City of Rochester
News Release
(Wednesday, May 4, 2022) – The Finger Lakes may have
its fine wines, but the City of Rochester has award-winning water.
The City was recently crowned New York State winner of the
Best Tasting Drinking Water competition by the New York State American Water
Works Association (AWWA). The best tasting water contest involves a panel of
judges who grade each competing utility’s drinking water based on taste, odor,
color, clarity, mouthfeel and aftertaste. The award comes just in time for
national Drinking Water Week, May 1-7.
“I’ll take Rochester’s water over wine every day, and I do,”
said Mayor Malik D. Evans. “This is a government function that we often take
for granted, but it’s vitally important. I know we are fortunate to draw our
water from the pristine Hemlock and Canadice lakes, but it’s a credit to
everyone at our Water Bureau that we can count on clean, clear water flowing
into our homes given our 146-year-old water system.”
The Mayor also noted that the City’s high-quality, public
water system is widely recognized as an important contributor to Rochester’s
successful breweries, small and large, with local brew masters praising its
mineral content as perfect for making the best beers.
Besides the drinking water accolades, the New York AWWA also
recognized two of the City of Rochester’s Water Bureau employees: Water Quality
Chemist Brittany Vanno as the 2022 Young Professional of the Year for her
efforts in implementing the City’s lead in drinking water sampling and analysis
program; and Chief of Water Quality Operations David Rowley as winner of the
Teresa Boepple-Swider Award for his work educating fellow New York water
professionals on revised rules relating to the control of lead in drinking
water.
Far from resting on its laurels, the City of Rochester is
continuing to maintain and upgrade its water systems, most recently landing a
$3 million Water Infrastructure Improvement Act grant from the state to replace
older pipes.
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