You know the saying, sing it with me: Whiskey’s for drinking, water’s for fighting. However, in the past week, water was for drinking and fighting – or at least a little trash-talking.

The annual American Water Works Association’s water-tasting competition came to the Mile High City last week. This is a North American competition, with 28 contestants from the United States and Canada. AWWA is split into 43 sections, so the competition begins with regional judging before contestants are narrowed to the 28 that show up at AWWA’s annual convention for the finals.

A cast of thousands (yes, really!) jammed the Denver Convention Center for the annual convention. Many crowded around the judges’ booth, with anxious water utility managers and fans (yes, there are fans) eager to see who had the best-tasting water.

The criteria was based on clarity (if you can’t see through it, go home), odor (if you can smell it, go home) and taste (obviously). Also – and perhaps it goes without saying – contestants cannot have had any violations of drinking water standards in the previous calendar year. 

Watching the judging: Paul Fanning of the Pueblo Board of Water Works, whose aqua made it into the final round of five. “Go wet or go home,” he joked.

But when Pueblo was announced as a finalist, Fanning threw down the gauntlet. “It’s on!” he shouted to competitors. The other four: Bozeman, Montana; Sugarland, Texas; Cadillac, Michigan (120 miles from Flint, so no risk there), and a little town in southern Ontario, Canada: the Town of the Blue Mountains, which sits where the Beaver River flows into Nottawasaga Bay and eventually into Lake Huron.

Seth Clayton, manager of Pueblo Water, told Colorado Politics that what’s at stake is bragging rights, plus the chance to bring home something to be proud about to the community. Pueblo Water is “proud of providing safe and reliable water. Everyone knows how great it tastes. To send that message to the rest of the country is an exciting thing.” It was Pueblo’s first time in the finals.

Fanning and AWWA-President-elect Melissa Elliott, a manager at Raftelis Financial Consultants in Greenwood Village and previously with Denver Water, started the competition “for fun” in 2005, Fanning said.

It’s still fun, but the trophy that goes to the best water is one worth fighting for. Colorado’s only winner to date: Greeley, which won in 2017.

Then the competition started. Armed with five glasses of water and unsalted crackers (salt could mask flavor), the four judges began their task. The identity of the contestants was kept top-secret throughout the competition. 

The water is left out to warm up to room temperature. Cold water could mask taste, according to Mary Gugliuzza, who heads up the public affairs council for AWWA and acted as the emcee for the event. Taste is important, she added. “This is something your consumers care about.”

After the first round, the judges announced they all had a clear favorite. However, it wasn’t the same favorite, as three of the five made it to the second round. 

Oh, the tension!

Judge Ellen Gaby, vice president of sales, North America, for Ixom WaterCare and MIEX, characterized the tasting as similar to a competition between wines. Some people prefer a chardonnay, others a merlot, she explained.

The most memorable description of the tasting during Round One came from judge Jonathan Cuppett, the research manager for the Water Research Foundation of Denver.

He likened the tasting to an airplane flight, to chuckles from the audience.

“You’re in the takeoff, you want to know something’s going on but you don’t want any unpleasant sensations. Then you’re in the middle of the flight, you don’t want anything memorable that isn’t good. Then there’s the landing, and you hope you get back home safe. Overall, you’re looking for the full experience being pleasant and you don’t want anything to stick in your mind, no off flavors or odors.”

Ari Copeland of Black & Veatch of Kansas City said he tries to guess who is drawing water from multiple sources, like surface water, groundwater and blended water.

“I try to guess the source,” he added. “I taste the samples again” after the winner is chosen and he’s usually pretty close, at least on that issue.

Round Two came and went, and still no clear (ha!) winner, so it was off to Round Three, with two finalists. (It’s happened before, according to Gugliuzza.) 

Finally, after an exhaustive process, a winner emerged: that little town from Canada, the Town of Blue Mountains, Ontario, population 7,025, took home the big trophy and the bragging rights.

That wasn’t all. There’s also a People’s Choice award, judged prior to Tuesday’s competition, and the winner was EPCOR Utilities, from Edmonton, also in Ontario province.

There’s something good in that Ontario water, apparently.