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Clearbrook water once again named best in the world

Gold medal awarded for fourth time for best municipal water
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Clearbrook's water has once again won a gold medal in an international competition.

Clearbrook’s water supply has once again been given top marks from judges at an international competition.

The supply was named Best in the World for municipal water during the 26th annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting event over the weekend.

Placing second and third in the same category were Marysville, Victoria, Australia and Independence, Missouri.

The Clearbrook Waterworks District previously won gold in 2008, 2009 and 2014, and took third spot last year.

Ten judges spent hours tasting and selecting from waters sources in 18 states, seven Canadian provinces and five foreign countries.

The waters were rated for attributes that included appearance (it should be clear), aroma (there should be none), taste, “mouth feel” and after-taste.

The Clearbrook tap water is pumped direct from a 100-square-kilometre underground aquifer to more than 15,000 people. No chlorine, fluoride or other chemicals are used.

The system goes back to a 1953 agreement when members of what was then Clearbrook Village decided to build a piping network to supply potable water directly to houses.

Today, residents in Clearbrook still use this system, improved many times since the original setup. The rest of Abbotsford gets chemically treated water mainly from Norrish Creek in Mission.