Locals are once again up in arms about the quality of Bathurst’s town water supply.
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The problem is widespread across the city, from Kelso to Windradyne.
Brown water continues to flow from the taps, staining clothing it comes into contact with.
The council says the discolouration is caused by manganese which has dissolved in the water.
The problem is worse in summer when people use more water and the extra volume going through the pipes disturbs the manganese and discolours the water.
For several months Bathurst Regional Council has been carrying out trials based on a manganese removal system now being used in Queensland.
If the trials are successful, only minimal manganese would remain in the filtered water.
The first stage of the trial has been finalised and council staff are reviewing the results.
The second stage of the pilot project is expected to be introduced within the next month or so.
Once staff are confident the removal process works they will implement it at the filtration plant.
However, many local residents are growing impatient.
On Facebook last week Annalea Davies of Trinity Heights posted a photo of the bathwater at her house.
“What the hell is still going on with our water here in Bathurst???” she wrote.
“This water is what I was supposed to bath my babies in tonight!!! not good enough!!!”
This prompted a response from Rebecca Phillips, who wrote: “That’s scary. Not good enough. I thought clean drinking water for all was something our country prided itself on!”
The Western Advocate also received an email from another resident, Lachlan, on Monday about the poor standards of the water quality in Bathurst. “This has been an ongoing issue for many months/years,” he wrote.
“As you can see in the images provided, which show extremely poor water quality collected from a drinking tap in William Street.
“Council needs to reassess their water treatment methods to provide its residents with cleaner healthier water.”
A week ago one resident who lives in West Bathurst washed a cream throw rug, only to have it ruined when the water coming into her washing machine stained it beyond saving.
Later, a Llanarth mum filled the bath with water for the kids but the water was so brown her little girl refused point blank to get in it because she didn’t like “yellow” water.
Fortunately the mum had a back up plan - pink barbie bath bombs. She said it took three of them to disguise the colour of the water.
