A Wanganui water supplier is not surprised Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia is vowing to take Ratana's drinking water plight to Parliament.
The town - with a population of 450 - comes under Mrs Turia's constituency and is used annually for the Ratana birthday celebrations, where political leaders gather to mark
the occasion.
Ratana's water has consistently failed to meet New Zealand's standards and is considered to be "very poor".
Rangitikei District Council installed a new bore tank before Christmas, but in reality the town's treatment plant has reached the end of the line.
The Water Shop owner Graham Cook said business was very brisk in Ratana. He estimated he sold 1000 litres to the township each week.
"They all say the quality of drinking water in Ratana is absolutely disgusting," Mr Cook said.
"But, then, I reckon that goes for Wanganui as well. A bloke came in from Castlecliff the other day and said he felt he'd just swallowed a glass of liquefied mud."
A Rangitikei Council spokesman conceded there had been issues with high levels of iron and magnesium in Ratana's water. The problem would now be given priority, he said.
The council is looking at other options, but treatment plant sites and water storage will cost an estimated $1.4 million.
One Ratana woman said yesterday about 80 per cent of the community had purchased rain water tanks.
"I have one and my elderly parents have one. I wouldn't want to drink water from the bore. It's very murky."
A spokeswoman for Te Tai Hauauru MP Mrs Turia said she was aware of the community's poor water quality.
"The MP has met various constituents and local authority members. She is also aware that the existing water treatment plant is at the end of its life.
"She is concerned about the issues raised and is seeking to meet with the Minister of Housing, the Minister of Energy and Resources, and the Minister of Health, as soon as possible when Parliament resumes to relay these concerns in person."
Ratana resident Soraya Peke-Mason, a Labour candidate for the Maori electorate seat of Te Tai Hauauru and Rangitikei District councillor, has been putting up with the town's water woes for 10 years.
"I got a rainwater tank last year and before that I had spring water delivered to my place. People have got used to the way it is, but people do raise the issue every now and then."
