NYC Tap Water Ranks First In Regional Taste Test

NEW YORK, NY — New York City's claim to have some of the cleanest tap water in the country was backed up Tuesday when it won first prize in the New York State Regional Metro Tap Water Taste Test Competition.

Contest attendees at the American Natural History Museum sampled water from all five New York City suppliers as well as drinking water from Westchester, Suffolk, Orange, Nassau and Suffolk counties – none of which came close to NYC.

Vincent Sapienza, commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, said tap water quality is among his organization’s top priorities, which could be why the city’s drinking water consistently comes out on top over others in the area.

“To ensure future generations continue to enjoy our world class New York City tap water, we invest billions of dollars every year to protect our upstate reservoirs and upgrade our water supply system,” he said.

The city’s DEP performs more than 630,000 annual analyses of local drinking water, according to agency officials, collecting samples from nearly 1,000 locations throughout the five boroughs. Detailed results of these tests can be found here.

New York City tap water will again be put to the test on Thursday, this time in a statewide competition held at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse.

These contests are part of an annual taste test campaign that judges tap water in countywide, regional and statewide competitions organized by the New York State Water and Wastewater Education and Outreach Committee.

Photo courtesy of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection