Men's Health magazine recently reported Baton Rouge has the second cleanest water in the country.
Because Baton Rouge draws its water supply from deep underground artisan wells, not surface sources, the city's water is far cleaner than other cities, said Hays Owen, senior vice president and chief administration officer of Baton Rouge Water Company.
Water pumped and treated from sources such as rivers, lakes and reservoirs is known as surface water, and water pumped from wells drilled into underground aquifers is called ground water, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's Web site.
The study, conducted by Men's Health, tested levels of arsenic, lead, halo-acetic acids and total trihalomethanes, a substance linked to cancer, total coliform bacteria and the number of EPA water-system violations from 1995 to 2005.
An EPA violation includes reaching a maximum contamination level.
Water in Baton Rouge does not need to go through a filtration process. It is naturally pure, but water companies still treat the water with chlorine, Owen said.
According to Men's Health, cities with "dirty" water need more than a refrigerator filter system, which tends to only remove offending flavors; the rest of the tastes are covered up by the coldness of the water.
There are 86 wells located in Baton Rouge that supply the city's soft water.
One can tell whether water is soft because it "feels like you can't get soap off of you," Owen said. In reality, the feeling is just the softness of the water.
Despite the city's clean water supply, some students still prefer to get hydrated from other sources.
Mass communication freshman Dwana Wilkerson said she prefers not to drink tap water and never has.
"It tastes funny and looks funny," she said.
Chris Brown, mechanical engineering sophomore, said he does not mind drinking tap water.
"There is not much of a difference [in taste of tap water and bottled water]," he said.
Owen said this news will affect his company in an "absolute positive way" by getting the word out to its customers.
"We finally have something that Baton Rouge and its citizens can be proud of," Owen said, "We have the best water in the country."
----- Contact Claire Ohlsen at cohlsen@lsureveille.com
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