Mayor Andy Watson said the water in Marton is safe to drink despite the unpleasant smell and taste. Photo / Bevan Conley
Mayor Andy Watson said the water in Marton is safe to drink despite the unpleasant smell and taste. Photo / Bevan Conley
Marton residents are getting water delivered by trucks twice a week due to “taste and smell issues” they describe as “disgusting”.
While the Rangitīkei District Council promises the water is still safe to drink and the mayor promises a solution isn’t far away, locals say the smelland taste makes them feel ill and the filtered water is being delivered at times that don’t suit the public.
One resident, who asked not to be named, described the state of the water as “appalling”.
“It’s like camping. When the water is really bad, the smell of Marton water makes me nauseous and upsets my stomach.
“I’ve been here just over four years and I can honestly say if I’d known there was no clean water source I wouldn’t have moved here, and I can’t afford to move.”
He ended up installing an outside tank at his home because of the low standard of local water.
Marton's water supply can taste and smell unpleasant this time of year due to algae. Photo / Bevan Conley
“I just have to stay down the front of my house away from the smell, I even have automatic air fresheners around my house to help mask it.”
Locals have been told a tanker carrying drinking water from outside Marton will be delivered to the Marton RSA and Citizens Memorial Hall every Tuesday and Thursday between 1pm and 3pm, starting on February 18.
Residents will need to bring their own containers to collect the water.
“I understand the point behind this, but it’s still disgusting to wash in, do washing in, and the hours are really inconvenient,” another local said.
“I’m glad the council is looking for alternatives but this is not a solution. Anyone working doesn’t have the ability to access this offer, which is probably a large portion of the ratepayers funding this.”
Rangitīkei District Council said the problem has been caused by geosmin levels in Marton’s water supply increasing over the week “leading to taste and smell issues”.
Geosmin is an odorous terpene produced by bacteria and fungi found in soils and fresh water.
“We know this is frustrating for the Marton community. Rest assured we are progressing well towards our new water source solution,” the council said.
Andy Watson says 'the devil is in the detail' with any water reform proposal. Photo / Bevan Conley
Marton relies on two groundwater dams for its water source, and during the dry summer months water levels drop at the dams.
“The thing is that when you take water from surface dams, it is not consistent in nature. So we’ve always battled things like manganese, content and algal bloom.
“This is a problem that literally has been decades in the making and we’re trying to find solutions for it but it’s just in the last, perhaps about a week, that this has surfaced in a reasonably major way.”
Watson said the water is safe to drink despite the smell and taste.
“Our chief executive and I have decided that we [will] put a water tanker from a different water source out of the town in the main street so that people [can access the supply]. We have a filtered system there, but it’s reasonably small.
“But it doesn’t do away with the problem.”
The council decided to move to an alternate supply of bore water and has set aside $11 million to drill the bores.
“We had hoped initially that we would have a change to the new water source, very early this year. It now looks as though that, that cutover will happen through the winter.
“There’s still some fine-tuning details to get right, and it is easier to change a water source, during the winter months and phase it in.”
