According to original state water body joint implementation committee member John Martin, Tasmania was close to gaining $35 million a year from the federal government in 2008-09.

Mr Martin said an opportunity to apply for the funds, to be spread out over 10 years, was part of a sweetener to have councils relinquish their infrastructure to a single corporation.

Draft planning work to justify the funds was commissioned. However, Mr Martin said the work was never completed.

‘‘It still disappoints me to this day,’’ Mr Martin said.

‘‘We thought it would have been a reasonable ask.

‘‘It would have been of great assistance to the people of Tasmania to help fix the water and sewerage problems.

‘‘There was an opportunity then –  whether it’s lost now I don’t know.’’

Local Government Association of Tasmania president Barry Jarvis said even 25 per cent of those funds would have made an impact.

‘‘That was one of the sweeteners for councils to relinquish individual rights to water and sewerage,’’ Cr Jarvis said.

‘‘TasWater haven’t been able to attack the backlog of sewerage upgrades –  they’ve been concentrating on fresh water since formed.

 ‘‘Some of that money would have been to address that.’’

He said the  LGAT meeting next month would seek to address a range of issues surrounding water and sewerage.

TasWater this month told The Examiner that all of the state’s 80 water treatment plants failed current environmental standards.

A report last month also found sewerage plants were having a detrimental impact on Tasmanian rivers and coastal waters, falling well behind mainland benchmarks.

Twenty-seven areas of Tasmania, including Flinders Island, have undrinkable tap water, and sewerage plants continue to run into the Tamar River.

TasWater owners chief representative Tony Foster said it was likely that they would require federal funds for sewage woes.

‘‘I think with the next federal election coming up we’ll be talking to the federal government,’’ he said.

‘‘(We will be) getting them to support infrastructure and have funding made available to Launceston and Hobart so we can progress other issues of public health concern quicker than we would normally be able to.’’

Mr Foster said a move to remove TasWater dividends from councils would result in rate rises  or a reduction of services.

Lyons Liberal MHR Eric Hutchinson said Tasmania faced a challenge in prioritising its needs, in terms of what services were expected for each region.

‘‘If TasWater and councils were to come to us and say ‘Listen, this is our challenge and long-term objective’, we would take that and put case forward,’’ Mr Hutchinson said.

‘‘Only if it was deemed to be a priority – at end of day it’s something that’s competing for funds, and there is only a finite bucket available.’’

Tasmanian Treasurer Peter Gutwein this month said the state’s $130 million GST funding boost would be used on state infrastructure.

■The Examiner has launched a readers poll online. Visitors to www.examiner.com.au are invited to share their opinion about who should pay to fix the state’s water and sewerage infrastructure.