New Zealand loses the 'Bledisloe Cup' of drinking water
A drinking water competition has compared the best of the best when it comes to the taste and smell of drinking water, and an Australian water source has clinched the prize.
An Australian town in Queensland beat New Zealand water from the South Island town of Timaru in an annual Trans-Tasman tap water competition.
Municipal water suppliers from across New Zealand and Australia were invited to submit samples of drinking water, with the entrants whittled down to a head-to-head taste test between a Kiwi and an Aussie representative.
Isaac Regional Council’s Glenden Scheme from Queensland ultimately beat out Timaru District Council’s Seadown water treatment plant for the title of best-tasting tap water.
New Zealand's entry into the water comp came from a shallow well next to the Ōpihi River.
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The competition, known as the ‘Bledisloe Cup of tap water tasting’, took place in Newcastle, NSW, on Wednesday night. The water samples are blind-tested and assessed by water industry professionals according to colour, clarity, odour, and taste.
The 2024 results saw a tie between Infracore Rotorua Lakes Council’s Karamu Takina Spring and Tasmania’s TasWater Fern Tree water treatment plant
The competition highlights “the complexities involved in operating and maintaining the water infrastructure,” says Joshua McIndoe, the chair of the Water Industry Operations Group of New Zealand.
Former competition judge from Australia, Glenn Alford, talked RNZ’s Morning Report through the difficulties of judging tap water, especially from two countries known for generally having quality water supplies.
“It can be quite challenging. We look for clarity of the water, so you want to make sure it is obviously nice and crystal clear. You don't want anything floating around in your glass of water.
“Sometimes the water will have a bit of smell to it, depending on where it has come from and what the treatment plant is, but the overriding criteria is taste. How did it taste when you drank it? Is it something that you would drink all day?
“We're quite chuffed that we have taken this title out,” added Alford.
New Zealand is the holder of the actual Bledisloe Cup with the All Blacks beating the Wallabies 33 to 12 in September last year.
