Ann Arbor earns honor of Best Tasting Water in Michigan
Ann Arbor Water has been named Best Tasting Water in Michigan by the Michigan Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA). The City of Ann Arbor water team will now represent Michigan in the national competition at the AWWA Annual “ACE” conference in San Diego, June 13-16, 2027.
The award recognizes what comes out of the tap, but getting it there requires much more than what residents can see.
Approximately 85% of Ann Arbor’s drinking water begins in the Huron River, with the remaining 15% coming from groundwater wells. From protecting those source waters to treating and testing at the water treatment plant, all while maintaining the hundreds of miles of pipes beneath the community, Ann Arbor Water works around the clock to provide safe, reliable drinking water.
“Great tasting water starts long before it reaches homes and businesses,” said Molly Maciejewski, water treatment services manager. “It starts with protecting the Huron River and our groundwater, continues with the work our operators, laboratory staff and maintenance teams do every day at the treatment plant, and with the people maintaining the pipes that keeps water flowing.”
The Ann Arbor Water Treatment Plant operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, treating approximately 4.3 billion gallons of water annually. Water treatment plant staff conduct approximately 200,000 tests each year for more than 100 contaminants as part of the city’s work to ensure drinking water meets or exceeds state and federal standards.
That work is part of Ann Arbor Water’s larger approach, which brings together drinking water, water resource recovery and stormwater management to protect the health of our water supply.
It begins with source water protection. Because most of Ann Arbor’s drinking water comes from the Huron River, what happens throughout the watershed can ultimately affect the water entering the treatment plant. The city’s Comprehensive Source Water Protection Plan guides efforts to protect both the Huron River and groundwater and strengthen the long-term resiliency of the community’s drinking water sources.
And beneath our feet is another essential part of the story.
Hundreds of miles of water mains, valves and other infrastructure carry treated water to Ann Arbor and other communities. Much of that system is rarely seen until construction or maintenance brings it temporarily into view. Maintaining and replacing that infrastructure is essential to making sure the water produced at the treatment plant reliably reaches homes and businesses.
AWWA’s honor continues a history of recognition for Ann Arbor drinking water. Ann Arbor won Michigan’s best tasting water competition in 2017 and previously received the honor in 1996. Ann Arbor Water also won the regional AWWA competition in 2024.
Learn more about Ann Arbor Water, drinking water quality, source water protection and the infrastructure that makes it all possible at www.AnnArborWater.org.
Pictured: Jeff Keown, assistant water plant manager; Molly Maciejewski, water treatment services manager; and Emily Schlanderer, water plant engineer.
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Media Contact:
Robert Kellar, Communications Specialist, rkellar@a2gov.org | 734.794.6000 ext. 41524