Readers React: Pink Water Invades St. Michael, Albertville Taps

Despite the “keep calm and carry on” kind of plea from the Joint Powers Water Board, this week’s experience with pink water has more than a few people concerned about our public water supply.

Monday morning residents in several St. Michael and Albertville neighborhoods woke up to pink water due to a user malfunction at the water plant, which is located off 50th Street Northeast on the Albertville border with St. Michael.

The JPW explained: The culprit was a pump that feeds potassium permanganate into the system. The pump was left on during a maintenance period, and put too much of the compound into the system.

Here’s what our readers had to say:

- It was alarming in Ghostbusters, too. :)

- It's 11 a.m. and the water is still pink...pink....pink....

-  Wondering if the person who made this mistake is still employed? This was too big of a mistake for them not to get fired and now I have to sit and run my water and had to go purchase bottled water. There is no way I would give my child this hot pink water that is coming out of our faucets and filling out toilets...and we got a line of crap telling us its safe, don’t think so!

- still pink here too! If we need to run our water to rid of the pink. Who is paying our water bills?

On Facebook: 

Cati Ellen Holker said: “’The colored water is harmless in normal doses.’ What is ‘normal?’ Just food for thought; if an infant gets all her nutrition from formula, mixed with tapwater (which, by the way, you're not supposed to use) is THAT a normal "dose?" Is an average "dose" of water two cups a day? How about a roofer who drinks a gallon or more on a hot day? I'm sure this particular accident isn't of great concern to most, but a "normal dose" sounds a bit too vague to me.”

Katie Voskamp: I DO NOT miss the water in St Michael! I remember it would smell like sulfur so often we couldn’t drink it! Now we are lucky to have reverse osmosis in our new house...I’m so grateful!  

Are people reacting to a relatively harmless mishap (Fox 9 reported you’d have to drink 5,000 gallons to get sick)? Or is it something to get worked up about?

Also, if you have "pink drink" photos, upload them here and we'll share with the community.