-Tim Colley (foreground) and Russ Vernon sample some of Indiana’s finest municipal drinking water.-

 

Stirring within the Columbus Holiday Inn Conference Center were some 300 unsung heroes — the people responsible for making sure what comes out of rural Indiana’s faucets is potable. They were there for the Indiana Rural Water Association (IRWA) Spring Conference and, also, for its annual drinking water contest.

Cradled in wooden stands, double gallon glass jars full of water sat on a table against the wall and beneath their chrome valves were stacks of plastic Dixie cups and wooden ballot boxes. At their leisure, conference attendees sallied up and tried a shot or two of each and then deposited their vote in the corresponding box.

Orbiting the contest were a variety of vendors, engineers and water operators all interested in water systems. The contest was somewhat ancillary to the business at hand, but it represents the basis for what these people are all about: clean water. “It’s something that everyone takes for granted,” said Odetta Cadwell, program manager for the Indiana Rural Water Association. “You turn on the faucet, and it’s there, and, as long as it doesn’t smell bad, taste bad or look bad, you drink it.”

The majority of Indiana water comes from aquifers. Water utilities are responsible for extracting the water, treating it for contaminants, like bacteria and lead, and then delivering it to homes (usually via pipes). Wastewater treatment facilities detoxify “used” water and return it to lakes and streams. Water providers have had to upgrade systems because of higher water quality standards required by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and also because equipment ages.

Many rural providers, Cadwell said, used to be proud of the fact that they had not increased rates in 10 years. “That’s not a good thing,” she said. The cost of providing low rates to customers comes in a lack of funding to make improvements. Many providers have had to turn to state revolving loan programs and grant agencies for assistance. Cadwell said the idea of paying more for better water is slowly evolving.

A 1999 report to Congress stated that groundwater in Indiana is in good condition. IDEM and a variety of other state government organizations are responsible for protecting and classifying water sources. Farm run-off and industrial waste seeping into wells and waterways are some of their major concerns.

There are more than 4,000 systems to draw water from in Indiana, but there were only 10 participants in the contest. Northern, Central and Southern Indiana were represented by at least one sample per region. Cadwell said that they really only have the time and space to judge 12 samples at most.

First place this year went to Hebron, a town of 3,500 residents in the northwestern part of the state. Hebron’s new $3 million water facility went online last year. Water Operator Larry Melvin said that it was an honor to have his peers choose Hebron’s water as the best. “It makes the town of Hebron proud,” he said, “because we just went through a water rate increase, and, at least, it lets the town residents know that the employees of the town are trying to give them the best drinking water possible.”

Like connoisseurs of fine wine, participants noted the color of the water and wafted the cups under their noses before swallowing. Last year’s champion, Dean Zook, hails from Cambridge City, about 50 miles east of Indianapolis on U.S. 40. “The best tasting water has no taste,” Zook said, “because it doesn’t have anything giving it a bad flavor.”

The samples ranged from flat and chlorinated to barely palatable to strongly organic. Missing from all was the characteristic metallic tang of rural Indiana well water — an absence hardly noticed.

“You basically look for something that wets the palate,” said Steve Gott of S&K Equipment Co. Distinct flavors, odors and color are undesirable. It’s only supposed to be hydrogen and oxygen, he said.

Jeff Morris of M.E. Simpson and Co. crafted the ballot boxes and the stands that hold the Ball jars full of water. The contest, he said, is a way for the water providers to compete with each other. “It’s a little bit of pride,” he said, “and some bragging rights between the utilities.”