Five water utilities from around Australia will be judged on the taste of their tap water this week for a competition heralding the hard work of our water provision industry.
Now in its third year, the 2017 WIOA-IXOM Best Tasting Tap Water Competition is held during National Water Week. WIOA Chief Operations Manager Craig Mathisen said the competition’s main aim is to highlight the excellent work being done for communities around Australia.
“For us it is about promoting the industry. We don’t have a lot of vehicles for good news stories. The impetus behind the whole competition is to have a celebratory story for the industry to promote itself with,” Mathisen said.
“A lot of the time, the only press we receive is about water security or pricing, or problems with provision. There is enough bad news in the world today. It’s good to hear about successes, and I think our competition fits the bill for that.”
Mathisen said the competition helps to educate the public on how reliable and consistent water provision is, and how much work goes into ensuring safe drinking water.
“We see the operators of the facilities as people who work in public health, who daily put quality food on the table of our communities around the country,” he said.
“Generally, if you ask people on the street where their water comes from, they’ll just say it’s from the tap.
“But there’s a lot that happens to that water before it gets there, and this is our way to honour the hard work of those people who ensure the best water coming from the tap every day.”
This year’s national finalists are:
ACT/NSW: Icon Water
QLD: Toowoomba Regional Council
SA: SA Water
TAS: TasWater
VIC: Goulburn Valley Water
The finals will be held on Wednesday 18 October in Launceston’s Brisbane Street Mall.
To find out more about National Water Week and view all events happening in your state, click here.
by Water Source
