Since March 8, Uralla’s town water has poured a distinct shade of brown, and residents say the taste isn’t great either.

And, Uralla Shire Council has earned itself a big thumbs down on popular Facebook page, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down Armidale.

Residents commented that the water tasted like dirt, and smells bad after boiling and filtering.

They also said council had not advised residents about the issue.​

The muddled water is the result of a heavy rain spell in the upper part of the Kentucky Creek catchment.

A warm dry spell that hit the area soon after resulted in increased algae in the dam.

Buckets of complaints about water turning residents pail have been received since March 8.

“These events triggered a change in the taste of Uralla’s drinking water,” the spokesman said.

“Residents are reporting this change in taste pointing in particular to an ‘earthy’ or ‘muddy’ taste.”

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But, council maintains while the drop isn’t as delicious, the water is safe to drink.

Council operators have increased the dosing levels of a charcoal based product at the water treatment plant to bring the flavour back to normal.

“It appears that issues with taste are not consistent across the supply network,” the spokesman said.

“Some residents are experiencing poor taste while others are not.”

This is because pockets of water in the network need to be flushed out, and council is flushing the network to remove the remnants of dirty water.

Council asks residents to contact them directly if running the tap for five minutes doesn’t fix the problem and water services will flush the supply lines to the house.

People who have had their supply line flushed should run the tap for five minutes to ensure the property service line has been refreshed.