VIDEO: Pink tap water shocks residents of Canadian town

ONOWAY, Canada: Residents in a small town northwest of Edmonton were shocked to find bright pink water coming out of their taps.

Onoway Mayor Dale Krasnow posted a message Tuesday on the website saying the public is safe and was not at any risk.

He says the town was doing its weekly wash of filters at the water treatment plant using potassium permanganate, which turns water pink when used in large quantities.

The chemical is commonly used to remove iron and hydrogen sulphide from water, and the town office said it got into the reservoir when a valve malfunctioned during “normal line flushing and filter backwashing”.

The town has drained its water reservoir and is flushing the distribution system, he said Tuesday.

“Could the town have done a better job of communicating what was going on yesterday to our community? Absolutely, without a doubt,” Krasnow said in the post.

“And we do apologize for that. 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.”

He said Alberta Environment officials were coming to the town to review its system to try to determine what happened and what needs to be corrected.