Southborough tap water tops the national rankings

Left: The 2nd best tap water in the country is in your kitchen (Image posted to Flickr by Allie Holzman)

If you’ve been buying bottled water, it may be time to make a change. In addition to testing clean, Southborough tap water just won big in a national taste test.

The testing took place at at the American Water Works’ Annual Conference and Exhibition. Boston water came in 1st place. 2nd place went to Southborough.

Technically 2nd place went to our supplier, the Massachussetts Water Resources Agency (MWRA). But according to a source at MWRA, they drew the sample for the testing from Southborough’s own McCarthy’s Pool.

Interestingly, MWRA is counting itself a double winner. The agency points out Boston’s and MWRA’s waters share the same source and are treated at the John Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough.

Have you been drinking the water?

If not, will this make a difference? If no, why?

So, what’s so great about our water?
MWRA has been touting its use of UV light and ozone to provide safe water without a chlorine taste:

The big news this year is that we have completed the start-up of a new ultraviolet (UV) disinfection facility at the John J. Carroll Water Treatment Plant in Marlborough, improving the quality of the drinking water we deliver to you.

UV light is essentially a more potent form of natural disinfection from sunlight. UV enables MWRA to inactivate the most difficult to kill pathogens – which could potentially be in the source water – without the use of additional chemicals and any associated disinfection by-products. The UV process and MWRA’s high quality source water allow MWRA to meet new regulatory requirements cost effectively. Since 2005, your water has been treated with ozone – produced by applying an electrical current to pure oxygen. Ozone has ensured strong protection against microbes and viruses, improves water clarity, and has actually made the water taste better. The addition of the UV to the ozone process provides additional assurance that any pathogens potentially in our reservoirs will be rendered harmless.

In addition, fluoride is added to promote dental health and the water chemistry is adjusted to reduce corrosion of lead and copper from home plumbing. Last, we add monochloramine, a mild and long-lasting disinfectant combining chlorine and ammonia to protect the water as it travels through miles of pipelines to your home.

In a few short years, water treatment has gone from chlorine with its taste and odor issues, to ozone and now ultraviolet – with no additional chemicals and no disinfection by-products. Just better, safer water.