Morgan going for state’s best water three-peat

Water produced from SA Water's Morgan Water Treatment Plant will soon be competing against water samples from across South Australia, with the hope of taking out 'best tasting water in the state' for a third year running.

The annual competition run by the Water Industry Operators Association of Australia (WIOA) is being held in Murray Bridge on Wednesday.

Members of the public are invited to come along and taste the water, but the samples will also be judged by a panel of water industry experts from across the country.

SA Water’s Morgan Water Treatment Coordinator James Gorman said Morgan continually rates as crowd favourite in the utility's own blind water taste tests, so hopes this will again translate into a win at state level.

"There's a bit of pressure for us going into this week's event, and even a bit of healthy rivalry with operators from the other SA Water locations entering samples," James said.

"However - and I may be a little bit biased - I genuinely believe that here at Morgan, we produce some of the best tasting tap water in Australia.

"Our small hard-working team is responsible for the treatment and delivery of this quality water from source to tap, and great events like this exist to recognise their efforts."

The Morgan Water Treatment Plant treats raw water from the River Murray which is then supplied through the 358 kilometre Morgan to Whyalla Pipeline.

On average, 80 million litres of water goes through the plant every day and is delivered to properties from the state’s Mid North and parts of the Riverland all the way to central Eyre Peninsula.

WIOA Chief Operations Officer Craig Mathisen said it's encouraging programs like ABC’s ‘War on Waste’ are challenging outdated or misinformed views on tap water, and shining a light on the benefits of drinking it over bottled products.

"I want to continue this community education at events like ours, to provide people information on where their water comes from and how it’s treated," Craig said.

"While water from the tap may taste differently depending on where you live, you can be always be assured there’s a water operations team working around the clock to make sure it’s safe and clean."

This week's competition will include samples from SA Water's Woolpunda and Morgan water treatment facilities, as well as sites in Happy Valley and Anstey Hill which are operated by SA Water’s metropolitan alliance partner Allwater.

The winning water will compete for the Australian title at a WIOA-hosted event in Queensland in October, as part of National Water Week.

The winner of the national competition will then go on to represent Australia in the international competition held in the United States in early 2019.

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