I've loved this spring. It's felt like a true spring, all changeable weather, lots of rain, cool nights when you regret putting the flannelette sheets away too early, even the chance of snow as we bear down to Christmas.
So much better than other years when the calendar flips over to September 1 and suddenly Canberra is all soaring temperatures, browned-off grass and a sitting duck for bushfires.
Friday's rain was glorious. Maybe some people have had enough. But seeing just how green Canberra is at the moment makes the heart sing.
We are awash with water. All the dams are full. The Cotter, Bendora, Corin and Googong dams all at 100 per cent capacity.
The last time the ACT was under water restrictions was the spring of 2010. But Icon Water since hasn't quite given carte blanche to Canberra's water users.
It might surprise some residents that the ACT has been under permanent water conservation measures since 2010. For instance, you're not actually allowed to use a sprinkler, between 9am and 6pm in spring, summer and autumn.
So, water is still being treated as a precious resource, even when we have dams full of it.
And there's something about Canberra's water that makes it even more valuable: the taste. It has to be the best in Australia (That's only confirmed every time I return to my coal-mining home town and feel like I'm drinking coal dust). But let's see if we get official recognition.
The Water Industry Operators Association of Australia is this month holding the Best Tasting Tap Water in Australia competition. The judges will be assessing each state or territory's water on colour, clarity, odour and taste.
Tasmania won the national and international titles last year. Bragging rights are one thing; the promotional possibilities of having the best tasting water in the world are quite another.
The ACT has had some wins before, quite memorably in 2017, when Icon Water knocked off competitors from NSW to go into the next round. One Icon Water employee was so excited by the win at the awards ceremony that he performed a Daniel Ricciardo-style "shoey" by drinking some water from his boot. Canberra's water is that special. And it literally all starts in the pristine high country.
Icon Water general Manager infrastructure services Gerard Brierley said water sourced from its catchments was largely protected from pollutants associated with agricultural, industrial, residential and recreational activities, with the majority sourced from catchments within national parks and nature reserves.
"Our water travels from the Brindabellas and Snowy Mountains, straight to our protected catchments," Mr Brierley said.
"From there, we distribute water that's crisp and clean to the community after it goes through our state-of-the-art treatment process."
The sample from the ACT that will be sent to the Best Tasting Tap Water in Australia competition was treated at the Mount Stromlo water treatment plant after being "selectively abstracted" from Bendora Dam in Namadgi National Park.
Water Industry Operators of Australia chief operations officer Craig Mathsen said the water competition was about celebrating some "unsung heroes" - the water operators and the maintenance crews "who work all year-round to ensure we have high quality water".
"The competition is a testament to the excellent quality of Australian water and to the diligence and commitment of the operational employees who deliver it to our communities," he said.
And we'll drink to that.
