Aurora mayor calls on city to can bottled water

For the second consecutive year, and fourth time since 1999, Aurora has the distinction of having the state's tastiest drinking water.

The city won the honor after cleaning up recently at the 14th annual water taste test sponsored by Illinois Section of American Water Works.

Aurora's previous wins came in 1999, 2000 and 2007. The city will defend its title at next year's contest and can compete in this year's fourth annual American Water Works taste contest on June 9 in Atlanta.

The winner there will be deemed to produce the best municipal drinking water in North America.

"The fact that Aurora water has won this statewide contest four times in the last 10 years is a great honor, and speaks to the exceptional quality of our water supply," Superintendent of Water Production Bill Munch said.

The victory also sparked an executive order from Mayor Tom Weisner for the city to phase out the purchase of bottled water with city funds over the next three months.

"Our guys in water production do a fantastic job and produce a top-quality product," Weisner said in a prepared statement. "There is absolutely no reason for our employees and people who visit the city to drink anything less than the best. Drinking municipal water saves us money and saves our environment. It is pretty clear that drinking city water is a much better choice."

Spokeswoman Amy Roth said the city expects to save at least $20,000 a year by not purchasing bottled water.

Aurora joins a growing number of cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle that either have banned or discouraged the use of city funds to buy bottled water.