Board members and staff of Leeds Water Works were recognized with the Best Tasting Water Award from the Alabama Mississippi Section of the American Water Works Association. Leeds will go on to compete nationally next August in Dallas, Texas.

Some make jokes that there’s “something in the water” in Leeds — but you couldn’t prove it by the American Water Works Association’s drinking water taste test.

The Leeds Water Works Board was recently recognized as having the best-tasting water in the Alabama-Mississippi region by the American Water Works Association.

During their annual water conference, AWWA offers a variety of competitions such as the drinking water taste test. While many larger systems — including Birmingham Water Works — participated in the competition, Leeds took home the gold in the drinking water taste test, while Birmingham claimed other victories.

“With that much competition and we still beat the big guys, that was a big deal for us,” said Bill Morris, general manager of the Leeds Water Works Board.

During the competition, judges looked at many facets of the water, including its smell, taste and clarity. Leeds officials pumped the water sample that was used from Rowan Springs, which Morris said was the city’s best pump site and has been in use for many years.

This year was the first recognition the system has gotten from the AWWA, but they also were runners-up in the Alabama Rural Water Association’s statewide competition in Montgomery this year.

While Morris is excited to participate in the AWWA national competition next August in Dallas, Texas, he’s also quick to recognize the hard work put in daily by his staff.

“Our operators are doing their job, they’re doing what they’re supposed to,” Morris said. “They check it every day, they’re in the system every day, and they’re making sure that we’re taking care of the customers. Our people do a good job of making sure our product is tested properly and that we’re following the Alabama Department of Environmental Management [requirements].”