Shepparton’s tap water will challenge water from across the state for the honour of the best-tasting drop as part of the annual IXOM Best Tasting Tap Water Competition.
If successful in the state title, as part of the Water Industry Operators Association conference in Bendigo on Tuesday, February 27 and Wednesday, February 28, the GV's best tap water will then take on interstate rivals at the Australian titles in Tasmania in November.
The Victorian Desal Plant is the reigning Victorian champion, and TasWater’s Fern Tree water treatment plant is the 2023 national title holder.
Organisers say the competition is designed to celebrate the unsung heroes of the water industry who ensure we have safe drinking water each time we turn on a tap.
Goulburn Valley Water said Shepparton was chosen as its nominee following a range of improvement works that had been carried out at the Welsford St treatment plant over the past couple of years.
The nomination is also designed to recognise the efforts of water treatment specialists to continually supply safe and reliable water during two flood events, in October 2022 and January 2024.
Shepparton sources its water from the Goulburn River, which then follows a conventional treatment process where it is filtered, settled and disinfected to remove colour, organics, microorganisms and harmful bacteria.
The Shepparton Water Treatment Plant also features a large, dissolved air floatation and filtration plant, designed to help produce better water quality and process high volumes.
In the past year, the plant’s filtration media has been replaced, while the large clear water storage tanks and water main infrastructure have undergone extensive specialist cleaning to improve water quality.
Goulburn Valley Water Acting Managing Director Emma Youill said continued investment in improving Shepparton’s treatment infrastructure, alongside the passion of a dedicated team, were key to producing Shepparton’s "top-quality" drinking water.
“Our operators and specialists work around the clock to manage our treatment plants to ensure they’re producing high quality, reliable and safe water,” she said.
“They go above and beyond and worked through extreme conditions in the past two flooding events, both of which impacted the treatment plant in very different, unpredictable ways.
“They rose to the challenge, which meant we could continue supplying water through a one-in-100-year flood event where river heights isolated the plant for days and flood water almost reached the plant’s infrastructure."
The Shepparton Water Treatment Plant supplies Shepparton, Kialla, Congupna, Ardmona, Orrvale, Mooroopna, Tallygaroopna and Toolamba.
It has the capacity to treat up to 110 megalitres of water per day, a volume equivalent of 44 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
GV Water has a history of success in the competition, having taken the honours twice in the past decade, winning gold nationally and silver internationally for its Marysville water in 2015, while a Merrijig sample also won the Victorian award in 2017.
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