FRYEBURG – In a blind taste test, three judges chose the Fryeburg Water Company as having the best-tasting water in Maine in its division.

Fryeburg, competing in the “disinfected division,” was one of two finalists, but fell behind the Solon Water District, which won the “non-disinfected division” as well as the taste test runoff against Fryeburg. Solon will go on to compete in the tenth annual Great American Water Taste Test in Washington, D.C., in April.

This was the first year Fryeburg entered the Maine competition, though the company will likely participate again next year.

“We know that Maine has drinking water and the town of Fryeburg has great drinking water, so we wanted to see how we fared,” said Jean Andrews, office manager at the company. “We’re thrilled.”

The Fryeburg and Solon utilities were chosen from 24 participants at the Maine Rural Water Association’s 22nd annual Drinking Water Taste Test held Wednesday at the Hilton Garden Inn in Freeport. Event judges were Roger Crouse, director of the Maine Drinking Water Program; Ron Lambert, community programs director with the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development; and Gerald Scholfield, chief of the Freeport Police Department.

Steve Levy, executive director of the Maine Rural Water Association, said Maine was the first state to have such a contest, and that it fosters friendly competition among the water utilities.

“The utilities are very proud of what they’ve accomplished, and it’s a way for them to get good publicity,” Levy said.

Levy said judges do blind taste tests to rate the taste, aroma, and clarity of water samples. He said the contest is divided into two categories: Utilities that use chlorine to disinfect water, and utilities whose groundwater is exempt from disinfecting requirements.

Levy said the contest typically has between 20 and 35 participants.

“For the volume of water the judges have to drink, that’s probably plenty,” he said.

Winners in each category receive a plaque, a $100 check, and “bragging rights for the best-tasting water in Maine,” Levy said.

The winners are then matched against each other to determine the overall winner, which goes to the national competition.

The Fryeburg Water Company was established in 1883 and serves about 780 customers with two wells. The Solon Water District serves about 250 customers with one well. This year marked the first victories in the competition for both utilities.

The Maine Rural Water Association, incorporated in 1979, is a nonprofit organization that helps utilities provide safe drinking water at affordable costs.