BANGOR, Maine — What many in the city have suspected became official on Thursday: Bangor has the best tasting water in Maine for 2014.
That’s according to the panel of judges who presided over Maine Rural Water Association’s 28th annual Best Tasting Water contest.
Thursday’s tap water taste-off was the highlight of the association’s 34th annual conference, held Wednesday and Thursday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
The Bangor Water District’s submission, which won best taste honors in the disinfected class, went head to head with the nondisinfected class winner, Point Sebago, to take Maine’s top honors and bragging rights for the coming year.
Point Sebago was last year’s statewide winner.
USDA Rural Development State Director Virginia Manuel, USDA Maine Farm Service Agency Executive Director Donovan Todd III and James Katsiaficas, an attorney with the Portland firm Perkins, were this year’s judges.
Manuel said that the top 10 samples of water after pre-testing — the best five disinfected and the best five nondisinfected — made it into the taste off.
The samples were served chilled — and unlabeled — in small glass goblets.
“Truly, it is similar to probably how someone does wine tasting,” Manuel said. “You let it run over your palate, you know, looking for smoothness. No acidity and a fresh taste to it. Just a nice fresh taste to the water.
“And when we’re all looking at it, we’re looking to see if there are any particles in it. Or is it cloudy?” she said.
Choosing a winner wasn’t as easy as it seems, she noted.
“The differences between the five disinfected [samples] and the five nondisinfected [samples] were so subtle that, boy, it’s very difficult at times,” Manuel said.
“What I was saying to the judges, for the most part, was how close we were. Sometimes we weren’t. But in the end, we all — on our own — held up the glass that was in our right hand and that was Bangor’s,” she said.
As this year’s Best Tasting Water state champion, Bangor gets to submit a sample to the National Rural Water Association’s Rural Water Rally in February in Washington, D.C.
Kathy Moriarty, Bangor Water District general manager, said this year’s water contest entry was the district’s first since it changed to ozone, ultraviolet light and chloramines several years ago.
“So it’s very, very exciting for us,” she said. “It was very exciting because Maine Rural Water changed their host site to Bangor, so we thought it would be good for us to enter our water, and we won.”
According to Maine Rural Water Association Executive Director Kirsten Hebert, about 350 of the state’s water industry professionals participated in the annual conference, which provides networking and training opportunities, among other things.
“They came here to learn about updated rules and regulations, new technology, and while doing that, the taste test is the highlight of the event,” Hebert said.