Severn Trent wins best tasting tap water title

Severn Trent Water was today crowned Britain's best tasting tap water by food and drink experts.

Water from 10 regions was marked by judges in a blind taste test at the Chelsea-based restaurant Tom's Kitchen. And the judges marked Severn Trent Water the best.

The panel, which included Michelin starred chef Tom Aikens, gave each sample a mark out of five for clarity, smell and most importantly taste.

Severn Trent Water, which covers Shropshire, Birmingham, Derbyshire, Gloucestershire, Nottingham, Leicester and parts of Mid Wales, was described as having a "clean taste" and being "very fresh" by Mr Aikens.

Richard Rotti, head of wines at Annabel's and a panellist, said the water was "beautifully pure, a mountain stream of freshness".

David Wickens, quality and environment manager for Severn Trent Water, said: "Severn Trent takes the production of high quality drinking water very seriously, so we're naturally delighted to have come top in this blind test.

"The results demonstrate that we're doing a good job in providing our customers with top-quality, great tasting water."

Anglian Water, which covers East Anglia and parts of the East Midlands, was placed second while Thames Water, which covers Oxfordshire, London, Wiltshire, north Kent, Thames Valley and Surrey came third.

The tasting competition was set up to celebrate the launch of a new initiative from the Green Thing, an environmental group.

The Drink Tap campaign will encourage people to stop drinking bottled water and switch to tap water during August.

Green Thing aims to highlight the beneficial impact that this change will have on the environment. With tap water there is no plastic to recycle and no carbon emissions from transportation of the product.