Earlier this week, TasWater opened a tender for the construction phase of a treated water supply pipeline to the town. The project will extend Ringarooma Valley water scheme - which supplies the nearby towns of Winnaleah, Branxholm, Derby and Legerwood - to Pioneer.

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Pioneer was excluded from the initial implementation of the scheme, despite worrying levels of lead also being detected in the town's water in December 2012.

In an effort to remedy the issue, TasWater issued the residents with water tanks but concerns still remained within the town about the water quality.

More than six years later in December 2018, then Tasmanian Director of Public Health Mark Veitch wrote to TasWater then chief executive Michael Brewster asking for more to be done to investigate the water quality in the tanks.

Dr Veitch had been prompted by Pioneer resident and long-time town advocate Tim Slade, who had written extensively to TasWater and the Department of Health, concerned about the impact of the town's lead-painted roofs on the water collected in the tanks.

It took a further 11 months for the water body to examine the issue, but when they did unsafe levels of lead were confirmed to be pooling into the tanks from around a dozen painted roofs connected to the town-wide tank system.

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Despite these roofs being disconnected from the tanks, Pioneer has continued to struggle with lead levels in its water supply due to leaching from other sources.

Today, The Examiner understands five Pioneer residences still receive bottled water, though a TasWater spokesperson has confirmed this is not due to lead contamination issues but due to personal preference and in one case to allow a business to offer bottled water to its customers.

After disputing the idea for several years, TasWater revealed last year it was consulting local authorities regarding a treated water pipeline to the town.

That decision arrived amid Legislative Council Inquiry into - among other things - TasWater's handling of Pioneer's lead contamination. That inquiry ultimately determined "TasWater did not act in a timely manner in addressing the issue of providing safe drinking water to Pioneer residents".

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Commenting on the progress with the pipeline, Mr Slade believes the town has waited long enough.

"In November this year, it will be a complete decade since they [TasWater] first called the 'Do Not Consume' alert," he said.

TasWater general manager for project delivery Tony Willmott said the tender followed an "extensive planning process".

"The people of Pioneer have been waiting for a solution to their drinking water problems for many years and we are excited that work will soon begin to deliver an outcome which benefits the community," he said.

TasWater aims to deliver treated water to the town by May 2023.

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