I’m sure I have probably had more enjoyable glasses of water before in my life. I mean, I wasn’t really that thirsty anyway, but the water I drank on Tuesday last week was extremely satisfying, nonetheless.

I first got into local politics when I was elected to the Vincent Community Board back in 2008 and as seems to happen when one is first elected to a public role, you very quickly get informed about what is front and centre of people’s minds, and back in 2008 it was “get the bloody water in Alexandra fixed”, meaning people wanted “soft” water, water than wasn’t heavy with limescale as Alexandra’s was.  

I remember at the time that significant efforts were being made to find a bore site somewhere near Alexandra that wasn’t affected by lime, but after much investigation it turned out that was not to be.

 ‘Water quality’ has remained at or near the top of people’s concerns in our annual surveys ever since and burnt-out elements and other effects of excess lime in the water have remained high on people’s priorities as well.

Hence why the glass of water I drank on Tuesday was so satisfying, because it was the first glass I knowingly drank from the new $16M Lake Dunstan Water Supply plant at the top of the Clyde hill.  

I say ‘knowingly’ because the plant had been supplying water to Clyde for a day or two unbeknown to me; I certainly hadn’t noticed any difference.

That lower lime water has been making its way down the pipeline to Alexandra since then and will be coming out of taps in many, if not all homes in Alexandra by now.  

There’s a chance you may have noticed a temporary difference in the taste and odour of your water during the transition from the old to the new system. You might have even had a final burst of the lime scale passing through your pipes as the softer water dissolves existing limescale deposits. Over time, the hardness will be removed from the pipes and flushed out through household taps and down the drain and the transition from old to new poses no risk to public health or safety. Flushing taps will help speed up the process if you are experiencing this and - although you may have noticed or notice a change at first - the new supply is providing safe, healthy and clean water to you.

Probably the first thing you’ll notice is that you will need to use less shampoo, not that I’d know anything about that.