Taste of Minot’s water draws different reactions from residents

MINOT, N.D (KMOT) – The taste of water in every city is distinct. Last year, Fargo earned the title of North Dakota’s best-tasting drinking water, according to the American Waterworks Association. As for the taste in Minot, people like Peter don’t know how to describe it.

”I’ve lived in so many different places that each water has just a different taste,” said Peter Theodos.

Some like Armani Cornish, who’s from the south, don’t like it.

”How I would describe the taste is unbearable,” said Armani Cornish.

Mark Paddock, superintendent of Minot’s Water Treatment Plant, said he gets a lot of comments about the taste.

”Many people say it’s unfit for human consumption or it tastes bitter or some people will say it tastes like there’s a lot of chemicals in it,” said Paddock.

Paddock as well as Chauncey Klein, a longtime Minot resident, said the water tastes good.

”I don’t have a problem. I make my shakes with it,” said Klein.

Paddock says factors that affect the water’s taste are the source and the treatment methods.

“The EPA is examining the Safe Water Drinking Act guidelines and looking for new contaminants that may harm the public,” said Paddock.

The water which supplies Minot and nearby rural communities comes from the Sundre and Minot aquifers.

After the water gets softened, it gets purified, put into storage and then flows into people’s homes.

Quality control tests treatment processes every four hours. Water samples are tested for bacterial contamination and sent to First District Health Unit at least 50 times a month.

Paddock says consumers are entitled to their opinion, but he says it’s definitely safe to drink.

According to data from the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit chemical safety group, Minot has fewer contaminants in its tap water than Bismarck or Fargo.

Paddock says the water quality in Minot hasn’t changed for 30 years.

Click here to view the water study from the Environmental Working Group.

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