And Australia’s best-tasting tap water comes from…

Have you ever found yourself visiting another part of Australia to find the tap water simply seems purer? Or, inversely, that it tastes like dirt?

It’s so easy to get used to the “local flavour”. Only when we travel do we tend to realise that there’s no such thing as “normal tap water”; every community is used to something that little bit different to the rest.

Water, in its purest form, essentially has no taste. The flavour we do detect can come from natural minerals, added fluoride, and the extra ingredients that may have dissolved in it along the journey – along with the way it’s collected, stored, filtered and distributed.

For those who provide the tap water, this is an understandably serious matter. In fact, the entire water industry holds annual state and national competitions to determine which tap water tastes the best.

This year, residents of Goldburn Valley have been deemed Australia’s luckiest in the water department.

Other finalists included:

NSW: Orange City Council
QLD: Richmond Shire Council
South Australia: AllWater
Tasmania: TasWater

The grading criteria is practically on par with the average wine testing, with judges considering aroma, clarity and taste.

“Generally, if you ask people on the street where their water comes from, they’ll just say it’s from the tap,” said WIOA Chief Operations Officer Craig Mathisen

“But there’s a lot that happens to that water before it gets there, and this is our way to honor the hard work of those people who ensure the best water coming from the tap every day”.

Have you tried Goldburn Valley tap water? Do you agree with the results? What do you think is the best-tasting tap water in Australia? And how about the worst?