The Duck River Utility Commission was honored to be selected as the 2023 winner of two best tasting water competitions. At the recent Kentucky-Tennessee Water Professionals Conference, the panel of judges chose the DRUC as the Best of the Best Water Tasting Water. This is the third time that the DRUC has been named the best tasting water in Kentucky and Tennessee by the American Water Works Association.

This conference is attended by nearly 1,000 water treatment professionals from Kentucky, Tennessee and other states. Attendees include managers, engineers, operators, installers, maintenance personnel, government agency personnel, and regulators. The DRUC competed for bragging rights as the best of the best tasting water in all of Kentucky and Tennessee where the winner will be moving on to compete against the best of the best from the rest of North America at the annual American Water Works Association Conference and Exposition in 2024.

Each water sample is judged by an esteemed panel of experts on clarity, scent and flavor. Judges are selected from a panel of professionals provided by the association and typically include scientists, engineers and professional chefs. The DRUC has previously been named a regional winner in other best tasting water competitions held by different organizations and utility associations.

The DRUC was also selected as the best tasting water at the 2023 Water For Life event held at Shelby Farms in Memphis this month. The public was invited to sample water from utilities across the state and the DRUC was selected as the best tasting by participants of all ages.

The Duck River Utility Commission is the regional water authority that provides ultra-pure and plentiful water to Manchester, Tullahoma and portions of the surrounding counties. The Commission serves a population of over 70,000 citizens of Coffee, Bedford, Franklin, Grundy, and Moore Counties by supplying water to the Manchester Water Department, Tullahoma Utilities Authority, and four other water systems. The DRUC, a government agency formed in 1976, operates a state-of-the-art water filtration plant and other water supply facilities supplying water from TVA’s Normandy Reservoir. The DRUC system is operated twenty-four hours a day by State certified personnel producing up to twelve million gallons of pure water each day.

The Commission is also very proud of the 99.6% average score achieved on inspections by the Tennessee Division of Water Resources over the last 30 plus years. The DRUC has earned a score of 99% or better on every State inspection over the last three decades which included receiving a perfect rating of 100% most of the time. The Commission employs a full-time staff to manage, operate and monitor both source and product water quality including environmental engineers, biologists/chemists and certified water treatment plant operators.

Thousands of tests are conducted each month on water samples at the treatment plant and throughout the distribution systems to ensure that the water remains safe and pure at all times. Over the past twenty-five years, the DRUC has invested in state-of-the-art technology and upgrades to the treatment facilities, improving both water quality and reliability. The DRUC also operates a USEPA/State certified laboratory at the water treatment plant, analyzing water samples for the systems it serves and other utilities as well as the general public.

The DRUC water purification process includes advanced treatment techniques such as hollow fiber membrane ultra-filtration and granular activated carbon contactors. With Normandy Reservoir already providing high quality source water to the facility, these advanced treatment systems produce ultra-pure water at a very economical cost. Despite investing over 22 million dollars in the water facilities, the DRUC’s wholesale water rate of $1.50 per thousand gallons remains the lowest in the State. This availability of low-cost, high-quality water offers numerous opportunities for business and industry in the area as well as providing local officials with an important recruiting tool for economic development.

Additional information is available from the DRUC by contacting Randal Braker, PE, General Manager at the telephone numbers listed above. Information can also be obtained by visiting the DRUC on the Internet at www.druc.org or email at manager@druc.org.