A new local champion will be heading to the regional contest in the annual competition to be named the Best Drinking Water in New York state.
Albany County held its annual best tasting tap water contest Wednesday, May 7, and the Latham Water District took top tap honors. Latham topped two-time defending champion Guilderland by a narrow margin of three points, garnering a total of 72 points.
“It’s difficult to pull off a three-peat,” Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy said in a statement. “I am impressed that the competition was so close, and it shows that we have consistently good tap water in the area.”
The county competition was held at the Empire State Plaza, with people marking a ballot with their preferences on the tap. The sample sources are unknown during the contest. Outside of the top two finishers, participants included the cities of Albany and Cohoes, Village of Green Island and Bethlehem Water District 1.
To advance to the final competition, Latham will have to overcome the regional contest held later this summer. A date was not released for the regional contest. The statewide finals take place during the State Fair in Syracuse.
The Drinking Water Taste Test was sponsored by The Albany County Health Department sponsored the taste test, with assistance from the state Department of Health, the Water and Wastewater Education Outreach Committee and the NY Rural Water Association.