IronTiger Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Recently I was looking at the local H-E-B's water selection. The source for "Drinking Water" was purified Houston water and San Antonio water was "Purified Water".The taste of water varies. I used to not notice College Station water, but after a vacation of drinking superior water, College Station tasted gross. It was like someone added a teaspoon of water. Sugar Land water (I think it's different from Houston water) does not taste good either. Houston water tastes OK, I guess, but the worst two waters below C.S. include Waco water (which tastes plain bad) and east of Huntsville (very sulfurous). What do you think about Texas' various water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Houston water is fine. Not exceptional, but not bad. When I moved to Chicago I noticed that the Chicago water isn't as good as the Houston water. It's over treated enough that I got a Brita filter so I could drink it regularly. When I was in Houston I drank the tap water all the time and didn't think a thing of it. My wife, on the other hand, had to carry around the "right" brand of bottled water at work, or she would be ridiculed by her co-workers.The best water I've tasted in the world is in Rome. Amazing. It naturally has a low level of certain minerals in it so that it's like drinking water with a trace of Alka Seltzer. The taste is noticeably smoother than regular water. More important, since you're ingesting a little bit of Alka Seltzer all the time, you can eat more and still feel good. No wonder the Romans were known for bingeing on food. The water is so pure in Rome that there are tiny ancient fountains on just about every other street and people just slurp from them, or fill up their water bottles as they walk. Some of these fountains are from BC days, but are still in continuous use by the locals.Back on topic -- Houston water is fine. I'd call it normal, or baseline. My only complaint is that there is no "cold" water from the tap in Houston, but that's just geography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Recently I was looking at the local H-E-B's water selection. The source for "Drinking Water" was purified Houston water and San Antonio water was "Purified Water".The taste of water varies. I used to not notice College Station water, but after a vacation of drinking superior water, College Station tasted gross. It was like someone added a teaspoon of water. Sugar Land water (I think it's different from Houston water) does not taste good either. Houston water tastes OK, I guess, but the worst two waters below C.S. include Waco water (which tastes plain bad) and east of Huntsville (very sulfurous). What do you think about Texas' various water?I've never liked the taste of tap water anywhere I've had it in Texas (Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Waco, Odessa, Abilene and probably other places I've forgotten). Everywhere else I've lived outside of Texas I've been able to drink out of the tap, except northern Wisconsin where there was a high iron content (it was well water, though). I used a brita pitcher for years until i broke down and bought a new fridge with a built in filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 This brings up a question I've pondered for a while. All over west and southwest Houston I see places like this... There are also numerous other companies that dispense water into 5 gallon containers. I see people all the time backing their cars and trucks up to these places and filling many bottles. I've never actually used this type of water except at the proverbial water coolers at various places I've worked. Anybody out there know why this would be preferential to just filtering your water from the tap at home? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 One of my cousins (the one I quoted in "After Dark" is his sister) claims Waco water is OK, and claims the reason I have a bad memory of Waco water is because of my grandfather's old house and its alleged lead pipes. It might've made the water worse, but not by much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august948 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 One of my cousins (the one I quoted in "After Dark" is his sister) claims Waco water is OK, and claims the reason I have a bad memory of Waco water is because of my grandfather's old house and its alleged lead pipes. It might've made the water worse, but not by much.I lived in an apartment in Waco that was relatively new...maybe 10 or 15 years old in the 80's so I doubt that pipes were the issue. The water was nastier than most I've had. Heavily chlorinated. Smelled like a swimming pool when you turned the tap on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Houston water is bad. The only worse tasting water I've had from the tap is New Orleans. One time in Hattiesburg, MS, we filled the hotel room bath with water and it was yellow, not just a little bit either. Baton Rouge is known for having awesome water, and that's what I grew up on out of the tap, perhaps why I can't drink Houston water unless it's filtered through the fridge. If you want to know mineral contents that contribute to the taste you should be able to get that. I know we requested a profile for Baton Rouge water because we wanted to know mineral content for brewing purposes, and like we expected everything was way too low to have an effect. For brewing we actually added some in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 I remember when we cleared out our hot water heater, there were huge brown crystals that emptied out of the bottom. That's what was in the water! Gross! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 This article here claims L.A. has the best-tasting water in the nation. I find it hard to believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Link to a page with Houston's water quality report.http://documents.pub...008/details.htm82% from surface water (San Jacinto River, Lake Houston, etc.), only 18% from groundwater wells.Residual disinfectant level of chlorine - 1.22 ppm, chloramines - 2.08 ppm (our water needs lots of cleaning)New Orleans water report:http://www.swbno.org/documents/Reports/2008_qualitywater.pdfWater source: Mississippi River. Yuck. More chlorine, 3.0 ppm, tastes worseLink to a page with the Baton Rouge quality report.http://www.batonroug...indexfrhome.htmBy contrast 100% of the water in BR comes from groundwater wells and has no surface water influences. The report doesn't show the residual chlorine, but by taste I can tell you it is much lower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dachmation Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Recently I was looking at the local H-E-B's water selection. The source for "Drinking Water" was purified Houston water and San Antonio water was "Purified Water".The taste of water varies. I used to not notice College Station water, but after a vacation of drinking superior water, College Station tasted gross. It was like someone added a teaspoon of water. Sugar Land water (I think it's different from Houston water) does not taste good either. Houston water tastes OK, I guess, but the worst two waters below C.S. include Waco water (which tastes plain bad) and east of Huntsville (very sulfurous). What do you think about Texas' various water?After living in Midland, Texas for almost 2 decades-- I know what bad water tastes like--IT'S MIDLAND WATER! When my children were very young we were warned about letting them drink too much of it-- I didn't have to worry tho as my children for many years refused to drink ANY tap water for the fear it would taste like Midland water! Plus EVERYONE has some sort of bottle water horde for when company comes and you want to make sweet tea. And if you're really being hospitable-- you don't use the automatic ice cubes from the frig either-- you have separate ice cubes made from bottled water-- the fridge ice is only used in coolers to keep the beer cold.And about that rating of taste where LA comes out on top. . . . . I bet NYC is also at the top of the list-- For years I just couldn't fathom it-- until my eldest moved to Manhattan and I actually tasted it-- It was better than anything in Houston-- I found out the NYC water is from deep artisan wells-- who knew? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 After living in Midland, Texas for almost 2 decades-- I know what bad water tastes like--IT'S MIDLAND WATER! When my children were very young we were warned about letting them drink too much of it-- I didn't have to worry tho as my children for many years refused to drink ANY tap water for the fear it would taste like Midland water! Plus EVERYONE has some sort of bottle water horde for when company comes and you want to make sweet tea. And if you're really being hospitable-- you don't use the automatic ice cubes from the frig either-- you have separate ice cubes made from bottled water-- the fridge ice is only used in coolers to keep the beer cold.And about that rating of taste where LA comes out on top. . . . . I bet NYC is also at the top of the list-- For years I just couldn't fathom it-- until my eldest moved to Manhattan and I actually tasted it-- It was better than anything in Houston-- I found out the NYC water is from deep artisan wells-- who knew?Actually, the chances that you tasted well water in New York City are pretty low. The groundwater system in NYC consists of 69 wells in Queens. When they were in operation, they serviced fewer than 100,000 people mostly in Queens and Brooklyn. The wells have not been in service since 2007. New York water comes from a system of reservoirs in upstate New York and in New Jersey. You can see a map and status of the ones in New York state here: http://nyc.gov/html/dep/html/drinking_water/maplevels_wide.shtml They look to be between 88% and 95% full right now.When I was a teen-ager I used to roam around the protected wilderness around some of the New York City reservoirs. My friends showed me a crashed fighter jet, and the stone shell of an old burned-out mansion that looked like a castle. Most of the reservoir land used to be massive private estates that were mostly undeveloped, and thus perfect for forming a watershed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheNiche Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 One of my cousins (the one I quoted in "After Dark" is his sister) claims Waco water is OK, and claims the reason I have a bad memory of Waco water is because of my grandfather's old house and its alleged lead pipes. It might've made the water worse, but not by much.I consider that a possibility. The drinking water at my 27-year-old condo tastes like raw Neches River water. It's horrible. I drank it anyway. I think it's the feed lines within the complex. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crunchtastic Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I consider that a possibility. The drinking water at my 27-year-old condo tastes like raw Neches River water. It's horrible. I drank it anyway. I think it's the feed lines within the complex.Reminds me of when I used to bartend and the owner would always claim it was a 'bad keg' when it really was the crappy lines.The best water I've ever tasted was in Aruba of all places. They have a state-of-art desalination plant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedScare Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 I consider that a possibility. The drinking water at my 27-year-old condo tastes like raw Neches River water. It's horrible. I drank it anyway. I think it's the feed lines within the complex.My water never tasted bad, but it wasn't great either. When I re-plumbed my house, all the crud-filled galvanized piping came out, replaced with shiny new copper. After a day or so of cleaning out the system, I've had great Houston water ever since. It tastes good enough that I've stopped replacing those $40 filters in my fridge. I simply put the plastic cap in place of the filter and drink it straight out of the tap. Then again, I don't have a warped palate. I like tap water. The taste of plastic in bottled water is what tastes bad to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IronTiger Posted August 22, 2009 Author Share Posted August 22, 2009 Good observation on the "taste of plastic", Red. Makes me wander if those Evian water drinkers think the plastic taste means its "good" water. The worse bottled water I've ever had was "Patriot's Choice". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Baton Rouge is known for having awesome water, and that's what I grew up on out of the tap, perhaps why I can't drink Houston water unless it's filtered through the fridge. If you want to know mineral contents that contribute to the taste you should be able to get that. I know we requested a profile for Baton Rouge water because we wanted to know mineral content for brewing purposes, and like we expected everything was way too low to have an effect. For brewing we actually added some in.I'm in Baton Rouge often and can confirm that the water is the best/softest I've encountered. Showers there are a different animal as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
20thStDad Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I'm in Baton Rouge often and can confirm that the water is the best/softest I've encountered. Showers there are a different animal as well.I hate showering there. Damn soap never comes off. If I could shower here and drink there, that would be a winner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I hate showering there. Damn soap never comes off. If I could shower here and drink there, that would be a winner.I don't think it's the soap that doesn't come off, it's just how soft the water is. I don't like it either, but from what I've been told by the in-laws it supposedly keeps your skin in better condition. Not sure about that though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 Good observation on the "taste of plastic", Red. Makes me wander if those Evian water drinkers think the plastic taste means its "good" water. bottled water is fine as long as the storage is appropriate. it if is frozen or gets too hot then you'll get that plastic taste. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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