LAKEWAY, Texas—The Lakeway Municipal Utility District boasts the third best-tasting drinking water in North America, according to results of a major competition.

At the American Water Works Association’s 2009 “Best of the Best” Water Taste Contest, Lakeway MUD earned third place. Capturing the No. 1 spot was the Macon Water Authority of Georgia. Coming in second place was the Silverdale Water District of Washington state.

Competitors in the annual “Best of the Best” Water Taste Test were North American winners of regional water-tasting contests. The “Best of the Best” Water Taste Test was held June 16 at the American Water Works Association’s Annual Conference and Exposition in San Diego.

In April, drinking water from Lakeway MUD was acclaimed as the Best-Tasting Drinking Water in Texas at Texas Water 2009, a joint conference hosted by two of the state’s largest water associations—Water Environment Association of Texas and the Texas Section of the American Water Works Association.

“A 2008 study by Forbes.com ranked the Austin metropolitan area as being the second best region in the country for safe drinking water. It’s clear that Lakeway MUD has contributed greatly to that distinction,” Tom Rogers, president of Lakeway MUD’s Board of Directors, said.

“Lakeway MUD always strives to provide a safe, reliable—and great-tasting—supply of drinking water. This honor from the American Water Works Association shows that Lakeway MUD is meeting and exceeding that goal.”

In San Diego, the judging panel rated each water system on the flavor characteristics of its drinking water. Judges included Stephen Booth of Kennedy/Jenks Consultants Inc., chair of the American Water Works Association’s Taste and Odor Committee; Monique Durand, an engineer at Hazen and Sawyer PC and a member of the Taste and Odor Committee; and Mel Suffet, professor of environmental health sciences at UCLA and a former chair of the Taste and Odor Committee.

This is the fifth year that the national competition has been held.