Best Drinking Water is in the Bega Valley

A highlight of this year's WIOA Annual NSW Water Operations Conference held in Orange was the competition to find the Best Tasting Tap Water in NSW. Fifteen NSW local water utilities entered the competition and four finalists were chosen: Bega Valley Shire Council, Orange City Council, Nambucca Shire Council and Wingecarribee Shire Council. 

The finalists were chosen using a “Masterchef” style tasting on Tuesday evening by delegates at the welcome reception. The grand final was conducted over Thursday’s lunch and judged by a panel comprising technical water experts and industry connoisseurs. The judges votes were locked away until the Awards dinner on Thursday evening.

The winner of the Taste Test Award was Bega Valley Shire Council and they now have bragging rights as having the best tasting tap water in NSW. The WIOA Chief Operations Manager Craig Mathisen said the NSW Water Taste Test Award was about raising awareness of the quality of the state’s drinking water.

“We saw the award as a fun and exciting way to raise awareness of the quality of our state’s drinking water and recognise the efforts of local water service providers and their operators in delivering safe, valuable water services to their communities. This year the water supplied from Kalaru came out on top. It’s a great achievement for the Bega Valley Shire Council,” Mr Mathisen said.

Congratulations to Bega Valley Shire Council for winning this award. Bega will now compete against the Queensland finalist in a State of Origin Taste Test in June.