Wednesday was a historic day in Curlewis as residents turned out to see the town connected to Gunnedah's water supply.
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Angela McCormack and her husband James have been living in Curlewis since 1974 and have their own tanks because "you can't drink the water".
She said the "quality of the water has been quite debilitating" and the village was excited that the problem would be resolved for 260 households in the next fortnight.
"We've been through about five hot water systems in the last 30 years," Mrs McCormack said.
"My shower screen always seems to be white [and] you go through taps all the time.
"I think the plumbing bills will go up now because everyone's been hanging out for this [pipeline] before they change their taps."
When a resident asked Gunnedah Shire Council's water services project manager Michael Ludlow if they would see a difference in calcium levels, he said they would "drop considerably" from about 700-800ppm to a similiar level as Gunnedah, which is about 170ppm.
"Calcium levels will drop by probably two-thirds," Mr Ludlow said.
"You will see some streaking still [but] it won't be anywhere near what you get at the moment."
Another key change is the water capacity, which will enable the town to cater for industry and "double the population" it has now.
"The flow rate's gone from 155 to 200. Now, I know it doesn't seem much - that's only 50mil - but in flow rate sizes in pipework, it's a massive increase. It allows the town to expand in the future," Mr Ludlow said.
"If someone wanted to start a business here, they have access to a large stream of water and we believe there's enough flow in here for double and we won't have to change the infrastructure."
The council will conduct testing over the next 10-12 days and when it is satisfied all is working as it should, TCM Civil can start work on a connection for the 10 properties on the eastern side of the railway.
Work on the 15.8km gravity-fed pipeline from Wandobah Road, via Blackjack Forest Road, Booloocooroo and Preston roads to Curlewis started in July 2018. Two 500 kilolitre concrete storage reservoirs and a disinfection dosing station were also constructed.
The federal government invested $2.6 million in the project under the Building Better Regions Fund, a key milestone announced in August 2017.
