Some Kerikeri home owners saw shades of brown when they turned on the taps over the past few days.
Tap water became discoloured after a change at the Kerikeri water supply last Wednesday and was finally clear by yesterday.
Far North District Council spokesman Richard Edmondson said the change in water colour was the result of the intake level being lowered at the water supply dam on Wiroa Rd near Kerikeri Airport.
The dam is owned and managed by the Kerikeri Irrigation Company which supplies water to the council's Kerikeri water treatment plant.
"We haven't determined why the irrigation company lowered the level of the intake, but assume this was an operational adjustment the company deemed necessary," Mr Edmondson said.