Nearby: West Hempstead Defeated in LI Water Tasting Finals

Story by Joe Dowd:

The Long Island Groundwater Symposium named the Suffolk County Water Authority champion of a water-tasting contest as part of a region-wide conference on water quality Friday.

Coming in second in the blind taste testing was West Hempstead.

The symposium at Carlyle on The Green in Bethpage State Park was attended by public officials and representatives of various water districts. About 20 water districts competed.

“I would like to congratulate the Suffolk County Water Authority on this much-deserved accomplishment of having Long Island’s best-tasting water,” said Long Island Water Conference Chairman Mike Boufis. “This contest is an excellent way to celebrate drinking water week and further shares with Long Islanders how great our drinking water is."

Residents of Long Island came to to Farmingdale State College where they were asked to participate in a blind taste-test of tap water from dozens of suppliers across the island.

On Wednesday, the Suffolk County Water Authority earned the top votes in Suffolk County.

On Thursday, West Hempstead Water District won the Nassau vote.

The Long Island Water Conference comprises more than 50 public water suppliers serving more than 3 million people in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Its members maintain more than 1,000 supply wells, 10,800 miles of water mains and nearly 79,000 fire hydrants across the Island.