Win the “Best Tasting Drinking Water in Florida” award.

When it comes to drinking water, there are very few places in Florida and throughout the country that have access to such an abundant and high-quality source of drinking water as Tallahassee. As a City-owned and operated utility, maintaining best-in-class drinking water is an important aspect that supports our high quality of life. Fortunately, Tallahassee’s drinking water requires minimal treatment to make it suitable for public consumption [1]. Through the efforts of our licensed water treatment plant operators and distribution system maintenance personnel, the City can provide its residents with the best tasting drinking water in Florida, and among the best in the country.

Each year, the Florida Section of the American Water Works Association (FSAWWA) hosts a competition to determine which water system has Florida’s “Best Tasting Drinking Water.” Contestants are chosen from twelve regions and are judged in a blind sample based on taste, color, clarity and smell. Region I, which includes Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Taylor and Wakulla counties, has won the state-wide contest five times. The City of Tallahassee is the only drinking water system in Florida to win the state contest three times – in 2008, 2015 and 2016. In 2016, the City of Tallahassee’s drinking water went on to compete in the nationwide contest, where it was voted a “Top 5 Best Tasting Drinking Water in the U.S.A.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the competition was cancelled in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, Tallahassee won the FSAWWA Region 1 Best Tasting Drinking Water contest. The City will continue providing its customers with this best-in-class drinking water and pursue the goal to win the “Best Tasting Drinking Water in Florida” award again by 2024.

1. Most of the City’s water supply wells require only chlorine addition for disinfection, and some fluoride addition for dental hygiene. Depending on the location, a few water supply wells also have advanced filtration to remove naturally occurring hydrocarbons, dissolved iron and manganese. 

Underground Utilities & Public Infrastructure. Last Updated: November 2022