Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council has been recognised as providing the best tasting tap water in the Far North Queensland region. Photo: Supplied.
They are only four people working around the clock, but Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council’s water operation team has earned the year-long bragging rights of best tap water in Far North Queensland.
For the first time, remote and Indigenous water suppliers across the top end of Queensland were invited to submit their samples to the 2025 IXOM Best Tasting Tap Water Competition, with awards for the Far North Queensland title presented in Weipa last Tuesday at the Queensland Indigenous Local Government Drinking Water Symposium.
Water samples submitted to the Water Industry Operations Association of Australia (WIOA) underwent a blind taste test, and key attributes such as colour, clarity, odour and taste were evaluated.
“We were surprised on the day that we had been recognised for having the best tasting tap water in Far North Queensland,” council chief executive officer Peter O’May said.
“We are happy to provide this service, and that our water is being recognised by our peers in the industry and the peak water organisations as being of such great quality.”
WIOA CEO Dean Barnett said the competition aimed to highlight the amount of work that went on behind the scenes to ensure communities had access to quality tap water.
“When it comes to tap water, most pay attention when they turn the tap on and it doesn’t work, and for the rest of the time, it’s just an expectation,” he said.
“We have very little understanding of what goes on behind the scenes, and the amount of effort that goes into us being able to turn that tap on.”
As a small team in a remote community, Mr O’May said the council faced challenges such as staffing and supplies in making sure the communities taps were always in working order.
“Having good water operators who are committed to community and who can look after this area has always been difficult,” he said.
“We are a small team of four persons; we are on call 24 hours a day, and it has not been unusual for us to be at work in the middle of the night to ensure the community has safe drinking water, so fatigue is a big challenge for us.
“The job is a 24/7, 365 days-a-year one.”
