Which Texas city has the best drinking water in the state? Here’s who the judges picked

Out of 23 water providers in Texas, Dallas water was picked for having the best drinking water in the state. Dallas officials will head to Anaheim in June to compete for nationwide honors.

Drinking water is water that “has been treated for human consumption. Unlike wastewater that has been used for other purposes and treated to be recycled,” according to the Fort Worth Water Department.

The test was purely based on aesthetics: taste and smell.

“Seven judges from the Fort Worth community, including District 2 City Councilmember Carlos Flores, sipped unlabeled water samples from 23 water providers throughout Texas and scored the entries based on taste,” according to Texas water. No pH test, just their own senses.


⚡ More trending stories:

There’s no ‘better place’ to see April 8 total solar eclipse than in this tiny Texas town.

In Texas, set your thermostat at 80 when it's 100 degrees, expert says.

Groceries at this national chain are the cheapest, study finds.


The first runner-up was water from the City of Denton, Lake Ray Roberts Water Treatment Plant. In third place was water from the San Jacinto River, Authority GRP Division.

The winning water from Dallas comes from Lake Bachman. However Dallas gets its water from a number of sources:

  • Lake grapevine

  • Lake Lewisville

  • Three different creeks

  • Lake Tawakoni

  • Lake Fork

  • Lake Ray Hubbard

Fort Worth gets their water from many sources as well. While the source of its water is from Tarrant County, Fort Worth has a few of their own water treatment facilities. Tarrant County draws from six different lakes.

  • Lake Bridgeport

  • Eagle Mountain Lake

  • Lake Worth

  • Cedar Creek

  • Richland-Chambers

  • Benbrook Lake

Water is very important to Texas. Without it, farmers wouldn’t have the means to keep their livestock alive and water their plants. In 2022, Texas was in a drought that put certain regions at risk. Wells began drying up which meant counties needed to borrow water from one another. This Star Telegram’s interactive map shows you how much water is in the reservoir nearest you.