St Kilda resident Vicki Warrington is "not holding her breath" that plans to flush water pipes in her area will solve her dirty water problems in the long term.
Ms Warrington said her water had smelled awful for the past two weeks and in the last week it had also been dirty.
It had been so bad at times she had been reluctant to shower in it and washing clothes in it left a dirty residue.
Suggestions she run the water for half an hour in her Bayview Rd home had not helped and she was critical of the Dunedin City Council's lack of response to several phone calls made complaining about the water quality.
She had also noted the unpleasant smell of the water when visiting other homes in the South Dunedin area during the course of her work recently.
Water and waste services network manager Rezaul Haque said the department had received about eight calls from people in the area.
Water samples had been sent for testing.
Extensive flushing of pipes in the area would be done today, which was expected to improve the water quality.
Most of the pipe network in the South Dunedin area dated back to 1938 and there were many cast iron pipes, which were an issue.
Referring to the time it had taken to respond to Ms Warrington's complaints, Mr Haque said the Easter break had affected this.
Normally, the council would respond within 60 minutes to a call which had been logged with it.
Ms Warrington did not accept his explanation regarding the delays.
