In a remote Kimberley community, a mother describes how she must boil water before her children can drink it.

"Good water, only for adults, not for babies. You have to boil it for babies and kids. And we have this problem, those drains, some are open," she says.

Her voice is one of more than 200 heard in new research revealing how Aboriginal families across WA's Kimberley region still battle unsafe drinking water, broken plumbing and overcrowded homes - conditions which fuel preventable skin infections, respiratory illness and poor mental health.

The study, published this year in Health & Place, was led by University of WA researcher Dr Stephanie Enkel in partnership with Kimberley Aboriginal health organisations through the SToP (See, Treat, Prevent) Trial, which aimed to halve childhood skin infections across nine remote communities.

Between 2019 and 2022, 208 people - from Elders and parents to teachers and clinic staff - took part in yarning sessions about daily environmental health realities.

The conversations painted a consistent picture: community efforts to fix small things like a washing machine, a leaking tap were constant, but structural problems stayed beyond reach.

"It's just about helping one another you know," one participant said.

"I help with old people and young mums who haven't got a washing machine, they come and their washing here."

Researchers found housing maintenance systems favour government staff homes over Aboriginal tenants and services such as community laundries and pools - vital for hygiene - often close due to staffing shortages or liability rules.

In some towns, residents described 'hard water' so calcified it destroyed plumbing, while others faced the choice between paying for bottled water or boiling from open drains.

Despite these conditions, the SToP Trial achieved a 50 per cent reduction in skin infections among children, largely through local clinics, schools and "champions" who improvised where policy failed.

The report calls for sustained, community-driven investment in housing, maintenance and water infrastructure - arguing that environmental health is not about individual behaviour but about whether systems allow people to "wash, cook, and live safely".

For many participants, the work of keeping families healthy continues every day, one repaired pipe or shared washing load at a time.

"It's hard living out here," another said.

"The houses not built properly. But we just keep fixing what we can."