DC Water Challenges Residents To Taste The Tap

DC Water is kicking off a blind taste test to see if residents can tell the difference between the bottle and the tap. Officals say they hope the taste test will help change the public's perception of tap water.

"It's an opportunity for us to share with the public that the tap water in the district is high quality, it's clean, and that they can drink it for a penny a gallon," says Sarah Neiderer, a spokesperson for DC's Water and Sewer Authority.

It's not just about saving money. Neiderer says tap water can also be healthier and more eco-friendly.

"We are required to monitor and provide the results of our testing more frequently and stringently than the bottled water industry," says Neiderer. "In addition to that there is a huge environmental impact: 75 percent of those bottles typically end up as trash or in landfills."

Neiderer says in other recent tests, DC Water found more than half of participants could not taste a difference, and some even thought tap water tasted better.

The agency is holding weekly taste tests in all 8 District wards through October at the following locations:

• Ward 1 — October 10, 2012
  Columbia Heights Metro
  3030 14th Street, NW
• Ward 2 — August 22, 2012
  Sweetgreen
  2221 I Street, NW
• Ward 3 — August 29, 2012
  Whole Foods (Tenley Circle)
  4530 40th Street, NW
• Ward 4 — September 5, 2012
  Petworth Metro
  3700 Georgia Avenue, NW     
• Ward 5 — September 12, 2012
  Home Depot
  901 Rhode Island Avenue, NE     
• Ward 6 — September 19, 2012
  Southwest Waterfront
  1100 4th Street, SW     
• Ward 7 — September 26, 2012     
  Penn-Branch Shopping Center
  3220 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE     
• Ward 8 — October 3, 2012
  Ward 8 Constituent Building
  2100 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE