St. Michael's Pink Water Perturbs Public
Many residents expressed frustration and concern, while others were understanding of the glitch.
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Several St. Michael and Albertville residents expressed frustration and safety concern about the pink and purple water that showed up in their faucets Monday night.
The Joint Powers Water Board has emphasized that the chemical in the water, potassium permanganate, came at a very highly diluted level, and is safe to drink and use, but will discolor laundry. The issue was caused by a glitch in the annual maintenance of the system at the plant, when a filter that was started up again contained purple water from the chemical.
The water board also apologized for the inconvenience and said they do not take the issue lightly. They added they are immediately going to make changes to prevent it from happening again.
Mark Hebeisen, who lives in the Heights Northwest area, said in an email to St. Michael Patch that he and his family will not drink the water. They noticed the "pinkish water" at about 6:45 p.m. Monday night.
He said although the water board stated the water was not harmful, he is still concerned.
"My concerns about the safety is that the chemical is an oxidizer," he said. "What is this doing to the pipes in our house and the water softener and water heater?"
Eric Peterson, who lives in Albertville, in the Albert Villas development, wasn't concerned.
"I used to work in the water/Wastewater treament — I knew it wasn't a safety issue," he said in an email to St. Michael Patch. "I know this can happen, and I'm sure the operators at the treament plant did all they could to prevent this from happening."
He added that the water started clearing up at his home hours later Monday night. His home was not affected by the magenta water that was in area showers in May.
Residents took to Facebook to express various reactions to the pink water:
- Even if this is annual maintenance, they should let us know ahead of time. The stuff stains cloths.
- This is so ridiculous that this keeps happening. St. Michael water dept, get your act together! I don't believe drinking pink or brown water is safe!
- We are right off of Grand Ave...wished they told me about washing clothes..did a load of whites and they are brown
- We are on Heights Rd NE, toilet bowl is pink so far. NOT HAPPY. Very glad my load of laundry wasn't ruined. Last time they claimed this was safe for drinking? I don't buy it.
- It's disturbing to me that this keeps happening. And do your own research about the "safety" of this for consuming.
- My boys want to know why it can't be blue water instead. Hot pink is way not cool. :o)
- It does make one think though, about what would happen if we COULDN'T drink the tap water. Everybody should have a few gallons tucked away.
- This is completely unacceptable and disgusting…
The water board encourages concerned residents to find more information here:
More information about potassium permanganate, in general, can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ogwdw/mdbp/pdf/alter/chapt_5.pdf. (It’s important to note that the concentration used in the treatment process is a highly dilute solution.) We expect that any residual color will be resolved quickly. In the meantime, we ask any customers with questions about their water call us at 763-497-3611. We sincerely apologize for this inconvenience and are committed to preventing this in the future.
Pink Cancer
10:45 am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
This is ridiculous and unacceptable, this is the FOURTH time that this has happened (Two major instances, two minor). I can see this happening one time, but not FOUR times. There is no way this garbage is safe to drink, it left residue around the toilet bowl, and in the sinks and shower. The residue it left in the sink looked like flem/mucus. WCCO or Kare11 really need to look into this and not only find out why it happened, but why it CONTINUES to happen. People need to lose jobs over this.
Hiram
12:32 am on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
You would think people would lose jobs over this
Jess
9:20 am on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
I must agree with you. I remember this happening last year. It stained my clothes and left stains in the sink and toilet. There is NO WAY I would drink that water or use it to cook. I can understand, accidents and mistakes happen, but this has happened too many times. I think it's time to solve this issue for good!!
Hiram
12:57 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Sad part is that there is anything put in the water "Water is the gift of life" Maybe a shot of chlorine during the warmer months but if it taste's bad it needs to breathe (decant)
Dieter
11:15 am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Mechanical things malfunction from time to time, the Water Dept. states in the article that there is a fix for this and they will be looking into getting it fixed. The previous one happened due to a pump being left on (human error or mechaniclal failure? they never said). At no time was the general public in any danger. The amounts of chemical are so dilute that it poses no harm, a small amount of this chemical can turn alot of water pink/purple.
Dieter
11:37 am on Tuesday, December 18, 2012
I am sure there are safety measures to ensure that if there is a malfunction it keeps the amount of chemical released within safe parameters.
Hiram
12:31 am on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Now you are giving them too much credit.....You HOPE there are safety mesures in place but I doubt it !
Hiram
12:28 am on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Now my snowman is PINK,,,,People think Im Gay !
dkaeja
11:52 am on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Wiki.answers.com says:
“There have been reported cases of pink tap water from the over treatment of the water by the utility dosing the water with too much potassium permanganate. Potassium permanganate is used to remove bad taste and odors in water, and when overused can yield a rosy shade of pink.
At low levels the material is benign. Higher levels (purple colour) should be reported to the utility and not consumed.“ http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_would_make_tap_water_pink_and_is_it_dangerous
The Columbus Dispatch reports on Wednesday, December 19, 2012:
“SOUTH BLOOMFIELD, Ohio -- If the water's pink, you shouldn't drink.” And: “Scot Foltz, environmental manager of drinking water at the Ohio EPA's central district office, said potassium permanganate can irritate the throat and stomach. The sick, young and elderly are particularly susceptible to the chemical's effects, he said.”
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2007/10/06/PinkWater.ART_ART_10-06-07_B1_37845ES.html
Hiram
12:56 pm on Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Sad part is that there is anything put in the water "Water is the gift of life" Maybe a shot of chlorine during the warmer months but if it taste's bad it needs to breathe (decant)
Dieter
8:31 am on Thursday, December 20, 2012
Water that comes out of the ground is not inherently safe to drink.
Erick J
8:54 am on Thursday, December 20, 2012
Potassium permanganate is ok to ingest, don't worry about it they say, we don't exactly know the concentrations that showed up in your water but you'll be fine to drink it. Oh, it is your clothes you should worry about. WTF.
We need to find a way to stop the mass pharmaceutical dosing of residents with Fluoride. If I am taking chemicals into my body, I want to do it by choice. I want the safety objectively demonstrated. Also, this fluoride is not pharmaceutical grade or even food grade.
There is no peer-reviewed scientific literature supporting fluoride in our water. It does not help our teeth. I barely comes into contact with teeth. I get a better exposure from toothpaste, if I were to choose such self inflicted poisoning.
dkaeja
12:02 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
You are right. I have been following Fluoride studies for a long time. It should not be put into the water. The following link pretty well outlines all the con-studies I have read and correctly disputes all the pro-studies I have read.
http://www.lovethetruth.com/truth_about_fluoride.htm
I just checked the toothpaste tube. It states: "Warnings Keep out of reach of children under 6 yrs. of age. If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away." Then, under directions, it says "do not swallow". That's because of the Sodium Fluoride that is in it. Doesn't sound like something that should go into the mouth to begin with...
Dieter
12:08 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
Erick J & dkaeja,
If you don't want to drink the water, don't drink it, buy bottled water or a reverse osmosis filter for your house. It is your choice, no one is forcing you to drink city water. I would hope that both of you have Chemistry degrees and have done extensive studies to back up your claims. Internet research doesn't count.
dkaeja
12:47 pm on Thursday, December 20, 2012
Well - with that I guess we can all now relax - problem clearly solved with a high degree of intelligence, concern and compassionate diplomacy. Back-atcha': I would hope that you follow your own words and advice.
PS - I do.