Nigel Bowen: Timaru Mayor on city winning the award for the best tasting tap water

Timaru’s Seadown water supply has been crowned winner ofthe best tasting tap water in New Zealand.

It was up against Waimakariri District Council, Rotorua Lakes Council, Waipa and Taupo District Council.

They were awarded bragging rights from a panel of judges at the National Water Taste Test competition last night.

Timaru Mayor Nigel Bowen talks to Heather du Plessis-Allan about the win.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Either Duplessy Allen either, just wondering why neither you nor
Phil Goff posed the question as to whether the war
would end if Kamas release the hostages. I'll get back
to that in a tick. Jane, thank you for asking
the question. Listen eighteen past five round of applause for
Timaro because the South Canterbury town has the best tap
water in the country, as judged by a panel of
judges at the National Water Taste Test competition last night.

(00:22):
Nigel Bowen is Timaru's mayor. Hello, Nigel, good evening, How
are you well? Thank you? Am I right in thinking
you guys have won this three out of the last
six times.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Yeah, that's right. We've done pretty well across different order
supplies as well, which has been really good. So you know,
the team, are you.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Mixing it up? You're not even just going in with
the same water supply every time. You're trying it all out.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
We're mixing it out there. The team have got confidence
that they can put any of our water supplies in,
so they have mixed it up over the years. So
three different order supplies of have won.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
When you drink a glass of Timaru water as opposed
to other water around the country in the world as
you travel. Do you think that's a good one?

Speaker 2 (01:00):
You look, you know, I'm a Timorrow born lad, so
I think i'm you know, lucky in the fact that
we'll probably take good water for granted. And you know,
overall a lot of New Zealand water is not too bad,
but it is, it is pretty good, and it's sort
of recognition of both the source. Yeah, good, good question.
It's just perfect sort of nature's nectar.

Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah, Nigel. You can get water that's a little bit
on the kind of earthy side. Then you can get
the really like tangy metallic stuff, which is what I
go for that, do you know what I mean? What
have you guys got on? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (01:33):
No, I actually think it's free from most of those
you know, those tastes if you like. So, I think
that's what's great about it, sort of, you know, so
pure that you know that you can't get much better.
And the wonderful thing where this water supply is airports
sits on it as well, so you can fly into Timory,
get a glass of water from the airport and have

(01:56):
a hydration holiday if you like. Lots of lots of opportunity.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Hey, just in terms of like actually having the stuff tested,
did you get any intel as to where the water
changes in the way it tastes, because presumably you're going
to have to get it out of the source and
put it in a bottle and send it off to
wherever to be tested. Does that change its flavor?

Speaker 2 (02:17):
No, it doesn't. John Clemens who took the sample up
so he traveled up from Timaru to Nelson for the competition,
so you know, took it up. So no, not at all.
I assume probably over a period of time, but you know,
a couple of days is fine issue.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Nigel, thanks for chatting to us about it. I really
appreciate it and well done you guys. Nigel Bowen, Timaro's mayor.
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