BOLTON'S water is the toast of the country and continues to be "of excellent quality", a major report has revealed.

The Drinking Water Inspectorate says the number of test failures in the region has dropped by more than 2,000 complaints from 3,258 in 1990 to 752 last year.

And there have been no prosecutions recorded in the town for poor quality water supply last year.

Dr John Gray, principal inspector for the North-west, said: "Drinking water quality in the North-west has been improving over the past 10 years to the point where the quality rating is now 99.73 per cent."

"This is good news for people across the region and reflects stringent enforcement by the Inspectorate over the past decade and the work done by United Utilities, which has invested £900 million."

The inspectors say Bolton consumers are receiving tap water of very high quality from which pesticides have been virtually eliminated and the risk from microbiological contamination is extremely low.

The only incident over which inspectors raised concerns was the supply of discoloured water in Harwood last October.

Dr Paul West, United Utilities head of drinking water regulation, said the company was pleased with the result, but was pushing for further improvements.

He said: "We have a lot of cast iron water mains which corrode with age and can cause water to become discoloured on occasions. Although this is rare, it is unacceptable and tackling it is our highest priority."

IT'S time to ditch the mineral water -- tap water in town is the clear winner when it comes to taste. That is the verdict of BEN readers who gave the thumbs up to tap water in a taste test.

Thirty per cent of those surveyed found could not tell the difference between 80p-a-bottle mineral water and the tapped variety.

Regular bottled water drinkers were stunned when they discovered their preferred tipple is supplied across the borough at a bargain price of just 0.13pence a litre!

The Drinking Water Inspectorate threw down the gauntlet because it was so confident that people would not be able to tell the difference between tap and mineral water.

But 70 per cent immediately noticed and said they preferred the taste of tap water.

Nicola Durham, aged 16, of Radcliffe, drinks eight glasses a day, in line with health guidelines which recommend everyone should be drinking more water.

Nicola, who surprised herself by choosing tap water, said: "I drink water every day and if I'm at work, I'll buy the bottled stuff.

"There's a big difference in taste and money. I think I might start drinking tap water."

Don Isherwood, aged 70, opted for a bottle and claimed the town's water tasted much better 30 years ago.

He said: "Tap water tastes of additives. The bottled water is much better."

His wife, Joyce, chose tap water. She said: "It tastes better, although I never thought that I would say that and it doesn't mean to say I would drink it at home.

"It smells of bleach when it comes out of the tap. And you hear so many horror stories about health risks, because we don't know what they are putting into it."

Michael Gibson, a 50-year-old newsagent from Settle Street, opted for the expensive bottled water and could easily tell the difference.

He said: "I sell hundreds of bottles of water in my shop. It is far better than tap water.

"But Bolton's water is so much nicer than any other because of the sandstone, which makes it soft."

Lee Warner, aged 25, said the town's water was the best in the country.

Lee, who left Bolton 10 years ago to live in Somerset, said: "I can't even make a cup of tea with the stuff down south.

"It's lovely water up here. Bolton people are lucky."

Lee struggled to find the difference between the two tastes but he eventually did choose bottle over tap.

And he was so impressed he said he might bottle the Bolton variety and take it home with him.

Rita Roberts, aged 62, of Westhoughton, preferred tap water as did Thomas Morris, aged 61, of Deane, who drinks pints of tap water each day and spotted the difference straight away.

He said: "I can't drink enough of it. I miss it when I go away on holiday to Torquay. Water isn't a patch on what it is up here."