Saratoga Places Fourth For Best Drinking Water In The Country

February 15, 2024 |

Photo – Water faucet – Bigfoot99 file photo

Saratoga is ranked as having the fourth-best tasting water in the country.

Governor Mark Gordon proclaimed last week as Wyoming Professional Water and Wastewater Operator Appreciation Week. Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality operator certification coordinator Kim Parker said the first full week in February was chosen because February 5^th, 1975, was the day Wyoming’s first operator certification rule was created.

During the same week, from February 7^th to the 9^th, the National Rural Water Association hosted its annual Rural Water Rally and Great American Taste Test in Washington, D.C. The town of Saratoga was chosen to represent the entire state following its victory at the Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems conference last April.

Speaking to Bigfoot99 after the state competition, Saratoga Water and Sewer Supervisor Chuck McVey said his town was chosen number one out of a field of over 200 competitors.

McVey said the Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems considers a variety of factors when choosing the best water in the state. McVey said Saratoga was judged to have the best smelling, looking, and tasting water in Wyoming.

At the time, McVey said the next step was for him to represent the town in the National Rural Water Association’s Rural Water Rally in Washington DC in February.

At the February 7^th Rural Water Rally, small communities from every state presented a water sample for consideration.

When judging was finished, the entry from Wisconsin received first place for the second year in a row. Kentucky and Louisiana came in second and third, respectively. Saratoga came in fourth with Massachusetts rounding out the top five.

According to Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems Executive Director Mark Pepper, entries from the Cowboy State have placed in the top 10 for the past 18 years.

Pepper said the best Wyoming has done in the national competition was when the Aspen-Pines Water and Sewer District took home a gold medal in 2018.

Saratoga’s fourth place finish marks the fourth time that a Wyoming community has placed in the top five best tasting water in the country.

Speaking to Bigfoot99 last summer, Saratoga Water and Sewer Supervisor McVey said supplying residents with great tasting water is a team effort.

Saratoga will have another chance at gold when McVey and company compete in the 2024 Wyoming Association of Rural Water Systems Spring Conference in April.