Several Chippingham residents have expressed outrage over their water supply, which many have described as discolored and odorous.
Water and Sewerage Corporation Deputy General Manager Robert Deal said the corporation has received many complaints from residents in that area, particularly those on Columbus Avenue.
He said the corporation has increased the frequency of flushing exercises and filter changes, but admitted that it is not enough to resolve the issue in the long term.
"What has been happening is that some of these areas historically would have been supplied by ground water for many decades through older cast iron mains," Deal said.
"Now that we are supplying them with desalinated water, that desalinated water is reacting with the older mains and is producing what some people call rusty water, and what we call red water."
But residents told The Nassau Guardian they have been coping with the problem for far too long, and said an immediate resolution is needed.
Jane Brown (name changed), a Chippingham resident of more than six years, said the corporation has visited her home and changed filters on several occasions, but this has not alleviated the problem.
"The water is literally black and there is debris in it as well," she said.
"Sometimes the water is just rusted and that is bearable, [and] it will ruin your clothes if you try to do laundry.
"I would say it has been in excess of a year like that. We have all just been dealing with it basically."
Davis Longley, who grew up in the community, said even the public pump, a source of water for many residents, disperses brownish water.
He said the water in his home has a sulphur smell and the debris in it makes basic tasks such as brushing his teeth, taking a shower and washing clothes extremely challenging.
"The corporation did some cleaning yesterday (Wednesday), but it does not last very long," Longley said.
"I guess what residents have to do is collect the water and let it settle for a day or so, so all the rust can go to the bottom before they use it.
"Otherwise if you use the water [to wash] clothes, it is going to dirty them up."
Deal said the long-term solution is two-tiered and involves changing the mains and adjusting the chemical property of the water itself.
"Adjusting it from a chemical perspective to reduce the reaction between the older mains and the water itself [will] reduce incidents of red water or rusty water." he said.
However, that project will not begin until early 2014, according to Deal.

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