And the Award for Best Tasting Water in Rural America Goes To… Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin

Every town has its pride – from sports team colors to sandy beaches to sightseeing skyscrapers where you can view multiple states just by climbing to the top. But we think there is an underdog out there that a town in Wisconsin can now boast: Best Drinking Water in Rural America. Earlier this year, a gold medal was awarded to Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin for having the Best Tasting Water in Rural America. This coveted award was given at the National Rural Water Association’s Water Rally as part of the Great American Water Taste Test. Water samples from across the country were sent in and judged by a panel on clarity, bouquet and taste.

To share the secrets of the award winning water, we reached out to Lorie Coon, General Manager, and Bob Anderson, Water Technician, of Culligan Total Water of Baraboo, Wisconsin.

“Prairie du Sac runs along the Wisconsin River bordering Sauk and Dane County. The city employees who are responsible for the treatment of the city water are well trained to maintain the city water from all contaminants. They do a great job!” said Coon and Anderson.

They then went into more detail about the Prairie du Sac water itself, “The water’s chlorine levels are at just a trace and the TDS (total dissolved solids) level is at about 240.” When water goes through a municipal water treatment plant, a small amount of chlorine is added to disinfect the water to make sure it is appropriately cleaned and maintains EPA standards. Sometimes chlorine can leave a taste in your home’s tap water and it may be necessary to reduce its presence with a water filter. Since Prairie du Sac has only a trace amount, this may not affect the taste of the water. TDS is the level of dissolved ions in your water including lead, iron and calcium which can sometimes leave a salty, bitter, metallic, or overall bad taste in your water.

“With all of these factors combined, it leads up to great tasting drinking water. They test the water very regularly” to help maintain its gold-medal quality.

If you want even better-tasting water, call your local Culligan Man. He can perform a water test to determine the levels of hardness, TDS and chlorine in your water and can customize a solution to reduce the presence of each in your water.

Do you think your city or town should win Best Drinking Water in Rural America next year? Head over to Facebook or tweet us @CulliganMan to tell us why!

Source:

• http://blogs.usda.gov/2013/02/14/who-has-the-best-tasting-water-in-rural-america/
• http://www.wqa.org/sitelogic.cfm?ID=472/