Pink water gushes out of Canadian town’s taps - but officials say it’s safe to drink

Residents of a town in Canada were astounded to see pink water gushing out of their taps.

The oddly coloured liquid was first spotted by people in Onoway, Alberta, on Monday, when it started pouring into their sinks.

Many residents snapped pictures of the pink water and wondered whether or not it was safe to drink.

However, officials have told people not to be alarmed by the funny looking H2O.

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Mayor Dale Krasnow admitted there was a lack of communication over the pink water but there was no public health risk.

He said the pink colour was a side-effect of potassium permanganate, a common chemical used in water treatment.

It is used to remove iron and hydrogen sulphide from water, but it got into the reservoir after a valve malfunction, the mayor said.

He added: ‘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.’

The World Health Organization said the chemical can cause skin irritation but there have been no reports so far.

Residents complained that they weren’t told why the water was pink until Tuesday morning.

The town has almost 1,000 people living in it, many of whom refused to drink the water while it was pink.