The inquiry's committee handed down five recommendations into the long-running issue of Tharwa's water supply on Friday.

Tharwa has faced issues since the 1980s as the village is not connected to Canberra's urban water supply network.

There were 21 submissions received by the committee, which started in October.

It was advised the ACT government should explore all options provide a long-term solution to the issues.

The first recommendation was there should be a new co-design consultation process with the Tharwa community and other stakeholders to inform a development application into non-potable water infrastructure.

This was followed by a recommendation the consultation process for the development appplication should be longer than the usual timeframe.

This comes after a previous development application, lodged in 2018, for non-potable water supply infrastructure was rejected by the Tharwa community for being in the wrong location.

Of submissions made to the committee from Tharwa residents, they were overwhelmingly critical of the consultation between the ACT government and the community.

"The way in which the so called consultation has been conducted is appalling, telling the residents that this what they are getting is not consultation," resident Stephen Angus wrote.

Among the supply issues faced by the town is having enough water for firefighting purposes. This was front-and-centre last month when Tharwa village came under direct threat from the Orroral Valley bushfire.

READ MORE:

The committee recommended the ACT government, ACT Fire and Rescue and ACT Rural Fire Service reassess the village's firefighting capability.

Tharwa village relies on a community run non-potable water supply, along with rainwater and bore water. Water has also been trucked into town and individual households are responsible for the supply of their own potable water.

In the report, Tharwa Community Association president Kevin Jeffery made a submission about how the town gets its water.

"Tharwa always had to rely on its own water infrastructure, which was primarily around individual water tanks until the community organised their own non-potable water supply," he said.

"This supply has provided non-potable water for gardens and other yard use, bushfire protection, public toilets and school toilets, and water for the bushfire brigade stand-pipe."

Chair of the Committee Tara Cheyne tabled the report.

"It is apparent to the Committee that genuine community involvement in addressing Tharwa's water supply issues is essential to deliver solutions that are acceptable to the community and government alike," she said.