This year, Edmonton's tap water was named the People's Choice Winner of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) Tap Water Taste Test, as voted by thousands of water experts who attended the annual AWWA conference.

Last year, Edmonton's tap water was named Best of the West for the best-tasting tap water in Western Canada before being included in this year's Best of the Best contest, which included 26 other regional contest winners from across North America.

"When I heard the announcement that we were the People's Choice Award winner, I was pleasantly surprised and excited that the EPCOR team had won," said Nicola Lewin, who oversees Operations at both of Edmonton's Water treatment plants. "We are so proud to be recognized for our water's great taste. We have hundreds of dedicated and hardworking people who help produce and deliver great-tasting water and this award reinforces the incredible work we're doing!"

From glacier to glass: Edmonton's award-winning tap water

NSR starts all the way at the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefields and travels through lakes, dams, foothills and farmers' fields before it reaches Edmonton.

"Once it reaches Edmonton, our two water treatment plants clarify, filter and disinfect the raw water. Our water operations team monitors and tests the water quality throughout the whole process with lots of support from our colleagues in quality assurance and environment," said Nicola. 

Once treated, the water is pumped into the distribution system, which is created and maintained by our dedicated Water Distribution and Transmission team made up of more than 300 people.

The final product that reaches your tap travels more than 400 km from the Saskatchewan Glacier to Edmonton, is treated anywhere from four to 12 hours at the water treatment plants and is then distributed to your home through an underground network of more than 4,200 km of pipes.