The taste of winning

Success never tasted so good.

The Town of Saratoga recently competed against all 50 states in the National Rural Water Association’s Annual Rally in Washington D.C. As a result, Saratoga finished in the top five at the 25th Annual Great American Water Taste Test.

Saratoga has often made it as a top finisher in the state and earned its way to represent Wyoming in the final five taste-offs. The state of Wisconsin received the Gold Medal for the second year in a row. For the last 18 years, different towns in Wyoming have finished in the top 10.

Chuck McVey, Supervisor for the Saratoga Water Department, said that this is an accomplishment for his department because Saratoga has not been in the top 15 in the Nation before until now. He said that Saratoga has made to the top five in the state which would lead his department to compete at the national level.

“We have been in the top 10 one other time at the national level,” said McVey. “We have been constantly in the top five in the state level but most generally, we have been in the top three.”

McVey also said it all depends who the judges are who will determine on how fair Saratoga will move in the rankings. He said it is unpredictable on how judges will make their decisions.

“A lot of what might change is the judges,” McVey said. “One judge might like one taste better than the other. But as far as changing anything in the system, the system just keeps working and groundwater just keeps getting better every time we use it.”

Emery Penner, public works director, explained how the water department’s system works. He said they work hard to keep Saratoga’s water clean.

“Our water system is well set”, Penner said. “It is a consistent operation and the groundwater that is produced is pumped into the system. It is not chemically treated except using a little gas chlorine so the product is pretty much the same year after year.”

The Saratoga Water Department samples the water every day to make sure that the chlorine is at where it wants to meet the standards. The Environmental Protection Agency requires that public drinking water maintain a free chlorine residual system that is traceable.