No need to buy bottled water in Bayville

There are many reasons to visit or live in Bayville. There’s the allure of pristine beaches, restaurants serving locally sourced fish and a community filled with friendly, warm residents who are adamant about holding onto the traditions that make their seaside community special.

Now there’s another reason to experience all that Bayville has to offer. In June, Bayville Water Department took home the trophy for best tasting drinking water in Nassau and Suffolk counties at the Long Island Water Conference 35th Annual Drinking Water Taste Test Contest. Sixteen water districts from across the island competed for the honor held at Farmingdale State College where more than 200 participants voted for their favorite tasting water.

“Our water department is A plus,” said Steve Minicozzi, Bayville’s mayor. “(Our water department employees) are highly trained and love their jobs. It’s a well-run efficient organization. We always knew we had the best water, so it’s nice to finally be recognized.”

Andrew Petti, the department’s supervisor, said part of the reason Bayville’s water is superior is due to their commitment to maintaining their pump stations and equipment and the levels of chlorination they use. Every water district is required by the New York State Health Department to add chlorine to the water to prevent bacteria from entering the public water supply. In Bayville, the water department know just how much to add to guarantee a good-tasting, safe water supply.

“Everyone’s water supply has different mineral compositions based off of the ground it comes out of. But when districts use either too high or too low (chlorine) that’s when you get the poor taste and odor,” Petti explained. “That’s when people complain about the smell of chlorine in their water or say their water tastes like a swimming pool. There’s a fine line to making the levels perfect. We meet state guidelines and their minimum requirements.”

There’s also another reason why Bayville’s water is so tasty — the village’s location. Because it is on the Long Island Sound, it cannot take its water from the Magothy Aquifer, where most other water districts on the island use, because it isn’t deep enough so the water would be salt water. Bayville’s water is taken from the Lloyd Aquifer, where the deepest source of water is found.

And because of the Lloyd’s depth, Bayville’s water doesn’t have contaminants found in other L.I. water, like dioxane, or per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

“We are the only one of the water districts remaining without a water filtration system or mediation to our water because our water is taken from the Lloyd,” Petti said. “Our water has literally zero contaminants across the board on every sample we take.”

The contest was a double-blind study, with each water department filling a large glass container with their water for submission to a lab. On the day of the contest the proctors running the booth stopped students and professors asking them to taste the water and then vote by dropping their ballot into a secure box. “Winning is a little bit of skill and a lot of luck,” Petti said. “Because it’s a double blind test people don’t know which water districts is whose and the people who run the booth don’t know either. Only the lab knows.”

Bob De Natale, a Bayville trustee, said he’s proud of the men who work at the Bayville Water Department.

“I marvel at their knowledge, background and certification,” he said. “And I’m thrilled about the water.”

One of the perks of winning the drinking water taste test contest is the trophy. Bayville will be holding onto it for display until the results of the next contest in 2024, which Petti said he hopes they win again.