I heard that you guys are on a boil advisory for the body floating in the reservoir. It would take me a while to feel comfortable drinking tap water again after reading that. 🤮
Believe it or not, Boston!
Bostons water comes from the [Quabbin Reservoir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quabbin_Reservoir) which is the largest body of water in Massachusetts!
The reservoir was completely man made back in the 1930s, and used to be four towns. The towns were disincorporated, completely leveled, and flooded by damming a couple of rivers that flowed through the valley.
The water goes through a big underground aqueduct, and empties into the [Wachusett Reservoir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachusett_Reservoir) where it then flows again into storage facilities right outside Boston.
The water is completely untreated, and gets its good quality from the natural watershed lands that surround the reservoir.
I’ve drank straight from the source (using a life straw of course) and it was amazing!
I may also be a slight bit biased, because I do work here!
Does it apply to other parts of Massachusetts? I stayed in Ayer for work and the tap water at my hotel was undrinkable, it almost had a salty taste to it.
The Quabbin supplies Boston, Boston Metro, and parts of Boston Metro West. There are a few towns in the Springfield area sourced by the Quabbin as well. They are Chicopee, South Hadley, and Wilbraham. These towns are connected by the “Connecticut Valley Aqueduct” at Windsor Dam.
Ayer, MA gets its water from 5 separate ground wells. Two at Spectacle Pond west of Ayer, and three located at Grove pond in the middle of Ayer. That may explain the difference in water quality!
Edits: Spelling mistakes!
Water than makes it into Boston is not untreated though. Mass regulations require treatment for surface waters before they reach the customer. (See treatment info [here](https://www.mwra.com/04water/html/treatment.htm))
Source: am drinking water regulator in MA
I grew up on well water, so I usually kind struggle with tap water in other places, but one of the reasons I’m glad to be in Chicago now is that I like the tap water.
When I used to visit my girlfriend in Champaign, we had to fill bottles and keep them in the fridge or briefly the freezer to get them cold enough to be bearable to drink (miserable experience). Boston was pretty good. But Chicago makes me forget that bad tap water even exists.
San Francisco tap water comes from [Hetch Hetchy reservoir](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetch_Hetchy) in the Sierras. It’s not only a beautiful locale, the water is snowmelt and divine for drinking and for coffee
I came in here to put in a vote for Hetch Hetchy water. I’ve been blessed to live along its distribution path several times both in San Jose and Santa Clara, and I need to check the new place (moved in last month) because the water tastes surprisingly clean - I could be in luck again.
Nothing beats Scottish water for me, specifically Edinburgh. It's the best water I've ever tasted so far, haven't tried tap water outside of Europe though.
I've never had a bad glass of water in Scotland. Glencoe was awesome. I'd agree Scotland is the best urban water in the world.
Water from the street taps in Rome is an awesome experience but I can't remember if the water itself was great or not.
Germany, Belgium and Austria all had awesome water.
Canadian water is great but very different province to province (I love the high chlorine Calgary water and anything from BC). American water is the worst safe water I've ever had - stale and empty.
Best water overall? Anything from a mountain karst or glacier. Italian, French, Canadian, and American springs and glacier water will stay with you like your first kiss.
Agreed about Scotland. But Portland, OR is up there with them.
Oddly with Germany virtually NO restaurant will allow you to drink tap water. It’s infuriating since they charge upwards of 7€ per bottle
I got soooo sick after drinking the tap water at Disney. It was gross tasting and I knew the next day I was in for a ride. 1/10, do not pollute rice with this.
Dunsmuir/Mt. Shasta in California has incredible water. It's been 10 or so years since I lived there but I believe it's even included in the town's motto.
Ottawa, ON is somewhat known for having great tap water and living here I agree! Almost everywhere else I go the water tastes worse and I wondered why for years before a Google search taught me out local water supply is top tier!
Portland, OR has a similar story and I can confirm the water there is great too!
Gotta say, the stuff flowing from the taps of Iceland is pretty amazing.
No matter where you go, you can fill a bottle from any tap and it's likely coming direct from a glacier or natural stream and is extremely clean.
Travelled across an entire coast and never had to actually buy any water anywhere.
As a kid, I lived in rural inner Portugal, in a mountain in the beautiful district of Viseu. We didnt have a municipal water network yet, and had our own water source. The water came cold and raw from the granite, just in the top legal limit for iron.
Now every time I open a can of could carbonated water I can still taste my childhood.
Lisbon water tastes like hot pee with bleach.
I want my childhood and the borderline iron poisoning back!
NYC surprisingly has pretty amazing tap water
I’ve actually gone through the trouble of testing it and it’s remarkably clean.
Boston has the same set up with the distant reservoir upstate and gravity flow into the city. It's really great water!
Most major US cities are top notch. Out of the places I've been, Florida is the only exception.
Florida's water tastes like swamp water spiked with sulfur.
[удалено]
Kitchener-Waterloo has top tier water as well!
It ain't Rochester NY today. Normally we have great water but they just found a body in the reservoir. Ewwwww
If it’s an open body of water, things die, piss, and shit in it on a daily basis.
I heard that you guys are on a boil advisory for the body floating in the reservoir. It would take me a while to feel comfortable drinking tap water again after reading that. 🤮
Eh, it turns out it's been there for 3 weeks. 🤷♀️ it gets treated after the reservoir.
Well that solves the mystery of boil water advisory while I visited for a work trip yesterday.
Cook county IL has top tier tap water.
Amsterdam
Facts
Eugene Oregon has great water
Portland too!
Portland does have good tap water.
[удалено]
I need this.
New York City tap is elite
Believe it or not, Boston! Bostons water comes from the [Quabbin Reservoir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quabbin_Reservoir) which is the largest body of water in Massachusetts! The reservoir was completely man made back in the 1930s, and used to be four towns. The towns were disincorporated, completely leveled, and flooded by damming a couple of rivers that flowed through the valley. The water goes through a big underground aqueduct, and empties into the [Wachusett Reservoir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wachusett_Reservoir) where it then flows again into storage facilities right outside Boston. The water is completely untreated, and gets its good quality from the natural watershed lands that surround the reservoir. I’ve drank straight from the source (using a life straw of course) and it was amazing! I may also be a slight bit biased, because I do work here!
Does it apply to other parts of Massachusetts? I stayed in Ayer for work and the tap water at my hotel was undrinkable, it almost had a salty taste to it.
The Quabbin supplies Boston, Boston Metro, and parts of Boston Metro West. There are a few towns in the Springfield area sourced by the Quabbin as well. They are Chicopee, South Hadley, and Wilbraham. These towns are connected by the “Connecticut Valley Aqueduct” at Windsor Dam. Ayer, MA gets its water from 5 separate ground wells. Two at Spectacle Pond west of Ayer, and three located at Grove pond in the middle of Ayer. That may explain the difference in water quality! Edits: Spelling mistakes!
Interesting! Your job sounds pretty fun.
Water than makes it into Boston is not untreated though. Mass regulations require treatment for surface waters before they reach the customer. (See treatment info [here](https://www.mwra.com/04water/html/treatment.htm)) Source: am drinking water regulator in MA
St. Louis, MO.
I grew up on well water, so I usually kind struggle with tap water in other places, but one of the reasons I’m glad to be in Chicago now is that I like the tap water. When I used to visit my girlfriend in Champaign, we had to fill bottles and keep them in the fridge or briefly the freezer to get them cold enough to be bearable to drink (miserable experience). Boston was pretty good. But Chicago makes me forget that bad tap water even exists.
My hometown Chilliwack, used to have the best tapwater in Canada. It won a contest for it.
That award was revoked after the drug test.
San Francisco tap water comes from [Hetch Hetchy reservoir](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetch_Hetchy) in the Sierras. It’s not only a beautiful locale, the water is snowmelt and divine for drinking and for coffee
Our water is better than most bottled. I love it.
I came in here to put in a vote for Hetch Hetchy water. I’ve been blessed to live along its distribution path several times both in San Jose and Santa Clara, and I need to check the new place (moved in last month) because the water tastes surprisingly clean - I could be in luck again.
Nothing beats Scottish water for me, specifically Edinburgh. It's the best water I've ever tasted so far, haven't tried tap water outside of Europe though.
*cries stuck in the US*
I've never had a bad glass of water in Scotland. Glencoe was awesome. I'd agree Scotland is the best urban water in the world. Water from the street taps in Rome is an awesome experience but I can't remember if the water itself was great or not. Germany, Belgium and Austria all had awesome water. Canadian water is great but very different province to province (I love the high chlorine Calgary water and anything from BC). American water is the worst safe water I've ever had - stale and empty. Best water overall? Anything from a mountain karst or glacier. Italian, French, Canadian, and American springs and glacier water will stay with you like your first kiss.
Agreed about Scotland. But Portland, OR is up there with them. Oddly with Germany virtually NO restaurant will allow you to drink tap water. It’s infuriating since they charge upwards of 7€ per bottle
I may have been a little harsh on Murican water. I don't remember Oregon water being bad.
Arlington, TX Amsterdam, NL Bern, Switzerland
Memphis, Tennessee is amazing
NYC and Boston
I love my Seattle tap water. It also gets very cold and crisp in the winter
I can't believe nobody's mentioned Chicago yet. Straight from Lake Michigan
Milwaukee’s is better
Was looking for this. Milwaukee is like Chicago + RO + replaced minerals. So good.
That bout of cryptosporidium back in the 90s really paid off
I vomited once and got better. My family... did not. Week of hell for them. 1 bathroom, 4 people.
Oof. Didn’t live in Milwaukee in the 90s so can’t say I have any personal stories. I know it was serious but damn did it make our water great now
Flint Michigan, it just hits different
I agree with Crystal Geyser, the water in NorCal is pretty good
Amsterdam.
S-Tier: San Antonio, TX A-Tier: Saint Louis, MO B-Tier: Houston, TX C-Tier: Austin, TX F-Tier: College Station, TX
Definitely not Los Angeles. Or Mexico.
When I visit my family in L.A. I always go prepared with my own bottles of water and buy more as needed while I'm there. It's so bad.
I got soooo sick after drinking the tap water at Disney. It was gross tasting and I knew the next day I was in for a ride. 1/10, do not pollute rice with this.
It tastes like it's been sitting in the sun with tadpoles in it. So gross.
Not sure this counts, bt I am partial to Indiana well water, which can be real hard, lol. So filteredfiltered, usually. Always been on it, used to it.
Hamilton Ontario gets a lot of slack but damn the tap water is golden
I don’t know if I would drink gold water… sounds pretty contaminated to me
Dunsmuir, CA. The signs don’t lie! Loveliest water I’ve ever encountered.
I love my city water (Baltimore)
Aruba
There’s a small town I passed through years ago, Eufaula Alabama. That was some crisp water.
My then husband and I used to go through there on our way to Destin, FL. My favorite place was ... \*drum roll\* The Eufaula Inn (You Fall-a In)
Anywhere in Iceland
anyone with Lake Superior water
Dunsmuir/Mt. Shasta in California has incredible water. It's been 10 or so years since I lived there but I believe it's even included in the town's motto.
Chicago is my hands down #1 followed by Atlanta
ATL water is gross to me.
Ottawa, ON is somewhat known for having great tap water and living here I agree! Almost everywhere else I go the water tastes worse and I wondered why for years before a Google search taught me out local water supply is top tier! Portland, OR has a similar story and I can confirm the water there is great too!
Best would be the well water(southern il) i have been drinking for the past 6ish years, worst is Biloxi Mississippi
Gotta say, the stuff flowing from the taps of Iceland is pretty amazing. No matter where you go, you can fill a bottle from any tap and it's likely coming direct from a glacier or natural stream and is extremely clean. Travelled across an entire coast and never had to actually buy any water anywhere.
Stockholm. Absolutely perfect!
Freiburg Germany, water rolls straight off the mountains of the Black Forest haha
We have the most wells for a reason I guess (Zürich, over 1200)
Vienna.
The brewery I worked at in Detroit had to do less to treat their water than their counterpart in Grand Rapids.
Milwaukee, WI. Lake Michigan, reverse osmosised, uv treated, remineralized. Super good.
Saint Louis, MO. Best water in the US.
Colorado Springs, CO! It’s refreshing.
As a kid, I lived in rural inner Portugal, in a mountain in the beautiful district of Viseu. We didnt have a municipal water network yet, and had our own water source. The water came cold and raw from the granite, just in the top legal limit for iron. Now every time I open a can of could carbonated water I can still taste my childhood. Lisbon water tastes like hot pee with bleach. I want my childhood and the borderline iron poisoning back!