All the water in this town just turned fluorescent pink
Residents of one town got quite the shock in their waterworks.
When the unsuspecting locals turned their taps on, they found all of the water had turned pink.
Residents of Onoway, Alberta, complained to the town office when taps began running pink water.
Some became concerned that the coloured water could be bad for their health.
Mayor Dale Krasnow reassured the residents the pink water was totally harmless, but apologised for failing to let people know their water would turn pink.
It’s thought to have been a side-effect of a common water-treatment chemical, potassium permanganate.
The chemical is usually used in order to remove iron and hydrogen sulphide from water.
But when a valve malfunctioned during “normal line flushing and filter backwashing”, the chemical got into the reservoir and turned everything bright pink.
Mayor Krasnow said: “The reservoir was drained, however some of the chemical still made it into the distribution system.
“While it is alarming to see pink water coming from your taps, potassium permanganate is used in normal treatment processes to help remove iron and manganese and residents were never at risk.”
Thankfully the worst the chemical can cause is skin irritation, with no worse issues reported.
The Mayor added: “This is a situation we can certainly learn from and develop a strategy for better response and communication should we ever face the same or similar situation in the future.”
