The Town of Niskayuna emerged victorious on Friday in an annual statewide competition to have the best tasting public drinking water in the state.

About 200 people at the State Fair in Syracuse sampled and voted on public drinking water from all corners of the state, and Niskayuna narrowly beat out the second place finisher, New York City.

Manoj Ajmera, a retired former state Department of Health official, has been running the contest for 30 years to highlight the importance of good drinking water in the public mind, and the people who work behind the scenes who operate water treatment plants and are dedicated to providing "Quality on Tap".

"This is really something that people look forward to every year at the State Fair in August," said Ajmera.  Ajmera said localities in the Capital Region have often emerged victorious in the past, including Albany, Schenectady and Rotterdam.

There are actually multiple rounds to the contest, starting at the county level, district and then winners advance to the state competition.

According to the town's annual water quality report, two aquifers are its supply, with 46.6 percent drawn from wells near the Mohawk River in Niskayuna and 53.4 percent from the City of Schenectady wells in the town of Rotterdam near the river.  Congratulations to Niskayuna.