Through heat waves and cold spells, political debate and playoff droughts, STLers have been able to tread through the tougher times by embracing one constant: We offer a darn fine glass of tap water.
And the water-filtering folks at Pur now confirm that with their survey of the quality of tap water in U.S. cities.
Naturally, we made the select group of the best.
In the critical area of lead contamination, Pur’s report notes that STL’s water has 3 parts per billion, well below the EPA ceiling of 15 ppb.
St. Louis’ water purification plants draw water primarily from the Missouri River and daily produce about 150 million gallons of clean water.
In 2007, in a blind taste-testing at U.S. Conference of Mayors, St. Louis tap water was named Best Tasting City Water in America.
"The water department produces not only great tasting water, but also consistently ranks among the best in water quality, based on industry standards, out of any city," Skouby said in a statement.
Other cities in the "best" category are: Hartford, Conn.; Tampa and Jacksonville, Fla.; Newport, Va.; Fayetteville and Greensboro, N.C.; Portsmouth, Va.; Battle Creek, Mich.; Nashville; Dallas; Minneapolis; and Albuquerque and Santa Fe, N.M.
The 10 worst cities are: Portland, Ore.; New York; Pittsburgh; Denver; Akron; Chicago; York, Penn.
; Milwaukee; New Orleans; Los Angeles; and Boston.