A brown tinge in their water supply has left residents of Mary Victoria Road wondering what is coming out of their taps.

“My water has been going like this for about a month, maybe longer,” said Kent Phillips, who has lived in the Devonshire neighbourhood for nearly 40 years.

“I was told a while back that a pipe had broken down and that it should clear up, but nothing has happened.

The lady next door to me has the same problem. They just need to clear this up — people here have children.”

Another resident whose hot water bore a rust-coloured cast said that the pipes within her house were PVC plastic, meaning the fault could lie with 90-year-old piping supplying the area.

A third resident, who has spent 14 years in the close-knit neighbourhood but asked not to be named, said: “I asked Works and Engineering, who have done a test, if we could see the analysis. If we know what’s going on, it will dispel our fears of what might be in the water.”

She said she had spotted discolouration in her water back in November and believed that the old cast iron pipes had deteriorated.

“It ties our hands if we want to rent or sell, and they are not offering any compensation so far,” she said.

“I just want to know what it is. There’s a scum that comes out of the water sometimes, almost like oil.”

She showed The Royal Gazette her communication with Michael Dunkley on February 9, with a swift response from the Premier promising to forward the issue to Public Works and have it looked into.

Responding, a Bermuda Government spokeswoman said: “The issue is being looked into by both Environmental Health and the Department of Works and Engineering.”