BHP’s Olympic Dam desal plant has taken out the title for producing the Ixom Best Tasting Tap Water in South Australia title for 2023.

BHP went up against Trility’s Loxton Water Treatment Plant and Trility’s Summit Water Storage in the grand final at the Murray Bridge Racing Club this week.

The event was hosted by the Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA) in partnership with Ixom, an Australian-New Zealand manufacturer of chemicals for water treatment.

WIOA Managing Director George Wall said “it was a closely fought out grand final with all three samples being of really high quality”.

“In the end, the fresh taste of the treated water from the Olympic Dam was what got it across the line.”

When choosing the best tap water, judges analyse the water’s colour, clarity, odour and taste to determine the winner in a blind test.

Ground coffee is sniffed between tastings to cleanse the palate for accurate results and judges rate each water sample in accordance with the official Water Tasting Wheel.

Water Tasting Wheel. Photo: WIOA.

Wall said the annual competition aims to raise awareness of Australia’s drinking water quality and recognise the efforts of local water service providers.

“The competition recognises and acknowledges the individuals and organisations that are stepping up, some in very trying circumstances, to make sure their communities are supplied with safe drinking water every day,” Wall said.

“We want to use the competition to let people know the great work that is going on in local communities around Australia, and help to shape and secure Australia’s water future.”

The competition is held in each state and winners of the state competitions are invited to participate in a national competition to find Australia’s best tap water.

This year, the national competition will be held in November with Victoria hosting the event as last year’s winner.

“Victoria currently has bragging rights as the winning sample came from Melbourne Water and its Cresswell Water Treatment Plant in Healesville,” Wall said.

The winner of the national competition will go on to represent Australia at the annual Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting Competition in West Virginia, USA.

“Australia has been represented in the International competition for the past eight years with our water regularly making the top five in the municipal category,” Wall said.

“We have had two silver medals and the gold in 2021 for the water from Rossarden in Tasmania. This shows that Australia not only has some of the safest water supplies, but also some of the best tasting water in the world.”