Elevated Levels of Manganese

The City of St. John’s is advising residents serviced by the Petty Harbour Long Pond system, who are experiencing discoloured water, to use an alternative source of water for drinking.
 
Over the past several weeks, the City has been receiving complaints of intermittent discoloured water from residents serviced from Petty Harbor Long Pond. It has since been determined that the cause of the discoloured water is due to elevated levels of Manganese.
 
Manganese is one of the most prevalent metals on Earth and occurs naturally in our drinking waters, however some of our samples have exceeded the Maximum Acceptable Limit of 0.12 mg/L which is affecting the colour and quality:

• Manganese in drinking water is not a health concern for cleaning, washing foods or bathing.
• Boiling, freezing, filtering, or letting water stand will not reduce manganese levels.
• Manganese in water can stain plumbing fixtures and laundry.
• Children under one year of age should have infant formula, infant food or drinking water prepared with bottled water or an alternative water source.

The City continues to monitor the bacteriological health of your drinking water by continuous monitoring of the treatment process at the treatment plant and by collecting distribution samples for analysis. All samples are tested for adequate chlorine residuals and are sent to the Provincial Health Laboratory for analysis.

The city is working to set up a water station at the Municipal Depot at Blackler Avenue starting tomorrow and will work on additional water stations in the coming days. For more information on manganese in drinking water, visit the City’s website, which includes information from Health Canada.

A map of the Petty Harbour Long Pond service area and a lit of streets is available here. Residents may also contact the City’s Access Centre by dialing 311 or 754-CITY (754-2489).
 
The City of St. John's thanks all residents within the affected areas for their help and understanding during this event. The City of St. John’s will keep residents apprised of any updates.