Roundup
Pink Tap Water Startles Louisiana Residents By Sara Jerome
Right in time for Valentine ’ s Day , the water in a Louisiana city turned pink , and residents weren ’ t happy about it . “ On Monday , some Lake Charles residents found pink water coming out of their faucets . It was found in sinks and bathtubs from multiple locations around town ,” KPLC reported .
The city water department weighed in with a statement , per KPLC :
The water division has received a few calls concerning a pinkish discoloration of water near the Center Street East Plant . The superintendent has checked the effluents and chemical feed and detected no problems . It is possible that there may have been a slight overfeed of potassium permanganate used to treat manganese . The department is now performing flushing in the area reporting pinkish water , and they will monitor the plant effluent for the remainder of the day .
The water division noted that the water is safe to drink . They said “ crystal clear ” water has been flowing in the time since the complaints arrived .
Lake Charles is not the first city to surprise ratepayers with pink tap water . When Ohio tap water turned pink in 2009 , potassium permanganate was the cause there , too , according to USA Today . Kansas City faced a similar issue last month when “ an excess of sodium permanganate was added to the raw water treatment overnight ,” according to KSHB .
Potassium permanganate , the culprit in Lake Charles , is usually added to treatment processes at the raw water intake , according to the U . S . EPA ’ s water treatability database . It is generally followed by conventional treatment or granular activated carbon , membrane filtration , and chlorine disinfection . Per the database : Permanganate is a strong oxidant used primarily to control taste and odors , remove color , control biological growth in treatment plants , control zebra mussels in intake structures and pipelines , and remove iron and manganese . Permanganate can also be used for controlling the formation of trihalomethanes and other disinfection byproducts by oxidizing precursors and reducing the demand for other disinfectants . Permanganate has also shown to lower coagulant dose requirements and improve clarification .
In Lake Charles , the pink water alarmed locals . Jason Higginbotham told KPLC : “ After I put my child in the shower , she put the stopper in . My older son came in and said that the water was pink so I went in and took her out of the shower and started flushing the toilet . I turned the sink on and it still ran pink for awhile so we just got her out of the bath and I ran the water for about 30 minutes until it all went away .”
Mistaken Meter Reads Lead to $ 800,000 Lawsuit By Sara Jerome
Water consumption is at the center of a giant lawsuit in California . The city of Poway , in San Diego County , “ has sued Palomar Health for up to $ 800,000 the healthcare district was mistakenly undercharged for city water used by Pomerado Hospital between 2008 and 2015 ,” it was reported . As a result of meter-reading mistakes , the city undercharged for water use over that period , billing for just 10 percent of water use , the report said . The parties initially tried to negotiate a settlement , the newspaper previously reported , but never reached a deal .
How did the mistake occur ?
“ The error began when a new consolidated meter was installed at the hospital in 2008 and wasn ’ t discovered until the summer of 2015 , then City Manager Dan Singer said . The face of the new meter has six digits ,” according to reported .
“ Before the new meter was installed , Pomerado Hospital ’ s water bills averaged $ 150,000 to $ 200,000 . That dropped to $ 15,000 to $ 20,000 with the new five-digit meter ,” the report continued .
Becker ’ s Hospital Review summarized the details of the lawsuit :
The breach of contract lawsuit filed in San Diego Superior Court Dec . 27 says once the error was discovered , the city of Poway requested the payment from Palomar Health . But the lawsuit states , “ Defendants refused , and continue to refuse , to make any payment for the water the city actually delivered to Pomerado Hospital ,” according to the report .
A Palomar Health spokesperson was reported as saying that it does not comment on pending litigation .
Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said “ The city made a mistake in reading the meter . However , that doesn ’ t change the fact that they used the water and they need to pay for the water .”
40 Africa Water , Sanitation & Hygiene • March - April 2017