Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler congratulates the Village of Fredonia for being the winner of the 26th annual Water Tasting Contest held at Chautauqua Mall on Saturday. Other participants included Cherry Creek, Dunkirk, Frewsburg, Jamestown and Mayville. The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities, which won last year, finished a close second.

The format for the contest was a blind taste test where each community’s water was assigned a letter, then the public was invited to try each one and vote for their favorite. Over 100 people participated in the event. Adding to the festive atmosphere was the contest’s new water drop mascot passing out balloons to kids and mingling with the volunteer judges. The mascot does not have a name yet, so the public was asked to submit ideas for a name at the contest and on the Chautauqua County Department of Health’s Facebook page. The old mascot, Ronny Raindrop has retired after being at the event for all of the previous 25 years. The new mascot’s name will be announced at next year’s contest. The contest is sponsored by the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services, the County Water Works Association and the County Soil & Water Conservation District.

Bill Boria, Senior Water Resource Specialist for the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human Services said, “Judging was very close making it tough to decide which water was the best because they are all very good and therefore they are all winners. This really supports the fact that our water operators work very hard to deliver the highest quality water possible to their customers. But water is all too often taken for granted until it becomes polluted or is not there when we turn on our taps. We all have a responsibility to conserve and protect our water by being careful what we do around our homes and businesses.”

Fredonia will now go on to the regional competition and compete against other county winners from Western New York. Schuyler and all of Chautauqua County wish Fredonia the best of luck as they compete for the title of Best Tasting Water in New York State.

For more information about your drinking water, ask your water provider for their most recent Annual Water Quality Report, which includes information about where your water comes, what it is tested for and the results of those tests. You may also contact the Chautauqua County Department of Health and Human services at 753-4481 or visit http://www.co.chautauqua.ny.us/.