The winner of the Victorian heat of the 2018 IXOM Best Tasting Tap Water competition, run by the Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA), was announced in September in Bendigo.
Wannon Waters’ sample from its Hamilton Water Treatment Plant received the title of best tasting tap water, and will now go on to represent Victoria against the other states at the national competition in late September 2018.
The water supplied to the Hamilton Water Treatment Plant is sourced from streams in the southern Grampians catchment. Once treated, it is distributed to properties in Hamilton, Tarrington and Dunkeld.
Wannon Water Managing Director, Andrew Jeffers, said the result was a credit to the local team who operated the Hamilton Water Treatment Plant.
“It honours their hard work to ensure safe, clean drinking water is delivered to customers’ taps,” Mr Jeffers said.
“Ten years ago during the Millennium drought, the treatment plant was struggling to produce great tasting and reliable water. Since that time, we’ve invested in upgrades, used more selective water harvesting methods and modified some of our operations to produce the state’s best water.
“The award is a real celebration of the complex work our dedicated operators perform every day.”
The IXOM Best Tasting Tap Water competition takes place throughout the year with water authorities from various regional and metropolitan areas participating in state heats where water samples are judged on qualities like colour, clarity, odour and mouthfeel during blind taste tests.
The top drop from each state are announced throughout the year, before the state winners battle it out for the top prize during National Water Week in Toowoomba, Queensland where 2017’s national champion comes from.
The winner of the IXOM 2018 Best Tasting Tap Water competition will have bragging rights for the next 12 months and will go on to represent Australia at the annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Competition held in West Virginia, US.
While the competition itself is all in the spirit of good fun, there is a meaningful undertone to it, recognising the hard work of those who ensure safe, clean drinking water is available to us, every day.
