After taking the crown for Australia’s Best-Tasting Tap Water in December last year, Katherine’s tap water has now received an international accolade, winning the Trans-Tasman IXOM Best-Tasting Tap Water Competition.

The Water Industry Operations Association (WIOA) of Australia and the Water Industry Operations Group (WIOG) New Zealand run a best-tasting tap water competition each year in their home countries. The winners are then pitted against each other in the Trans-Tasman competition.

Katherine’s finest drop won the most recent Australian competition while New Zealand’s latest winning sample came from the Manawatu District Council’s Stanway-Halcombe water scheme on the North Island.

To find the Trans-Tasman winner, judges completed a blind taste-test challenge at the WIOG conference in Rotorua, New Zealand, yesterday. The challenge assessed factors such as taste, colour, clarity and odour. Katherine was crowned over New Zealand’s national champion.

Power and Water Executive General Manager Water Services, Stephen Vlahovic, said the result reflects extensive works carried out on Katherine’s water supply in close consultation with the community.

‘The community has worked with us over several years through major improvements to their water supply, and the result is Katherine’s tap water is now some of the Territory’s best,’ Mr Vlahovic said.

‘Before we entered the Australian competition, we polled our Water Services experts to find out where they thought the Territory’s best-tasting tap water came from. Katherine won hands down, so that’s the sample we sent in. To win the Australian award was fantastic, to win the Trans-Tasman Award is even better.

‘It’s not surprising when you consider Katherine’s water supply is mainly Katherine River water, which comes from the pristine Katherine Gorge/Nitmiluk National Park. The soft river water is blended with some hard bore water, which helps us strike the right balance.’

Referred to as the ‘Bledisloe Cup of tap-water tasting’, the competition highlights the work of individuals and organisations dedicated to providing the best possible tap water for the communities they serve.

Media contact: 0401 117 599 / media@powerwater.com.au