It's not your average taste test.
Judging H20 can be as technical as wine tasting.
"The first thing we check for is what does it smell like?," said Larry Bailey, one of the judges.
The way the water smells can say a lot about how it will taste.
"Metallic or salty or sour or bitter," said Bailey.
Its all part of the Big Country's annual best tasting water competition.
Each of the judges was trained and prepped to determine who has the tastiest tap water.
"We clear our palettes with crackers and what we call blank water which is just distilled or deionized water with no taste at all," said Bailey.
Bailey and the other three judges had no idea which water came from the seven sources being tested.
All of the judges are in the water business themselves and score according to specific taste qualities like saltiness or sweetness.
It's a yearly contest to serve as a check and balance for local public water treatments.
"The purpose of this contest is to show how are the operators in our area are treating water, how successful they are at cleaning the water," said Michael Michaud, coordinator for the event.
When it comes to state regulations taste actually comes secondary to quality. So it's up to the consumer to determine how good the water is straight from the tap.
"I think its pretty good water and i drink a lot of tap water," said Abilene resident Beth Peables.
Abilene's water is a previous winner, but not everyone is crazy about its taste.
"You know if its a 1-10 then id probably rate it about a 5," said Abilene resident Juan Cruz.
That's why contest officials make sure to consider personal preferences during judging.
"Some people like it a little bit bitter and some people like it a little bit sour so every year we change the judges and that way we get a different variety," said Michaud.
The winner of the regional contest will go onto a state competition and of course have bragging rights that they're water is good to the last drop.
Judging H20 can be as technical as wine tasting.
"The first thing we check for is what does it smell like?," said Larry Bailey, one of the judges.
The way the water smells can say a lot about how it will taste.
"Metallic or salty or sour or bitter," said Bailey.
Its all part of the Big Country's annual best tasting water competition.
Each of the judges was trained and prepped to determine who has the tastiest tap water.
"We clear our palettes with crackers and what we call blank water which is just distilled or deionized water with no taste at all," said Bailey.
Bailey and the other three judges had no idea which water came from the seven sources being tested.
All of the judges are in the water business themselves and score according to specific taste qualities like saltiness or sweetness.
It's a yearly contest to serve as a check and balance for local public water treatments.
"The purpose of this contest is to show how are the operators in our area are treating water, how successful they are at cleaning the water," said Michael Michaud, coordinator for the event.
When it comes to state regulations taste actually comes secondary to quality. So it's up to the consumer to determine how good the water is straight from the tap.
"I think its pretty good water and i drink a lot of tap water," said Abilene resident Beth Peables.
Abilene's water is a previous winner, but not everyone is crazy about its taste.
"You know if its a 1-10 then id probably rate it about a 5," said Abilene resident Juan Cruz.
That's why contest officials make sure to consider personal preferences during judging.
"Some people like it a little bit bitter and some people like it a little bit sour so every year we change the judges and that way we get a different variety," said Michaud.
The winner of the regional contest will go onto a state competition and of course have bragging rights that they're water is good to the last drop.
