According to a handful of residents who tasted tap water from around the Capital District for the 2012 Albany County Drinking Water Taste Test, the Town of Guilderland has the tastiest.
The taste test held at the Harold L. Joyce County Office Building on State Street in Albany on Tuesday, June 26, was a local arm of the New York State Water Taste Test, an “unscientific” competition held for more than 25 years. Guilderland water will now be tasted at the regional competition later in the summer, which is usually held at the Saratoga County Fair, and from there two winners from that round will be entered at the New York State Fair in Syracuse for the final round. Last year, New Rochelle took home the victory.
Mary Rozak, director of communications for County Executive Dan McCoy, said this year’s local taste test drew an unusually large crowd, though she didn’t have the exact number of voters.
“There were folks coming in off the street and people who work in the office building,” said Rozak. “Usually we have like 30 people but we had way more than that they said.”
Ballots were simple, asking voters to state their No. 1 and No. 2 choices. Because of that, Rozak said there’s no information about why voters preferred one town’s water over another. Water samples were labeled with letters to keep things unbiased.
“This is no reflection of what we feel is the best or if there are issue with the water in certain towns,” said Rozak.
Guilderland scored 63 points and the Latham Water District finished second with 41 points. Other participating municipalities included Albany, Bethlehem and Green Island. Two points were awarded for first place votes and one point was awarded for second place votes.
The Albany County Drinking Water Taste Test was organized by the Albany County Department of Health Division of Environmental Health Services. The New York State Water Taste Test is co-sponsored by the Department of Health and the New York Section of the American Water Works Association.
