New Hampshire
Plymouth’s tap water beats Concord at state festival – Concord Monitor
The students had some tough decisions to make as they eyed phalanxes of Dixie Cups filled with water.
It’s a ritual of the New Hampshire Water Drinking Festival, where fourth and fifth-graders learn about how water systems work from state professionals in the Department of Environmental Services.
At the Manchester Water Treatment Facility on Wednesday, they participated in workshops touching on everything from how sewage treatment works to PFAS contamination. Then, students, teachers, parent chaperones and professionals sampled tap water from a handful of municipalities across the state. Blind to the origins of each water cup, they placed a vote for which one they thought tasted the best.
Each year, participating towns provide a cooler of tap water, poured that same day. Colder water generally tastes better, so organizers check to make sure it hasn’t been iced, and refrigeration is frowned upon. Water from the coolers is then dispensed into the paper cups in front of a corresponding letter to ensure the test is blind.
Relatively few towns and cities enter into the competition – this year, just Manchester, Concord, Hooksett and Plymouth – but still, there is some rivalry.
A water works employee from a city not competing in the contest completed the blind test and cast his vote. Organizers wouldn’t disclose which cups were which. As he walked away from the station with coworkers, he said, “As long as I didn’t vote for Concord.” He had, in fact, unknowingly selected Concord’s water as the tastiest.
Concord has been dominant in this taste-test for years, taking home the top spot for most of the last decade – including last year. With a well-protected surface water source in Penacook Lake, the city has invested in a system that delivers tasty, fresh water with minimal need for treatment. It’s paid off in the results.
This year, however, Plymouth took the top spot.
With an influx of federal money, Plymouth has been working to upgrade its water system for the last several years, including with a new well near Holderness. Department of Environmental Services staff at the tasting said this was the first year water from the new well had been “entered” by Plymouth in the competition.
The upgrades in Plymouth appear to be paying off, with the town taking home the award for best-tasting tap water in the state.
