Marton water safe, says council

Marton resident George London with a reconstruction of what he says Marton's town water looked like earlier this week (left) and what it looked like once it had cleared. Photo/ Stuart Munro

The Rangitikei District Council insists its water is safe to drink despite days of discoloured and odorous liquid coming through Marton's taps.

Marton resident George London described the water this week as coffee-coloured and earthy in taste.

"A few days ago it was just coming through think brown. It comes through like coffee," he said.

Mr London said he had run the bath to try and flush the water clear and it left a layer of silt behind.

"It's just like drinking earth."

He said it happened had before and ruined some clothing in the washing machine.
Mr London had been buying in bottled water this week but said the tap water had begun to run clear again by yesterday morning.

"I don't know what the cause is," he said. "This has been going on since we've been here for 17 years."

The Chronicle contacted the Rangitikei District Council for comment but no one was available to speak yesterday.

A post on the council's Facebook page put the water discolouration down to heavy rainfall in April and said the situation was unusual for this time of the year.

"Tests showed the algae in the Marton water supply is not toxic and while the water may still be discoloured or murky and may have an odour it is still safe to drink," the post said.

"Your patience is appreciated while we do everything we can to bring the water back to its normal condition."

Comments on Facebook from residents said the water was undrinkable and smelled bad. One said it has left stone grit in their filter.

On Monday the council said staff were trying to fix the problem by drawing water from a lower level in the C dam and undertaking additional treatment.

A week before the council posted that the raw water quality had "changed suddenly" due to heavy rain.

"This caused issues in regards to the treatment of the water which created a taste and odour issue. The water is perfectly safe to drink, however it will take at least 48 hours for the odour and taste to disappear."