This murky liquid is what Pioneer residents are expected to shower in and wash their clothes.
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Residents Jenny Bellinger and Linette Simpson travelled from the North-East town to Hobart yesterday to offer the state's water corporations bosses a taste of what came out of their pipes.
Not surprisingly, the heads of Ben Lomond, Southern and Cradle Mountain water opted for Parliament House's tap water over the brown liquid spotted with dirt and leaves.
Ms Bellinger and Ms Simpson heard Ben Lomond Water acting chief executive Andrew Beswick answer questions about the raw water supply at government business scrutiny hearings yesterday.
Pioneer and Avoca were last month advised not to drink the water because of lead contamination, but Ms Bellinger said that was just one problem.
''We have been having problems with our water supply since forever,'' Ms Bellinger said. ``The lead isn't the problem, the quality of the water is the issue.''
Mr Beswick said Pioneer was not on a priority list for action, but this may be reviewed when the three corporations are merged into a single body.
''It does raise key longer term questions, how do we address these raw water supplies for small towns?'' Mr Beswick said.
In the meantime, he said a tank had been set up as a temporary drinking water supply.