Nikole Babb
nbabb@cherryroad.com
Same great taste – new honorable award
The City of El Dorado has proven their water is of the highest standards across the entirety of Kansas in late March. They’ve yet again taken home the title of Best Tasting Water in Kansas from the Kansas Rural Water Association, (KRWA), this year.
The Best-tasting Water in Kansas contest, hosted by the KRWA, took place during the 56th annual KRWA Conference & Exhibition from March 25-27 at the Century II Convention Center in Wichita. About 2,300 people visited the conference from across the state, traveling to Wichita from 318 cities and 205 other waste and water utility offices in Kansas and surrounding states.
A panel of water industry experts judged the samples anonymously. Following El Dorado’s first place was the City of Coffeyville in second place and the City of Fort Scott in third place. Water is judged for its clarity, bouquet, taste and smell.
Although this award is an honor to receive and stunning highlight of the five-man team that operates the water treatment plant, it isn’t the first time the City of El Dorado has taken home a best tasting water award. As a matter of fact, they were awarded first place in the Kansas American Water Works Association Water Taste Contest in 2016.
The City of El Dorado’s water source is the El Dorado Reservoir, which was completed in 1981. The reservoir is primarily fed by a drainage basin above the city mostly comprised of rainwater runoff that enters El Dorado Lake. As the water travels through the tall grass prairies of the Flint Hills and drainage basin, the water becomes soft due to low mineral content and has high clarity. To treat the water, the City’s water treatment department uses a conventional surface water treatment plant.
The water treatment includes taste and odor control with permanganate and activated carbon, conventional flocculation and sedimentation processes and filtration. The team uses Chlorine for disinfection, combined chlorine most of the year with free chlorine used as needed for maintenance of the distribution system. The treatment plant has operated since 1937 with major updates in 1974 and 1998.
The City’s 12,900 residents enjoy the water in addition to the residents of Cassoday, Douglass, Latham, Potwin, Towanda, Whitewater and six Butler County Rural Water Districts. The plant treats 1.2 billion gallons of water each year, averaging about 3.5 million gallons per day.
The plant is operated 24/7 by five state certified operators.
A sample from El Dorado will be entered for national recognition in the Great American Water Taste Test held in February 2026 during the National Rural Water Association Rally in Washington, D.C.
The Kansas Rural Water Association, a non-profit organization, has more than 775 municipal and rural members and 270 industry/associate members. The best-tasting water contest is open to all municipalities regardless of membership. The Association provides training and technical assistance to water and wastewater utilities statewide. The KRWA is governed by a seven-member board of directors from offices in Seneca and has a staff of 24 who provide training and technical assistance. To learn more about the Association, see their website at https://krwa.net.
