For the second consecutive year, Santa Ana took home an award for having one of the best-tasting water supplies in the world.
Judges with the Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting competition awarded Santa Ana the silver award in the “Best Municipal Water” category. The judges tasted 32 municipal waters from different states, Canada and South Korea.
Last year, the city’s tap water was awarded third place in the competition.
“The fact that we won two years in a row shows it’s not a fluke,” said Santa Ana Public Works Director Raul Godinez.
Like a wine tasting competition, waters were rated based on attributes like appearance, aroma, taste, mouth feel and aftertaste. But unlike wine, the less noticed the better.
Godinez said the city’s tap water is top notch because the city’s wells have fewer minerals, so the water tastes pure. Also, city officials submit their entries in glass bottles. Past entries had been made in plastic bottles.
“You’re getting down to the nuances of taste,” Godinez said.