Kentucky Rural Water Association’s (KRWA) Annual Conference and Exhibition was held August 28-30, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and Lexington Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Nearly 800 Representatives of Kentucky’s public drinking water and wastewater utilities gathered for the 38th Annual Conference and Exhibition. This year’s conference theme was entitled “Shaping the Future.” Attendees also enjoyed networking with their peers, and touring Kentucky’s largest exhibition of products and services available to public utilities.

One of the highlights of the conference is the Best Tasting Water Contest, a statewide competition to identify the tastiest water in Kentucky. In all, twenty water districts, water associations, and municipal utilities from around the state submitted samples of their water, straight from the tap. A panal of four judges from various sectors of the water and wastewater industry that included Kay Sanborn from Kentucky/Tennesse Section- American Water Works Association, Steve Gott from S&K Equipment, and Community Program Specialists Robert Dunn and Rhonda Logan from USDA Rural Development judged the water samples on clarity, taste, and fragrance.  While first place went to Burkesville Municipal Water and Sewer and second place went to Hardin County Water District #2, the sample from Prestonsburg City’s Utilities Commission came in a close third place! Prestonsburg’s water comes from the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River and serves over 21,000 customers

Because of the quality of the drinking water from excellent systems such as Prestonsburg City’s Utilities, Kentucky is always well represented at the Best Tasting Water Contest in Washington, D.C., during the Rural Water Rally, an annual legislative event for the state affiliates of the National Rural Water Association. The competition is part of the Quality on Tap! campaign – emphasizing the high quality, great value and exceptional taste of America’s public drinking water.

The Kentucky Rural Water Association is a statewide, non-profit association that provides training, on-site technical assistance, advocacy, and other services to utilities, including over 360 member public drinking water and wastewater utilities, in Kentucky. With offices in Bowling Green and Frankfort, KRWA has been fulfilling its mission of helping water and wastewater utilities help themselves since 1979.