The San Francisco Chronicle’s headline reads: “San Francisco’s famous water was put to a taste test. The results are surprising.” The full article is available online and well worth reading.
At Restore Hetch Hetchy, we were not so surprised with the results.
We’ve long thought that the adulation over the supposed superior quality of San Francisco’s water is unwarranted. So, over the past few months, Restore Hetch Hetchy initiated and conducted a series of “taste tests” to see what people think.
Participants were asked to compare San Francisco’s “Hetch Hetchy” water with supplies delivered by the East Bay Municipal Utilities District and the Marin Municipal Water District, and to rank them according to their preference. Ties were allowed.
Let’s cut to the chase. Out of 114 first place votes, only 28 people (25%) chose San Francisco’s water.
All testing used a “double-blind” protocol – i.e. neither the person tasting the water nor the person administering the test knew which sources corresponded with the samples. Further, all taps were flushed before filling glass bottles, and all samples were kept at room temperature.
The tests took place in 3 stages:
- In June, samples were collected at the SFPUC and EBMUD headquarters and from a Mexican restaurant in Larkspur (grouchy staff at the Marin Municipal Water District declined to provide samples for the test!). Graduate students from the University of Colorado, who designed the test as part of a “Capstone” project, collected the opinions of passersby at the Rockridge BART station in Oakland. The Capstone Team’s reports – both their Findings as well as their Methodology and Recommendations – are posted.
- In July, samples were collected from private homes in San Mateo County (90% SFPUC water), Oakland (EBMUD) and Fairfax (Marin). The samples were offered to passersby at Safeway and in homes. The samples were also sent to a lab for analysis – see results for SFPUC, EBMUD and Marin.
- In October, samples were collected from the same private homes in San Mateo County, Oakland and Fairfax. The water was offered to people attending Restore Hetch Hetchy’s Annual dinner on October 26 – as soon as they arrived and before they consumed any other food or beverage.
A breakdown of the results is provided below reflecting the variability of responses. Also, as the Chronicle article notes, the exact mix of sources in any utility’s supply varies over time and location (for example, San Francisco has recently taken Hetch Hetchy Reservoir offline in winter months so they can do maintenance on the Mountain Tunnel – something customers rarely notice).
Some water experts have indicated they prefer San Francisco’s water for its “pure” taste. Others have said that San Francisco’s water has too little taste and that they prefer water with a modest mineral content (mostly calcium and magnesium). Too much mineral content, as is the case with much of southern California’s water, is generally disfavored. Figure 2, below, compares the mineral content of the samples used in the taste tests with values reported in water supplies for San Diego, Los Angeles and Sacramento.
When Hetch Hetchy Valley is restored, San Francisco will still rely principally on the Tuolumne River for the majority of its supply. Water will be stored in and diverted from Cherry, Eleanor and Don Pedro Reservoirs – with mineral content perhaps similar to East Bay MUD’s Pardee Reservoir. Maybe customers will like their water even better!
Restore Hetch Hetchy is pretty well convinced that the hype over “Hetch Hetchy” water is overstated. If the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is not convinced, we would welcome the opportunity to cosponsor an independent test.
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Finally, a reminder that the Capstone Team will be presenting their Water Taste Test and other findings via Zoom Monday November 4 at 6 PM (Pacific Time). Register here if you would like to join the discussion.
