The quality of tap water has been an issue for the residents of Yass Valley.
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In a statement released on Monday, August 10 at 9pm, the council blamed "significant flood waters reaching Yass Dam" for causing problems with water treatment, making drinking water in the Yass water supply system unsafe.
After rainfall over the weekend, Yass Valley Council issued a warning that drinking water in the region is "unsafe".
Yass resident Tom O'Dea travels to Canberra every fortnight to fill up cans of water to bring them to his home in Yass.
He relocated to Yass in December 2018 and wasn't aware of the issue prior to that.
"The council has now said that it is unsafe to drink the water. We want the council to give an estimated time limit on when the new filtration system will be up and running," Mr O'Dea said.
Emma Rose has lived in Yass for over 17 years and has been facing issues with the water quality.
"There has not been one single day where I have been able to enjoy a glass of water from our taps. I can't believe that we are still in this position," she said.
"I spend at least $20-25 per week on an average to buy water bottles which we use for drinking and cooking."
Another resident Nikkii Reynolds said that she would not drink or let her family drink Yass water because of the discolouration and putrid smell.
"We drink a combination of bottled water and rain water. However, given that they have said that it is now classed as unsafe to drink, I think we might switch our main water over to rain water for the time being," she said.
Bowning resident Tony Southwell has lived in Yass until the age of 11 years before moving to Bowning.
The 58-year-old said that the water in Yass was "never drinkable".
"In the last couple of years, we have had issues like discolouration and smelly water which has made things even worse," he said.
"It's a problem if we can't have a proper water storage facility and filtration plant in the town in Australia in 2020. The council needs to up their ante and fix this."
He was one of the Bowning residents who were opposed to getting their water supply from Yass.
"Now, we are stuck with paying for this inferior product. It's not right," he said.
In May council meeting, Yass Valley Council endorsed the design and construction of a new water treatment plant as its preferred option. The estimated cost of the project is $31.9 million.
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