In 2017, at the American Water Works Association’s 13th annual “Best of the Best” Water Taste Test held in Philadelphia, a sample of Greeley’s tap water was not only named the best-tasting in all of North America, it also won the People’s Choice award. It was the first time a city claimed both titles in a single year. And it’s the first time Greeley entered the contest.
The community's high-quality water is featured in Greeley Unexpected in 2018.
In many parts of the country, tap water is not always high quality. Greeley is lucky that we get our water from from Rocky Mountain snowmelt and that we collect our water close to the source. Below are a few reasons why you should choose tap water over bottled water:
- Bottled water costs 1,000 to 10,000 times more than tap water. The recommended eight glasses of water a day, at U.S. tap rates equals about $.49 per year; that same amount of bottled water is about $1,400.
- For a local comparison, Greeley's tap water costs about $0.004 per gallon. Bottled water ranges from $0.89 to $8.26 per gallon.
- Tap water must meet more stringent and much more frequently-monitored health standards than those for bottled water. Greeley's latest Water Quality Report was published in June 2017. We've exceeded all of the standards set by the State of Colorado and the EPA.
- Tap water is delivered to you, 24/7. No waiting, just turn on your tap.
- When possible, Greeley uses gravity to move water. For instance, the 30-mile pipeline from the the Bellvue Water Treatment Plant is powered by gravity.
- About 80% of plastic water bottles are not recycled, adding to the landfill. Fill up a reusable bottle, whenever you need a drink. Each year, 17 million barrels of oil are used to make plastic water bottles. This is enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year.
- More than a quarter of the bottled water produced comes from municipal tap water.