Hundreds of Napier residents have complained about brown water from their taps over the last year, and they were coming in months before the water supply was chlorinated.
One resident says she has had repeated skin infections since the water was chlorinated in May last year.
Stuff reports it has obtained new documents which outline complaints about discoloured water as far back as January 2017.
That's nearly a year before the city's water crisis in December and months before the water supply was chlorinated indefinitely from May 2017.
A total of 851 complains were lodged in total, most about water clarity but some about odour and the taste of the water.
The council received 159 complaints about the water between January and late May this year, the majority about clarity.
Pirimai resident Bri Leahy told Stuff she has had experienced "horrible rashes" on her body due to the chlorine.
Ms Leahy said she has had medication but the only thing which helped the unbearable itching was keeping her skin from drying out.
"It's horrible having to go to someone else's house to shower as they're on a private bore just so I don't erupt in painful rashes. I wouldn't mind it so much if it was just a temporary situation," she said.
The council's infrastructure director Jon Kingsford said incidences of brown water had occurred in the network prior to January 2017 and some discoloured water is a natural byproduct of a piped water network.
He said bores were brought online during December that changed the flow in the network, adding "there are many causes of discoloured water and that is one of them."
The council had been open at all stages about the harmless biofilm discolouration and what causes it, and maintenance staff had been out as quickly as possible to flush pipes as requested, Mr Kingsford said.
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