Residents of Yass and surrounds have been told not to drink tap water and to sponge-bath children as the local council works to fix a problem with its treatment process.

Yass Valley Council informed residents of Yass, Murrumbateman, Bowning, and Binalong their water is unsafe at 10pm on Wednesday.

In a post on their Facebook page, the council told residents water used for drinking and food preparation "should be brought to a rolling boil to make it safe".

"Bottled water or cool boiled water should be used for drinking, washing uncooked food (e.g. salad vegetables and fruit), making ice, cleaning teeth, gargling and pet's drinking water," the statement read.

The council added that residents should also take extra care while bathing and showering.

"Tap water is safe for bathing. There is a potential risk if water is swallowed during washing and bathing," they said.

The council said recent rainfall and floods had caused problems with water treatment, making drinking water unsafe.

Yass Valley councillor Jasmine Jones said they were trying to get the word out to the community.

"Simply don't drink it. Tell all the kids in the household, anyone vulnerable, your elderly neighbour, knock on their door," Cr Jones said.

Cr Jones said this was not the first time Yass residents had been through such an issue, referencing a similar alert in August 2020.

The region has been plagued by water quality issues for years, and election promises were made by both major parties in 2019 ahead of the federal election.

Cafe owner hoping for compensation

The water problem has affected more than just residents, with the town's pool also closed.

Local cafe manager Ashlee Wilke said it had been a busy morning trying to keep their Yass business open.

"We've had to buy in water, we've had to change out all the table water and flush out our ice machine as well, we've had to sanitise that and sanitise all the things that contained the water beforehand," she said.

"We've been trying to keep a rolling pot of boiled water on all morning, but it's quite a task."

Ms Wilke said the business had also been financially impacted by the water issue.

"There's been quite a few out-of-pocket expenses at the moment," she said.

"Especially if were going to have to replace the water filers as well.

"It will impact us, we're hoping for a bit of compensation I guess"

She added that many customers coming into the cafe were not even aware they shouldn't be drinking the tap water.

"We've been informing the elderly community, because they're not all on social media, a lot of them had no idea so we've been trying to inform everyone."

'We don't actually know what the issue is'

Residents of the Yass Valley have been lobbying for upgrades to their local water infrastructure for some time.

Its colour and smell have led 85 per cent of people in the area to refuse to drink it from the tap, and some residents claim it is making them sick.

Millions of dollars in state and federal government money has been promised to improve the situation, but the money was first promised in 2019, and residents are frustrated with the delays.

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Yass Valley chief executive Chris Berry said the Council has secured $17 million from the state government to upgrade the "old, antiquated" treatment plant, but that another $18 million was needed.

"The feedback [from the community] is that 'we want the water treatment plant fixed', so we're working hard on that front," Mr Berry said.

It is unclear what the cause of today's alert is and if it is related to the ongoing issues with the area's water.

But Stephanie Helm from the Murrumbateman Community Association said there was concern about both the immediate and long-term situation.

"We're only an hour away from Canberra, and it's ridiculous that we have these issues," Ms Helm said.

"It's actually causing a lot of concern in the community at the moment."

"I've spoken to friends this morning in Murrumbateman on the water supply because they're concerned there's no understanding or communication from the council on how long this has been an issue."

"We don't actually know what the issue is. Is it bacteria? Is it heavy metals? We have no idea."

Mr Berry said it was unknown how long the issue could last, but it could be seven days or more.

He said the large volume of water that came into the dam from recent rainfall meant the treatment system was failing to keep up.

"It's a lot of poor quality material in the raw water that we have to try and process out, as well as treat the water," Mr Berry said.

"[The plant] has basically shut down from delivering water to our distribution system."