The City of Bismarck received top honors and was recognized as the 2018 Best Tasting Drinking Water in North Dakota last week at the 90th Annual North Dakota Water and Pollution Control conference. A sample of the city of Bismarck’s water was submitted for the annual water taste test and Bismarck received the 2018 Drinking Water Taste Test award.
Jim Kershaw, Acting Water Plant Superintendent and his team were recognized at the Bismarck City Commission meeting Tuesday night for the achievement. “On behalf of the Public Works Utility Operations department we are proud to share this award with the community and the City Commission. It was a team effort. We appreciate the support of our community,” said Kershaw. “We have a strong team at the water treatment plant and within Public Works. We work as a cohesive unit to treat, test, distribute, and provide customer service for the water provided,” added Kershaw. “We work hard to meet all regulations, stay on top of current water issues, and provide the best quality water we can for everyone who lives, works and visits the City of Bismarck.”
Each year, the ND American Water Works Association presents the Drinking Water Taste Test Award to the city judged to have the best tasting drinking water. This year nine communities brought a sample from their water system to the conference. Any attendee that wanted to participate tried all the samples and voted for their favorite, the votes were tallied and the top three samples were selected to be tasted by a panel of three distinguished judges. Bismarck, Wahpeton, and Valley City were the finalists. Bismarck received top honors as the 2018 Best Tasting Drinking Water in North Dakota.
The ND Water and Pollution Control Conference consists of a group of professional operators, engineers, directors, suppliers, and regulators who work in water, wastewater, storm water and the public works sector. These professionals meet every year on a rotational basis in the cities of Bismarck, Grand Forks, Minot and Fargo. Attendees earn continuing education credits, network with others and learn about new technology and regulatory issues. For more information, visit https://www.bismarcknd.gov/222/Water-Treatment-Plant.