Hamilton water named best tasting in the world

For the second time in five years, judges have sampled Hamilton’s tap water and deemed it the best tasting in the world.

Hamilton’s tap water was named the “Best Tasting Tap Water in the World” at the 25th Annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting on Saturday in Berkeley Springs, W. Va. Hamilton’s water was judged against former gold medalists, including Clearbrook, British Columbia (three-time champion, including 2014); Emporia, Kans. (2013) and Greenwood, British Columbia (2012), according to a city press release.

City Water Production Superintendent John Bui credited the tremendous effort and hard work of the city personnel with the win.

“Our staff works tirelessly to produce the highest quality and finest tasting water for our customers…this gold medal is a testimony to and fitting recognition of that effort,” Bui said in the press release.

Director of Public Utilities Doug Childs said, “This gold medal confirms what the citizens of Hamilton and customers of the city’s water system already knew. The city of Hamilton has the finest tasting water in the world!”

“The consistency in winners from year to year with different panels of judges, validates the choices,” said perennial watermaster, Arthur von Wiesenberger, in the press release. “It also speaks to the impressively high caliber of the waters entered.”

The city of Hamilton previously won the 2010 Gold Medal as the Best Tasting Tap Water in the World and the 2009 Silver Medal as the Second Best Tasting Tap Water in the World and the Best Tasting Tap Water in the U.S. Other past tasting awards include the 2012 and 2014 “Best of the Best” award for Ohio’s best tasting tap water by the Ohio Section of the American Water Works Association.

Entrants in the Berkeley Springs competition included nearly 100 waters from 19 states, six Canadian provinces and six foreign countries, in the categories of Municipal Tap Water, Purified Drinking Water, Packaging Design, Bottled Non-Carbonated, and Sparkling Water. The Municipal Tap Water competition was represented by 24 municipal waters from 12 states, as well as from Canada, Thailand and South Korea.