Apr 23, 2008 9:17 am US/Eastern
Mass. Town Has Best Tasting Water In Nation
SOUTHAMPTON (WBZ) ―
If you happen to be passing through the small western Massachusetts town of Southampton, you just may want stop for a drink. A drink of water, that is.
A panel of judges at the Great American Water Taste Test has decided that Southampton has the best-tasting small-town drinking water in the country. The contest is held each year on Earth Day during a meeting of the National Rural Water Association in Washington.
Using the same standards as wine testers, the judges sampled drinking water entries from 39 states for bouquet, clarity and taste.
After being named the state's best tasting water, a one gallon water sample was drawn from a town well that draws from the Barnes Aquifer, and taken to Washington, D.C. for the national competition.
Southampton's water is so clean and natural, according to town officials, it doesn't even have to be treated.
Other top five finishers included water from North Kingstown, Rhode Island; Lewes, Delaware; Lorain, Ohio; and Avilla, Indiana.
This was the second year in a row that a Western Massachusetts town took home top honors. In 2007 water from Three Rivers won.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
