AMES, Iowa - The City of Ames was bestowed two separate water recognitions at the Iowa Section - American Water Works Association annual conference recently in Coralville, Iowa. The Ames Water and Pollution Control Department team accepted the award for the "Best Tasting Water in Iowa" and the "People's Choice Award."

The "Best Tasting" award is a formal competition featuring a five-person panel scoring water samples on categories including taste, clarity, aroma, and after-taste. The "People's Choice" award is a new competition allowing all attendees at the conference to cast a vote for their favorite water.

"Adding the second award this year was likely a way to celebrate two communities for great-tasting water, so coming home with both awards was surprising and humbling," said Water and Pollution Control Director John Dunn. "Yet we feel Ames water is entirely deserving of the attention. Ames residents have embraced and celebrated our great water for decades, and we feel tremendous pride in producing such a valued commodity."

Ames water will advance to the national competition held next June in Denver, Colo. Since 2000, Ames Water has won the best water in Iowa competition five times (2001, 2007, 2017, 2018, and 2024).

The Iowa Section - American Water Works Association is the largest association of water industry professionals in Iowa. It is comprised of more than 700 water utility operators, managers, and others from nearly every water utility in the state. The Ames Water Treatment, located at 1800 E. 13th St., opened in 2017. The plant is a conventional lime-softening facility with a maximum daily capacity of 15 million gallons per day. It serves all residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Ames, including Iowa State University, and connects more than 20,000 different properties.

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