Bayville wins best water second year in a row

There are many reasons to visit or live in the seaside Village of Bayville. It remains dedicated to preserving timeless traditions and a close-knit community spirit. Here, neighborly values thrive, and residents take the time to enjoy the natural beauty that surrounds them, including pristine beaches.

But Bayville offers more than just scenic views. For the second consecutive year, Bayville Water Department has been awarded the title of “best drinking water” at the Long Island Water Conference’s annual drinking water tasting contest, highlighting its exceptional commitment to quality and excellence.

“Nothing changed on our end,” said Andrew Petti, Bayville Water Department’s supervisor. “The first year you could have attributed it to luck but the second year in a row; I think we really do have the best drinking water.”

The Long Island Water Conference hosted its 36th annual drinking water tasting contest at Farmingdale State College from May 7 to May 8 in honor of National Drinking Water Week. Fourteen water providers from across Long Island competed for the title of best drinking water in Nassau and Suffolk counties. The four water district finalists in Nassau County were Massapequa, South Farmingdale Franklin Square and Bayville, who took home the gold.

Each water department filled a large glass container with their water for submission to a lab. Proctors ran the booth on the day of the double-blind study stopping students and professors asking them to taste the water and then vote by dropping their ballot into a secure box. Roughly 240 people participated in voting for their favorite tasting water.

Petti said Bayville’s win was due to a commitment to maintaining the village’s water pump stations and equipment and also, the levels of chlorine that are used. The New York State Health Department requires all water districts to add chlorine to the water to prevent bacteria from entering the public water supply.

“You are not allowed to have any maximum contamination violations to participate in this contest and you can’t have any missed samples,” Petti said. “As a public water supplier we all have to test for 180 water contaminants.”

Bayville also has the advantage of location. On the Long Island Sound, it is unable to take water from the Magothy Aquifer, which most other water districts on the island use, because it isn’t deep enough, so the water would be salt water. Bayville takes its water from the Lloyd Aquifer, where the deepest source of water is found, which is advantageous because in doing so Bayville’s water doesn’t have contaminants found in other L.I. water, like dioxane, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

Petti joined the water company in 2017. Having always been involved in the Long Island Water Conference, he encouraged Bayville Water Department to compete in 2019 where they earned second place. In 2020 and 2021 the contest was paused due to the coronavirus pandemic. Then in 2022 the contest was cancelled because Farmingdale State College remained concerned about Covid and would not allow vendors onto the campus. When the contest resumed in 2023 Bayville won first place among 16 water departments.

Bayville residents has been admiring the trophy presented by LIWC for the past year. Victorious in the contest, Bayville Water will be holding onto the trophy for another year and their name will be engraved on it once again.

In August they will participate in the New York State Regional Metro Tap Water Taste Contest held in New York City to compete for entry into the statewide contest held at the Great New York State Fair.

Stephen Minicozzi, the mayor of Bayville, said he couldn’t be prouder. He attributes the victory to his staff.

“This streak is wonderful,” he said. “We have the best staff who always do a great job. We will be proud to display the trophy for another year. It’s a big as the Stanley Cup.”