By Rich Anderson
July 16, 2007

Fayetteville (AR) Mayor Dan Coody announced the winner of the 2007 National City Water Taste Test competition on June 25 at the 75th Annual Meeting of The U.S. Conference of Mayors in Los Angeles. St. Louis (MO) was voted “Best Tasting City Water in America” by hundreds of mayors attending the meeting. St. Louis draws its water supply from the Mississippi River and treats it at a city run plant to produce high quality, great tasting tap water. The city stood out from a field of 93 competitors.

St. Louis Mayor Francis G. Slay accepted the award for the city. Slay stated, “Water is our most precious resource. I want to thank The U.S. Conference of Mayors and Veolia Water of North America for sponsoring this competition and bringing attention to the importance of water in our cities. We in St. Louis always knew we had great tasting water. This competition has now confirmed that St. Louis has the best tasting municipal water in the country.”

Slay added, “I am proud of the men and women of our water department, and its Director, David Visintainer, for their work and dedication in making St. Louis’ water clean, safe and delicious.” He said the great tasting water is another reason for people to come visit St. Louis. Slay accepted the first-place trophy and a cash award of $15,000.

The Conference of Mayors held the competition to highlight the remarkable achievements of local government in providing safe and affordable water in cities across the United States. Tom Cochran stated, “Our cities are world leaders in providing high quality, affordable and adequate water supplies. They provide safe water to protect public health, plentiful water supplies for public safety and fire protection, and the water necessary to run the nation’s economy.”

Veolia Water of North America is the sole Corporate Sponsor of the 2007 Competition. Jim Good, Vice President of Veolia, attended the awards ceremony. He stated, “We’re delighted to highlight how so many cities are providing quality water services to their constituents.” Good added that, “Along with many other private'sector companies, we’re also proud to support communities everyday through technical, engineering and operational services.”

Coody also announced four of the five finalist cities for Honorable Mention: Anaheim (CA) ; Colorado Springs (CO); Long Beach (CA); and Toledo (OH).