Westchester’s best-tasting water flows from faucets in the City of Yonkers, according to an impartial panel of pedestrians who sipped their way through the Westchester County Department of Health’s annual water taste test today in White Plains.
Two hundred seventy six people sampled water from 10 of the county’s public water suppliers on Martine Avenue in White Plains and then voted for their favorite without knowing where it was from. This friendly annual competition promotes the excellent quality of Westchester tap water, and highlights the role of the county health department in assuring drinking water quality.
“We all win, because Westchester’s drinking water tastes great and is good for you,” said County Executive George Latimer. “It’s reassuring to know we have professionals working behind the scenes to maintain and assure the high quality of our drinking water.”
For the second year in a row the Yonkers Water Supply will advance to a regional competition this summer. The regional champion will ultimately compete for statewide bragging rights at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse at the end of the summer.
The experts say a good glass of water should be clean, crisp, clear and cool. The county health department and the water suppliers sample the waters routinely to ensure all quality standards are met.
The 10 water suppliers who competed were: Bedford Consolidated Water District; Briarcliff Manor Water Supply; Cortlandt Consolidated Water District #1; Village of Elmsford Water District; Greenburgh Consolidated Water District#1; Mount Vernon Water Department; City of Peekskill Water Department; Suez Water Westchester, Inc.; White Plains Water Supply and Yonkers Water Supply.
The county’s health department and the water suppliers sample the public waters routinely, and all contest participants meet all water quality standards.
Water systems are required to take routine samples of their water and provide the results of those samples to the health department. Engineers and sanitarians at the health department review these results and take their own samples to assure drinking water in Westchester meets all sanitary standards. In cases where the water doesn’t measure up, the health department assures that customers are notified, and that the water is treated or remediation takes place to bring the water up to regulatory standards.
The health department also reviews and approves any construction or replacement of tanks, pipes and water mains within the systems.
For more information, contact the Westchester County Department of Health at (914) 813-5000.
