<div><p><a href="https://www.northcarolinaresidentdatabase.com" target="_blank">Residents of this small town</a> got a big surprise when they turned on their taps in the morning. Bright pink water came rushing out, and it's still flowing.</p><p>Hundreds of people in the small town of Onaway found their faucets pumping fluorescent pink water, but officials say it's safe to drink.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/screengrabpinkwater.PNG" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/screengrabpinkwater_GH_content_550px.PNG 550w" sizes="89vw" title="Pink Water" alt="Pink Water" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Twitter</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>Um, no thanks.</p><p>Residents ignored the assurances and largely stayed far away from the wacky water.</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>"It was weird. I just didn't use it. I didn't need water to make supper, but I'm sure other people had issues," said one resident.</p><div><figure><amp-img src="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/pinkwaterresident-global.jpg" srcset="https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/pinkwaterresident-global_GH_content_550px.jpg 550w, https://www.shared.com/content/images/2017/03/pinkwaterresident-global_GH_content_650px.jpg 650w" sizes="89vw" title="Resident and Water" alt="Resident and Water" height="9" width="16" layout="responsive"></amp-img><figcaption class="op-vertical-center"><cite>Global</cite></figcaption></figure></div><p>The Onaway mayor Dale Krasnow posted a message saying the public was at no risk and the water was safe. He blamed the problem on a weekly wash of the filters at a water treatment plant that didn't quite go as planned.</p><p>Routinely the filters are washed with Potassium Permanganate, which is a widely used chemical in water treatment, but also can turn water purple or pink in large amounts.</p><p><!-- [invalid-shortcode] --></p><p>Krasnow says that a pump appears to have gotten stuck, allowing the compound to get into the town's distribution system. The town is now draining its reservoir and flushing the system.</p><p>The provincial government has sent investigators to ensure that the problem doesn't happen again, and to make sure that protocol is being followed. </p><div><amp-twitter height="472" width="375" layout="responsive" data-tweetid="839187718244466688"></amp-twitter></div><p>The mayor admits that the town could have done a better job explaining what went wrong, but says it's a situation they can learn from.</p><p>For the town's residents' sake we'll hope it never happens again.</p></div>