What US cities have the best tap water?

Water that comes out of the faucet should be odorless and transparent which is the case for most Americans. That is thanks to the United States having “one of the safest water supplies in the world” according to the CDC.

But water can have distinct flavors from place to place due to the source, natural mineralization or how it is treated before it reaches its final destination. For over three decades the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, ‘the Olympics of Water’, has been tasting which is the best from around the world.

The Certified Water Tasters at the competition, which is held in the historic spa town of Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, sample waters from over a dozen countries and states across the US. There are four categories including municipal water, purified drinking water, sparkling water and non-carbonated bottled water.

What US cities have the best tap water?

The 2024 competition was a sweep for the US in the Best Municipal Water category. The top three are multi-year medalists in the largest and longest-running water tasting in the world. Here are the five municipalities judged to have the best tap water:

Santa Ana, which is member of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, has claimed the gold medal in 2018 and 2014 as well as the silver medal in 2021 and 2012 along with the bronze medal in 2011.

The Village of Montpelier draws its water from the Michindoh Aquifer which was created by glaciers around 14,000 years ago and whose porous material help filter the water. It has won a gold medal at five previous competitions in 2022, 2017, 2007, 2006, and 2003.

Emporia pulls its water from the Neosho River which means that the municipality’s water authority must submit the water to an “immense process” to treat it according to Water Treatment Plant Manager Jack Mason. He explained to the local radio station KVOE what is involved to deliver award winning water like using ozone to disinfect the water as well as to remove “any less-than-ideal taste.”

Other cities around the US that have been recognized for their “sweet water” include Des Moines, Iowa; Eldorado, Colorado; Hamilton, Ohio; Independence, Macon, Georgia; Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; Memphis, Tennessee and St. Paris, Ohio.

Berkeley Springs, West Virginia for its part has been drawing visitors to its waters since the 1700s but has only placed once in the top five. The city is known for its hot baths one of which has a monument to immortalize President George Washington having a soak there.