Eva Pagett lives in the tiny, idyllic Tasmanian village of Pioneer, and while it looks clean and green, she can drink only bottled water since discovering her water supply is contaminated.

Key points: Residents have contaminated tank water because of lead paint on their roofs

Residents have contaminated tank water because of lead paint on their roofs Documents show testing in 2014 showed some properties had roofs with lead content

Documents show testing in 2014 showed some properties had roofs with lead content TasWater says it misread lead test results and will replace the roofs of people affected

"We recently had it tested by TasWater and it was shown up with a number of chemicals that really weren't great to drink — cadmium, lead and other things," she said.

Her tank has been disconnected due to water running off her old lead-painted roof and into her tank, contaminating the water supply.

She's one of a number of residents whose roofs are making their tank water unsafe to drink.

Mark Simpson has also been living off bottled water because metals were found in his water supply.

"We've got cadmium in the water, which is toxic," he said.

"She's an old roof, I've tried to paint it and fix it up but originally it's got old paint on it that's got lead content."

Making a cup of tea looks a bit different for Mark Simpson. ( ABC News: April McLennan )

Water authority connected homes despite known risks

Water quality testing has been completed for 32 of the 43 properties in Pioneer as part of TasWater's Rainwater catchment inspection program.

Lance Stapleton, the technical solutions program manager, said they only discovered the contaminated water in the past few months.

"In the current testing program, which has been conducted over the past few months, we've identified 12 properties which have got elevated levels of metals in their drinking water tanks," he said.

The old paint on Eva Pagett's roof contains lead. ( ABC News: April McLennan )

But this isn't the first time Pioneer's water supply has been contaminated.

Water was deemed unfit to drink in 2012, sparking concerns residents had been exposed to unsafe levels of lead for years before being warned about it.

One local resident, Tim Slade, spent the past seven years trying to ensure the town had a clean supply of water.

He said he felt very sad and angry for the town, with reports of local residents carting clean water by hand for the past seven years as they are too scared and untrusting to drink any of the water supplied by TasWater.

"There are people with severe disabilities in this town, some of them have lead-painted roofs and that's been brought to the attention of TasWater and the overseers countless times," he said.

"It's never made any difference to the representation of us.

"TasWater were aware as early as 2014 that certain properties did have lead-painted roofs, but they proceeded to hook up anyway," he said.

Pioneer resident Tim Slade has been fighting for better water for his town for years ( ABC News: April McLennan )

The ABC obtained documents that confirmed in 2014, TasWater had an independent entity undertake tests of roof paint on multiple properties in Pioneer to establish the content of lead in the paint.

The results showed that some of these properties had a content of lead in the paint that was well above the current limit of 0.1 percent in domestic paint as per the Australian Government, Department of the Environment and Energy.

Despite these test results, TasWater went ahead and connected the water tanks to the roofs.

"We acknowledge that we could have done better and we acknowledge that there were some problems with the rollout. This was one of them and this is why we are seeking to rectify the situation right now," Mr Stapleton said.

TasWater Chief Executive Mike Brewster said: "TasWater did not knowingly connect Pioneer residents with lead in their roofs to rainwater tanks, but in 2014, testing was offered to residents and we do acknowledge that some results were misread at that time.

"In 2018, residents were notified that TasWater discovered lead in roofs of homes in the area, but the water was deemed safe, at that point the water in the tanks still met Australian Drinking Water Guideline limits."

TasWater made a submission to the Tasmanian Economic Regulator in 2017 regarding the Pioneer service replacement in which it stated the service replacement option would involve assistance to ensure guttering and roofs were adequate to supply water to the tank.

The submission also made reference to agreements and discussion with TasWater (then Ben Lomond Water) that the service replacement option would involve the repair of downpipes, roofs and gutters to a standard where they were suitable to collect rainwater for consumption.

It is unknown how long the affected Pioneer residents have been drinking the contaminated water, with some of the locals astonished that they are once again in a situation where their water is unsafe to drink.

"This could go on for years, it's been going on for years now, so I just want it to be resolved so we can get on with our lives," Mr Simpson said.

"I just want them to pull their finger out and let us know what's going on."

Bin full of empty plastic water bottles in Pioneer, Tasmania ( ABC News: April McLennan )

No timeframe for roof replacement

In accordance to the guidance on the use of rainwater tanks from the Australian Government Department of Health and the Environmental Health Standing Committee, it states: 'Do not collect rainwater from roofs painted with products containing high lead concentrations (for example, pre-1970s paint).'

As a solution TasWater have said it will replace some of the roofs in the town.

"In some cases, that may actually involve replacing the roof and if that is the case, we will cover the cost," Mr Stapleton said.

But for many residents this is yet to happen.

Mrs Pagett has heard from other residents that it took about three years for some of them to receive water tanks and she doesn't want to wait that long for a new roof.

"To be honest, you don't know until you get something in writing, all the innuendoes that people give and all the things that they say...It's a lot of finger-tapping I suppose," Mrs Pagett said.

Roofs with lead paint are contaminating residents' water supplies. ( ABC News: April McLennan )

Mr Simpson said it was suggested he would receive a new roof when his water tank was first installed, but he has now been waiting for several years and cannot afford to make the upgrade himself.

"I'm looking at quite a few dollars there to replace a roof and in my financial situation I cannot afford to replace my roof at this particular time," he said.

Dorset Council Mayor Greg Howard said he has been in ongoing conversations with TasWater without any satisfaction and he believes it's their responsibility to either replace the roofs or put Pioneer on a reticulated water system.

Dorset Mayor Greg Howard says the responsibility lays with TasWater. ( ABC News: April McLennan )

"It's going to be an expensive solution for a small number of residents but quite clearly you can't persist with drinking lead water."

"Lead has quite a negative impact on people's mental capacity and so we don't want anyone to be affected adversely," he said.

The Public Health Service said it wants to ensure drinking water in Tasmanian communities is safe for consumption and supplied in accordance with guidelines.

"When service replacement is undertaken, Public Health Service expects TasWater to complete all reasonable steps to ensure rainwater tanks provided to residents are installed consistent with guidelines and legislative requirements, such as building and plumbing codes."

For Mrs Pagett, she doesn't care if they install a new roof or find another way to fix the contaminated water problem — she just wants it resolved.

"Water is one of those survival things and we want our water to be clean and we want our water to be pure," she said.

"There's a lot of anxiety in Pioneer at the moment and people are just wanting to know what we are doing and that we are going to have safe water."

A further two properties in Pioneer are scheduled for the next round of rainwater catchments testing to find out if their water is also contaminated.