What Is Going On With The Tap Water In Lake Charles, Louisiana?

If you live in Lake Charles you've probably noticed a pink hue to your tap water or even a deeper purple tone. We have all the details on what happened and if it's safe to drink.

Local residents have been alarmed by the change in the color of their tap water in Lake Charles and have taken to social media for answers.

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Lezly Boudreaux Campbell lives in the Lake Charles city limits and is worried about her kids taking a bath in their water. As you can see from her Facebook post below, her water is a deep purple. It's so unbelievable that see even felt the need to tell people that she didn't add anything to the water to manipulate the color.

Lezly stated in the comments of her post that it's been getting worse everyday at her home.

Lake Charles resident Mary Catherine woke up to pink water at her home. It's definitely a valid cause for concern as it appears to be something that we shouldn't be putting on our bodies or ingesting.

A comment on Mary Catherine's post may hold the answer to what is making the water change color in Lake Charles, because the city is staying very vague about the whole situation.

Here's what Wikipedia says about the use of potassium permanganate for water treatment:

Potassium permanganate is used extensively in the water treatment industry. It is used as a regeneration chemical to remove iron and hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell) from well water via a "manganese greensand" filter. "Pot-Perm" is also obtainable at pool supply stores and is used additionally to treat wastewater. Historically it was used to disinfect drinking water and can turn the water pink. It currently finds application in the control of nuisance organisms such as zebra mussels in freshwater collection and treatment systems.

It also says that potassium permanganate is a crystalline salt with a purplish-black color that turns water a bright pink to purple solution when it dissolves.

KPLC reached out to the City of Lake Charles, and they attribute the water color change to the replacement of a pump at the George West Water Treatment Plant. They went on to say that they are flushing out the water lines and cleaning the filters at the plant.

City Officials say there is no need for concern and that the water is safe to drink.

From the Google searches that I've done on potassium permanganate there are many differing opinions on whether the chemical is toxic to humans or not. I've even seen a plumbing company's website say that as long as the water stays pink that it's not toxic to humans.

With all the contradictory information about potassium permanganate on the internet, my best advice would be to do your own research and do what you think is best for you and your family.