Bristol Has Tastiest Drinking Water In Pennsylvania

BRISTOL, PA — If you're thirsting for a tasty glass of water, apparently Bristol is the place to be.

Aqua Pennsylvania's Bristol Water Treatment Plant won first place — and the distinction of Pennsylvania's best-tasting water — at the Pennsylvania American Water Works Association's annual state conference.

Built in 1953, the Bristol plant produces 11 million gallons of water per day, serving about 30,000 residents and businesses in a three-municipality area. It draws water from the Delaware River.

With the victory, the Bristol plant will go on to compete at the AWWA national competition in June.

Aqua acquired the municipal water system in 1996. Since then, the company says it has invested $21 million to upgrade the plant and its distribution system.

"Following those upgrades, the plant enrolled in the AWWA Partnership for Safe Drinking Water program, which is a national volunteer initiative developed by the Environmental Protection Agency, AWWA and other water organizations,” said Curt Steffy, Aqua's vice president for production. "The partnership members are committed to producing water that outperforms federal drinking water regulations."

He also credited the plant's employees.

"You can have great technology, but if your production staff, your plant operators, and treatment team don’t know how to manage that technology, the potential benefits of the treatment will not be realized," Steffy said.