assistance to build or improve drinking water infrastructure throughout the state.
“The annual Drinking Water Taste Test underscores New York State’s role in helping communities provide safe, clean drinking water,” Driscoll said in a statement.
The Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, which is jointly administered by EFC and the state Department of Health, offers state financing for municipal infrastructure.
