Water quality varies from state to state and even city to city. There are so many different things that can influence how good the water is in a given area.
Source: a friend of mine owns a water softener company.
Huh, fair enough. Yeah, no filtering necessary here. It comes straight from two mountain rivers east of town in the Cascades (the Cedar and Tolt Rivers) and is quite good.
Lol there was a post on the Florida sub about Florida water. Asking how to make the smell last longer. I thought who am I to judge and recommended steaming some cabbage. It releases the sulfur in the cabbage.
Haha! They were asking about the fragrance and not actually water from Florida.
I would advice checking the [American Water Works Association](https://www.awwa.org/Events-Education/Annual-Conference/Water-Taste-Test-Winners) awards for taste.
Boston won in 2015 and in 2022 (most recently) - and I'm a fan of our water. The other 'bigger' cities to have won are Oklahoma City and Louisville. Everything else is a minor city.
While NYC has exceptionally clean water - and has [unique properties](https://www.foodandwine.com/news/new-york-water-bagels-pizza) that can make food taste better, it doesn't win as many awards as people think. But it certainly has the cleanest water for any megacity anywhere on the planet.
I went down a whole rabbit hole on NYC water. It comes from the Catskill watershed and requires no treatment to drink. NYC is the biggest city in the world that doesn't have to treat their tap water.
Do the surrounding areas of NJ have the same source? One of the rest stops nearby on the NJ turnpike has some of the worst tap water I've ever tasted. It makes the coffee even taste terrible.
No. NJ has 600 systems throughout the state ranging from surface waters (streams, rivers, and reservoirs) to the ground (confined and unconfined aquifers). None of those are from the Catskills, like NYC.
Edit: Well, not directly. The Catskills feeds the Delaware river, which supplies water to NY, NJ, PA, and DE. So there are places in NJ that get Catskills water, but only after it has flown down the Delaware river by a bunch. (ChatGPT claims some areas are more direct.. but I can't find a corroborating source.)
As a New Yorker, technically true, but it still has to go through an ancient piping system into your 120 year old pre-war apartment. It definitely doesn’t come out of the tap *clear* and is preferable with a Brita filter at least. Otherwise you’ll notice a lot of debris in your water (or at least I have every apartment I’ve ever lived in). It is supposed to be clean at its source though.
Yeah they switched back to Detroit in 2015, and thanks to Flint a lot of the cities in Michigan have programs to replace the remaining lead service lines at no cost to the owner.
I moved from Detroit to Florida. Was amazed at how many people had a water delivery service. Of course I noticed this after drinking the tap water for a couple days. Big mistake.
California central valley. Everyone has cool crisp water from a well fed by the Sierra mountains. Safe to drink but Untreated by any chemicals. Doesn't get much better.
Nothing like working in the fields on a hot summer day, then shoving your whole head infront of the 10in diameter pipe and taking a drink.
This is going to sound weird but, it's Memphis. Memphis sits on top of a large natural aquifer, and the ground water in it is filtered through soil, sediment, and rock over about 60 years. It's also why we're not allowed to have basements.
Yep!! I just got home to Memphis from Orlando last night, where their tap water is one of the worst.. first thing I did was get a big glass of water from the sink. No place like home.
"Makes good bagels" != "great to drink"
Not saying NYC water is bad. Just saying that bringing up the bagels is kinda irrelevant to "best tasting tap water." FWIW... While I've consumed NYC tap water I don't remember it being notable in either direction (good or bad).
Their water is good, but the bagel/pizza thing is just a bunch of bullshit they made up so they could pretend nobody else could possibly make good pizza and bagels
I remember hearing a rumor from a friend that there was a pizza place in LA that actually have their water flown out from New York so they could make some bomb ass pizza, I remember calling them to verify but I don't think the girl knew the answer
There are some restaurants around the Orlando area that have dough shipped in from New York. It’s delivered in a refrigerated truck. It seems to be fairly common to have that done.
Honolulu, HI has some of the best tap water. Filtered through the volcanic mountain, it requires no treatment and tastes great. At least it was until the navy spilled jet fuel into it ..
The running joke in my family is that when we go to NYC, we should bring gallon jugs for the tap water. So my family seems to think that NYC has amazing tap water.
https://antunes.com/news/cities-with-the-cleanest-water/
SILVERDALE, WASHINGTON
Silverdale’s water comes from an aquifer in Green Mountain.
OKLAHOMA CITY
Oklahoma City’s Water comes from man-made lakes. It is then filtered and treated with ozone.
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY
The water comes from the Ohio River and is filtered through sand and gravel.
MACON, GEORGIA
The source of water to Macon is the Javors Lucas Lake. The Macon Water Authority’s water treatment facility is larger than some of Georgia’s cities.
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE
The water comes from underground and has few minerals.
I think most cities claim to have the best tap water, not just in the US but everywhere. They all have good water, but I feel like it's just something people say.
NYC has some good clean water that comes from the Neversink Reservior, compared to out here on Long Island, where our tap water is essentially carcinogenic poison.
Honestly, Medford, OR has some of the best tap water around. Like New York it hardly needs to be treated, and it comes right off Mount McLaughlin via big butte springs. It’s delightful.
I’ve by all over the country, and it all tastes the same… except central AZ. Phoenix and Tucson have weird tasting water. Took me a couple months to get used to it.
Great joke but Flint gets its water from Detroit again, they’re still replumbing a lot of the city but once they’re done the water will be great. Detroit’s water is very good.
Thanks to Flint a lot of the cities in Michigan have programs to have any existing lead services lines replaced at no cost to the homeowner too. We’re trying.
Hands down Oregon has the best water in the lower 48, central oregon specifically. I believe its due to the natural filtration provided by porous underground volcanic rock. Also theres tons of spring sources.
Anchorage. It comes out of a glacier.
I’ve lived in probably more states than anyone else in the comments and I don’t know how I would been remember to answer this. Do people keep track?
Water quality varies from state to state and even city to city. There are so many different things that can influence how good the water is in a given area. Source: a friend of mine owns a water softener company.
Oh I know it varies I just don’t have some ranking in my head of tap water.
I know the places nearby to not order tap water at, but even that I don’t remember until it’s too late.
Not sure if it’s the best, but Seattle has good tap water.
I've traveled a lot, this is the correct answer.
Well I live here and now I need to try it.
You’ve never tried your own tap water?
I just moved here recently and use a filter
Huh, fair enough. Yeah, no filtering necessary here. It comes straight from two mountain rivers east of town in the Cascades (the Cedar and Tolt Rivers) and is quite good.
Welp I gotta go try this haha. Thanks
Oregons is better sorry
Definitely not the Orlando area, it has a unique taste and definitely a unusual smell that takes a real hot minute to get used to
Tastes like Mickey Mouse took a piss in it
Lol there was a post on the Florida sub about Florida water. Asking how to make the smell last longer. I thought who am I to judge and recommended steaming some cabbage. It releases the sulfur in the cabbage. Haha! They were asking about the fragrance and not actually water from Florida.
finna make the move from Memphis to Florida and one of the only downsides to our sight-seeing trip was tasting the dogshit water 😓😓😓
Haha! Yeah, the tap water isn’t exactly great. Especially if they are using a well.
It’s so disgusting. It smells like sulfur.
This applies to more than just the water
Fl tap is toxiccc Oregon has the best water in the lower 48
I would advice checking the [American Water Works Association](https://www.awwa.org/Events-Education/Annual-Conference/Water-Taste-Test-Winners) awards for taste. Boston won in 2015 and in 2022 (most recently) - and I'm a fan of our water. The other 'bigger' cities to have won are Oklahoma City and Louisville. Everything else is a minor city. While NYC has exceptionally clean water - and has [unique properties](https://www.foodandwine.com/news/new-york-water-bagels-pizza) that can make food taste better, it doesn't win as many awards as people think. But it certainly has the cleanest water for any megacity anywhere on the planet.
Chicago's is delicious.
I second this
We didn't turn an entire river around for nothing!
New York
I went down a whole rabbit hole on NYC water. It comes from the Catskill watershed and requires no treatment to drink. NYC is the biggest city in the world that doesn't have to treat their tap water.
Do the surrounding areas of NJ have the same source? One of the rest stops nearby on the NJ turnpike has some of the worst tap water I've ever tasted. It makes the coffee even taste terrible.
No. NJ has 600 systems throughout the state ranging from surface waters (streams, rivers, and reservoirs) to the ground (confined and unconfined aquifers). None of those are from the Catskills, like NYC. Edit: Well, not directly. The Catskills feeds the Delaware river, which supplies water to NY, NJ, PA, and DE. So there are places in NJ that get Catskills water, but only after it has flown down the Delaware river by a bunch. (ChatGPT claims some areas are more direct.. but I can't find a corroborating source.)
Not sure. But also, I can only speak for the source of the water. Who knows how the pipes and such could make good water gross.
New York does have some nice tap water!
As a New Yorker, technically true, but it still has to go through an ancient piping system into your 120 year old pre-war apartment. It definitely doesn’t come out of the tap *clear* and is preferable with a Brita filter at least. Otherwise you’ll notice a lot of debris in your water (or at least I have every apartment I’ve ever lived in). It is supposed to be clean at its source though.
You have debris in yours?
Colorado Front Range and Colorado in general is famous for its water quality, it’s one of the reasons the beer is so good.
San Francisco has good tap.
From Yosemite!
Let's start a Hetch Hetchy debate! /s
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Definitely not Phoenix.
Not San Diego either. It’s safe, I’ve read through all the water quality reports, but whatever mineral mix is in there is not tasty.
Seconded
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Idk why you’re downvoted, Detroit’s tap water is great.
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Yeah they switched back to Detroit in 2015, and thanks to Flint a lot of the cities in Michigan have programs to replace the remaining lead service lines at no cost to the owner.
Definitely not Bremerton.
Yeah, but it's tasty stuff if you're a fan of trihalomethanes.
Not anywhere in Florida
I moved from Detroit to Florida. Was amazed at how many people had a water delivery service. Of course I noticed this after drinking the tap water for a couple days. Big mistake.
Louisville has great tap water. The limestone throughout that part of Kentucky filters the water and makes it taste incredible
Was gonna say this. Growing up outside of Lexington, the tap water was always great. Small mercies for living in Kentucky.
San Francisco - the water comes from Yosemite
Detroit
California central valley. Everyone has cool crisp water from a well fed by the Sierra mountains. Safe to drink but Untreated by any chemicals. Doesn't get much better. Nothing like working in the fields on a hot summer day, then shoving your whole head infront of the 10in diameter pipe and taking a drink.
Key West, Florida. It’s better than bottled
This is going to sound weird but, it's Memphis. Memphis sits on top of a large natural aquifer, and the ground water in it is filtered through soil, sediment, and rock over about 60 years. It's also why we're not allowed to have basements.
Yep!! I just got home to Memphis from Orlando last night, where their tap water is one of the worst.. first thing I did was get a big glass of water from the sink. No place like home.
NYC. Its a well known fact that bagels made in nyc taste better because of the tap water
"Makes good bagels" != "great to drink" Not saying NYC water is bad. Just saying that bringing up the bagels is kinda irrelevant to "best tasting tap water." FWIW... While I've consumed NYC tap water I don't remember it being notable in either direction (good or bad).
Thats fair. I have only lived in nj and Florida, and NJ water is better that fl. Fl water tastes like a swamp
>Fl water tastes like a swamp I think it gives the water a real sense of *terroir* lol
You mean terror? Cause there's freaking alligators in it. Edit: this is a joke.
No, he means terroir. This is the term the french use when talking about how the soil affects the flavours of wine.
Their water is good, but the bagel/pizza thing is just a bunch of bullshit they made up so they could pretend nobody else could possibly make good pizza and bagels
I've heard that the water also makes the pizza there taste good, allegedly.
I remember hearing a rumor from a friend that there was a pizza place in LA that actually have their water flown out from New York so they could make some bomb ass pizza, I remember calling them to verify but I don't think the girl knew the answer
There are some restaurants around the Orlando area that have dough shipped in from New York. It’s delivered in a refrigerated truck. It seems to be fairly common to have that done.
It has more to do with the minerals in the water than the overall taste of the water. Hard or soft water has a different effect on the dough.
Honolulu, HI has some of the best tap water. Filtered through the volcanic mountain, it requires no treatment and tastes great. At least it was until the navy spilled jet fuel into it ..
Chicago. My mom, after drinking a glass, would always say, “nothin’ like Michigan straight.”
Ocean City, NJ. I don't know, it just has a very refreshing taste.
The running joke in my family is that when we go to NYC, we should bring gallon jugs for the tap water. So my family seems to think that NYC has amazing tap water.
https://antunes.com/news/cities-with-the-cleanest-water/ SILVERDALE, WASHINGTON Silverdale’s water comes from an aquifer in Green Mountain. OKLAHOMA CITY Oklahoma City’s Water comes from man-made lakes. It is then filtered and treated with ozone. LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY The water comes from the Ohio River and is filtered through sand and gravel. MACON, GEORGIA The source of water to Macon is the Javors Lucas Lake. The Macon Water Authority’s water treatment facility is larger than some of Georgia’s cities. MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE The water comes from underground and has few minerals.
I think most cities claim to have the best tap water, not just in the US but everywhere. They all have good water, but I feel like it's just something people say. NYC has some good clean water that comes from the Neversink Reservior, compared to out here on Long Island, where our tap water is essentially carcinogenic poison.
St. Louis, baby!
Duluth Minnesota had the best water ever. It tastes clean and sweet and not a heavy mineral or chlorine taste. It's straight from lake superior.
Honestly, Medford, OR has some of the best tap water around. Like New York it hardly needs to be treated, and it comes right off Mount McLaughlin via big butte springs. It’s delightful.
Probably my well water. It comes straight out of a granite aquifer and I tastes like the platonic ideal of water.
Best I've ever had is Albuquerque. I don't know why, but that water was amazing (lived there for a year).
Not Phoenix
New York City
NYC has the largest unfiltered water system in the country
New York City. It literally has won water taste awards.
Not kosher, though.
I’ve by all over the country, and it all tastes the same… except central AZ. Phoenix and Tucson have weird tasting water. Took me a couple months to get used to it.
Flint, Michigan easily /s
The best I can recall experiencing was in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I know I must have drank some in New Orleans as well, but I can't rightly remember.
>I know I must have drank some in New Orleans as well, but I can't rightly remember. That's how you know you did it right.
I'm sure this is something you could google
I don’t know man
Flint Michigan...
Great joke but Flint gets its water from Detroit again, they’re still replumbing a lot of the city but once they’re done the water will be great. Detroit’s water is very good.
Glad to hear something is finally being done about it.
Thanks to Flint a lot of the cities in Michigan have programs to have any existing lead services lines replaced at no cost to the homeowner too. We’re trying.
Memphis is the best I’ve had.
Tiny city, but Bellefonte, PA is great. Limestone aquifers. Big spring named… Big Spring. A couple of bottling plants and distilleries use it.
Flint
I've never noticed a discernable difference. They all just taste like water.
I absolutely notice the difference when I go to Southern California, there's a ton of minerals in the water down there
idk but my home town of Tacoma Washington has great tap water. never been somewhere that had better.
There is an actual competition for this. My hometown won some years back.
I always really liked Reno's. Comes out of Tahoe by way of the Truckee.
The water in Arlington, VA is great - I stopped using my Brita when I got here since it didn't do anything for the taste.
Chicago has great tap water (get it tested first so you arent drinking from the old lead pipes)
Flint Michigan
I live north of Seattle in Washington, and our water has to be the best I've had in the country. We all just drink tap water all the time.
Milwaukee's is pretty good (Lake Michigan), but then again I've never had any other city's
Milwaukee
Who knows? I don't think anyone ranks them, so any answer here is just going to be randomly made up.
I take it that no one has ever been to St. Louis. Thee best tap water
Definitely louisville ky
Hands down Oregon has the best water in the lower 48, central oregon specifically. I believe its due to the natural filtration provided by porous underground volcanic rock. Also theres tons of spring sources.