We've all fantasized about soda flowing out of our taps and drinking fountains, but we cease that train of thought once we realize how unhealthy all of that syrupy sugar would be for our mere human bodies. We know an all-pop diet would destroy our intestines rather quickly, but still, how would you actually react if you woke up to pink liquid running from your sink?
While it didn't turn out to be a delicious fizzy beverage, residents of Onoway, Alberta, came face-to-face this week with bright pink liquid pouring out of their faucets. The phenomena was captured on social media earlier this morning, and caused a bit of chaos in the small town of roughly 1000 people. Despite its similarity to a delicious lemonade or watermelon juice, there was a whole lot of uncertainty as to whether the water was indeed safe to consume. Onoway native, Trevor Winfield, took to Facebook and proclaimed his water to "broken". Others were afraid that the liquid was some sort of harmful chemical. Regardless of multiple theories, the entire incident had people shook.
After a few hours of head-scratching, officials from the town made a statement and apologized to everyone affected by the pink water. The fluorescent colouring of the water supply was found to be a result of "routine flushing", and while it seemed to be abnormal, Onoway's Facebook page allowed everyone to rest easy. "Yesterday, during normal line flushing and filter backwashing, a valve seems to have stuck open allowing potassium permanganate to get into the sump reservoir," said officials. "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."
So, despite its alien appearance, the water was determined safe to use and to drink. That's great news for the folks of Onoway, who shared pictures of the pink stuff all over Twitter today. While we're stoked that nobody is at risk, let's just enjoy the sheer oddity of it all via social media.
