Panel: Universal City serving up the state's best-tasting water

Boucher's “girlfriend” runs out on the field, bends down to Boucher and offers him a sip of water, special water that “Waterboy” Boucher keeps in a velvet pouch. As the girl delivers the water to the near-unconscious Boucher, his eyes light up, he sits up, then springs to his feet and exclaims,“Now that's what I call high quality H2O.”

Boucher's water could have come from the Metrocom's own Universal City, which recently was acknowledged for having the best-tasting water in the state of Texas.

A panel of judges at the Texas Water Utilities Association's 16th annual Statewide Best-Tasting Water Contest deemed Universal City's entrants to be “high quality H2O” — in fact, the best in the state.

“They use criteria — taste, smell, odor, clarity — those are some of the checks that they do,” said Blake Partridge, Universal City's water superintendent who accepted the award on the city's behalf Feb. 22, at the TWUA's annual conference in Corpus Christi.

The city was eligible to enter its water in the statewide competition as a result of winning the best-tasting water in the groundwater category in regional competition held in July 2009. There are 10 regions in the state and each winner advanced to the state “taste-off.”

Partridge, a city employee for 20 years, the last six as its water superintendent, said a number of factors combine to make Universal City's water tops in the state.

“We try to keep up-to-date and make sure our tanks are serviced annually, that they are cleaned and serviced, the tanks that hold the water before it goes out to the public,” he said. “We make sure our pumps are kept in top working order.”

The TWUA, in declaring Universal City tops in the groundwater category, praised the city's work and dedication in producing excellent water for the city's customers, according to a statement from city officials.

“With our chlorine and fluoride, we make sure it's disinfected properly … and make sure it's maintained at that level all the way out through the system,” he said. “We're out there checking it 365 days a year, along all of our lines, making sure it's good throughout the system, from our tanks to your faucet.”