Why is water in this Iowa town turning pink? Don’t drink it, officials warn

Residents in an Iowa town have been warned not to drink tap water, which has turned pink because of an issue with the city’s water pumps.

“Every time you flush toilet, you turn the water on — pink,” Kara Robinson, who lives in Shelby, Iowa, told KETV.

Robinson is one of many Shelby residents encountering the issue that city officials said began overnight Sept. 8 when two of the town’s four wells did not properly reset.

It caused an excess of potassium permanganate to penetrate the system, turning the water pink.

While city officials initially said the water was safe to drink and use, they backtracked Sept. 10 with a “DO NOT DRINK THE WATER” advisory.

The water has high levels of manganese, an element that officials say can increase the risk of health problems if consumed in abundance— especially as a baby.

Babies exposed to too much manganese may experience learning or behavioral issues, officials in the town warned residents.

Residents should only use bottled water for drinking, tooth brushing and food preparation, according to the Shelby County Emergency Management.

“The wells are back online and potassium permanganate is no longer being overfed, but pink water is still observed in the clearwell,” emergency management officials said Sept. 11 “The clearwell will be pumped out and replaced with treated water. According to the city, the system’s failure alarm did not go off.”

Free bottled water was being offered by the city. But Robinson says that is not enough, as the city has had issues with its water system previously.

“I think there’s a lot of hurt feelings between the citizens and the city council, and we all feel like our voices are not being heard,” she told KETV. “We are being run over. Nobody’s listening to what we are saying.”

As of Wednesday, manganese levels in the city have ranged from 0.62 mg per liter to 1.3 mg per liter, according to emergency management. The United States Environmental Protection Agency recommends no more than 0.3 mg/L of manganese for infants and 1.0 mg/L for adults.

Shelby, with a population of about 730, is about 100 miles west from Des Moines.

This story was originally published September 11, 2024 at 2:36 PM with the headline "Why is water in this Iowa town turning pink? Don’t drink it, officials warn."