DC Water: Tap Water Beats Bottled in Taste Test

District residents pick city sample from blind taste test

D.C. residents picked tap water over bottled water in a blind taste test.

The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
conducted the test over eight weeks in each of the District’s eight wards.

About 800 people sipped samples of tap and Deer Park brand bottled water.

More than half of those taking part in the taste test thought the tap water tasted better -- or could not tell a difference. About half admitted they only drink bottled water at home.

DC Water held the taste test to help improve its reputation. Many residents stopped drinking tap water after reports of unsafe levels of lead and toxic chlorine levels.

The District says its water now meets all federal regulations and is tested daily.

“It may well be that that is a hangover from something that happened in the past, but we know our product today and that’s what we want our customers to have confidence in,” DC Water General Manager George Hawkins said.

Deer Park bottled water is purified Spring water. The company says each bottle line is tested 200 times daily for quality.

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