Olympia, Wash., Wins Water Taste-Test

WASHINGTON — For an hour the judges sniffed and sipped from crystal goblets before declaring Olympia, Wash., the winner Sunday in a taste-testing of drinking water from eight U.S. and Canadian cities.

Boston emerged second while Honolulu took third place in the competition sponsored by the American Water Works Assn.

One of the judges, Nina McClelland, said the contest was a “close call.”

“All of the water submitted was of good quality,” said McClelland, who has a Ph.D. in water chemistry. She is president and executive director of the National Sanitation Foundation, based in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Also-rans in the competition--not assigned a ranking after the top three winners--were Atlanta; New Orleans; St. Paul, Minn.; Washington, and Ottawa, Canada.

Len Esteb, director of Olympia’s waterworks, said he was not surprised but was still “excited” over the outcome. “I was confident we were going to win,” said Esteb, who accepted a silver trophy on behalf of the Washington state capital.