By ARIADNE WILL
Sentinel Staff Writer
That Sitka’s drinking water is delicious is now official and nationally recognized: it took second place in a national competition last week at the American Water Works Association’s annual conference in San Antonio, Texas.
The panel of judges rated Sitka’s water second only to WaterOne, a Kansas public utility that serves the Johnson County area.
Water utility workers Joe Swain and Shilo Williams pose at the water filtration plant with a trophy won at a national water competition. (Photo provided)
“It’s a great honor to receive the award,” said Shilo Williams, the Sitka environmental superintendent. “We’re really lucky to have such a pristine water source, which is Blue Lake.”
To qualify for the national competition, Sitka water had to beat out entries from other municipalities in the state, Williams said.
The Alaska state contest took place in May, but proved to be uneventful: Sitka’s water was the only entry in the competition, held in Anchorage.
At the national competition, Sitka’s water was one of 26 entries from communities all over the country. They were tasted by a panel of three judges, who Williams described as water industry professionals.
Williams said water for the competition was sent in coolers to San Antonio, where the each entry was identified by a number prior to the tasting.
The judges then narrowed the 26 water samples to five semi-finalists, and then tasted them again. The top three – WaterOne, Sitka, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota – received awards.
Williams said Sitkans can thank a skilled water utility staff along with a pristine source for Sitka’s great-tasting water and for the national award.
“We have very minimal treatment – low chemical addition – and a really wonderful, dedicated operations staff,” she told the Sentinel. “We’re just really lucky all around.”
