Tainted water blamed on old cast-iron pipes is still a problem for some homes in Prospect, the Ministry of Public Works said yesterday.

Discoloured water has affected homes at Alexandra Road and the adjoining Greenwich Lane, which date back to the British military presence in the 19th century.

But the problem has lessened for householders of the area’s Mary Victoria Road, where residents first flagged up brown tap water to the The Royal Gazette in February 2016.

A public works spokeswoman said the brown tinge was probably “as a result of older interconnected cast-iron pipes”.

She added: “The ministry can confirm that, earlier this week, it implemented a frequent mains flushing regimen in this area to control and minimise incidences of discoloured water to area customers.”

The spokeswoman said a long-term solution would require the replacement of the iron pipes.

The ministry spokeswoman apologised to the public and said the wellbeing of residents in the area was of the “highest priority”.

A resident at Mary Victoria Road, who asked not to be named, said yesterday that her water had been “clear for quite a while now”.

She added: “No more problems on this block, thank God.

“I would have called the premier and the minister.

“It was hard to deal with, but I haven’t heard of anyone in these units having it.”

The problem surfaced under the previous One Bermuda Alliance administration.

Craig Cannonier, then the public works minister, said in 2016 that “limited historical records” had hampered efforts to track down iron pipes which had been installed in the 1970s.

Michael Dunkley, the Shadow Minister of National Security, who lives in Devonshire, said he had “reached out privately” to assist a Greenwich Lane resident who had posted her complaint on Facebook.

Mr Dunkley added that he had put the resident in touch with the ministry’s water section.

The Smith’s North MP added: “A lot of politics was played with this before the last election.

“I try to stay out of apportioning blame.

“I am aware that they are making significant changes to the old system.

“In some places they don’t even have charts of where the piping was.”