Qldwater holds annual TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test competition at Toowoomba’s Burke and Wills Hotel

Toowoomba is already celebrated for its stunning gardens, but the region has now been recognised for having one of the top drops in the Sunshine State. See where the Garden City’s water ranked here.

Water connoisseurs were spoiled for choice at an annual tasting competition in Toowoomba with the Garden City producing one of the top drops in the Sunshine State.

Seventeen water samples were sniffed, swirled and sipped in a blind taste test at the Qldwater annual forum on Tuesday evening, with Toowoomba receiving second place.

The TracWater Best of the Best Queensland Water Taste Test has been running since 2012 and this year was held at the Burke and Wills Hotel in Toowoomba.

Troy Pettiford from the Whitsunday shire council samples some of the water. Picture Glenn Hampson

More than 15 regions took part in the competition this year including Toowoomba, Banana, Bundaberg, Central Highlands, Cherbourg, Fraser Coast, Gladstone, Goondiwindi, Gympie, Isaac, Livingstone, Mackay, North Burnett, Palm Island, South Burnett and Southern Downs.

TRC Water and Waste Committee Chair Cr Rebecca Vonhoff said a clean and sustainable water supply was vital to the public’s health.

“There is a lot of pride in the work our team does to treat the water we drink every day,” Cr Vonhoff said in a statement.

“Thanks to the staff who work tirelessly to ensure we all have access to a safe and reliable water source.”

Falling only behind the Fraser Coast Council, Toowoomba’s water last won the competition in 2016 for its blend of the Lake Cooby, Lake Cressbrook and Lake Perseverance Dams.

Before distribution, the water was treated at the Mt Kynoch Water Plant.

Water flowing into the Mt Kynoch Water Treatment Plant north of Toowoomba.

Meanwhile the Mackay Regional Council claimed victory in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, a streak broken by the Livingstone Shire Council in 2020.

Then in 2017, Toowoomba represented Australia at the international Ixom Best Tap Water event – the same year the region represented Queensland and beat NSW in the Water of Origin competition.

“The taste test is about more than just how good the water tastes,” Qldwater chief executive Dr Georgina Davis said.

“It is a way to help inform the community about how much effort goes into providing quality drinking water – an essential, sustainable service provided 24/7 by the staff of our local water utilities.”