Saint John Water secured third place in the Atlantic Canada Water and Wastewater Association’s (ACWWA) annual “Best of the Best” tap water taste-testing competition. This year, the accolade was awarded to the Loch Lomond Drinking Water Treatment Facility, a previous winner in this prestigious event.
In recent years, the City of Saint John has also earned awards for the South Bay Wellfield and Harbourview Subdivision Wellfield. The competition, held during the ACWWA’s annual conference from September 22-25 in Fredericton, invites municipalities across Atlantic Canada to submit water samples. These samples undergo rigorous testing by water professionals before being evaluated in a blind taste-test by a panel of judges.
This year’s competition featured an esteemed panel of judges: Paul Rush, Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Water Supply; Tracy Ekola, P.Eng., a member of the 2023-24 Board of Trustees for the Water Environment Federation and Vice President and Midwest Senior Director for Brown and Caldwell; and Robert Haller, Executive Director of the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association.
With 11 entries from 10 municipalities, the samples were evaluated based on their appearance, odour, taste, and overall impression.
The City of Saint John’s Loch Lomond Drinking Water Treatment Facility is a state-of-the-art facility supplied from the Loch Lomond and Latimer Lake watersheds. It serves over 13,000 Saint John Water customers in the east, north, south, and select west side areas of the city. Drinking water distribution began from the facility in August 2018 as part of the Safe, Clean Drinking Water Project.