Years of problems with drinking water on Palm Island in North Queensland have not been solved by a new treatment plant, and local residents are again being told not to drink their tap water.

Key points: A new Palm Island water treatment plant was installed by the Queensland Government in 2017

A new Palm Island water treatment plant was installed by the Queensland Government in 2017 Mayor Alf Lacey says the island needs a new water reservoir and upgraded piping

Mayor Alf Lacey says the island needs a new water reservoir and upgraded piping He is calling on the Local Government Minister to take action

For the second time in six months the tap water is brown, prompting Palm Island Mayor Alf Lacey to call for State Government intervention.

In 2017, the Queensland Government installed a new $1.4 million water treatment plant on the island to combat the ongoing supply problems, but Councillor Lacey said the facility was already in need of repair.

But yesterday Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council was forced to issue yet another emergency alert, warning its 5,000 Indigenous residents not to drink, cook with or consume tap water until further notice.

Cr Lacey said he now wanted the Government to investigate whether the community needed a new reservoir.

He said the island residents had been left frustrated by years of ongoing water quality issues.

"If we don't get a new reservoir then certainly a second backup reservoir in the town is needed," Cr Lacey said.

"I'll be putting the issue in front of Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

"The main thing is getting the system back online again and ensuring we have safe and quality drinking water like the rest of the state."

'Shouldn't happen in this day and age'

Cr Lacey said he believed old pipes in the community's decades-old reservoir contributed to the recent discolouration.

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"The advice I am getting is that the discolouring of the water is probably [due to] some aging pipe that's been installed in the island in the early 1970s," Cr Lacey said.

"The old reservoir, which is the main tank that feeds the whole town, was built in the 1950s. It's something I will take up with the Minister [to request] a report into the aging assets."

Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council was forced to supply the community with thousands of bottles of water after their tap water turned brown.

Cr Lacey said the people of Palm Island deserved reliable, quality water.

"You wouldn't think places like [Palm Island] in this day and age could be subject to this type of problem," he said.