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Raglan’s water tops taste test.
That’s the opinion of a judging panel at the Water Industry Operations Group (WIOG) national conference, who last week named Waikato District Council (WDC) as the winner of the annual WIOG New Zealand Water Taste Test.
WDC fought off competition from 15 other councils and made the final, along with Palmerston North City Council and Waimate District Council.
The independent judging panel decided WDC’s sample, taken from Raglan, had the best-tasting water while factoring in how it looks and smells.
from the hills above Raglan. Image John Lawson
WIOG describes its Water Taste Test, sponsored by IXOM, as a fun and exciting way to raise awareness of the quality of New Zealand’s drinking water and to recognise the efforts of local water service providers in delivering valuable water services to their communities.
The competition is designed to find “New Zealand’s Best Tasting Tap Water” and is open to all municipalities, both councils and utility operators.
“This award is a great reflection of the hard work put in by our water reticulation and treatment teams to supply our communities with quality drinking water,” said WDC General Manager Service Delivery Ian Cathcart.
“We acknowledge we’re dealing with issues in some parts of our network, such as in Huntly where we are working hard to solve problems with discoloured water.
“But the bottom line is that all of our district’s water supply is compliant with national drinking water standards.”
WDC Acting Waters Manager Karl Pavlovich said compliance was an expectation for his team.
“Our aim, though, is to provide our communities with the best drinking water possible,” he said.
“We are celebrating this win but we know we have much work to do to meet that aim.”
Executive Officer of WIOG Craig Hiddleston congratulated the waters operational staff at Waikato District Council.
“The competition is run annually and recognises the efforts of the operators within the local water service providers in delivering valuable safe drinking water to their communities,” he said.
“It started in 2016 and is recognised within the water sector as a prestigious award for all municipalities, both councils and utility operators.”
WDC’s Raglan Ward Councillor Lisa Thomson is delighted with the victory, but was far from surprised.
“Raglan water is like a fine wine…..and it definitely needs to be celebrated.”