The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

The Clear Take on Water and Wastewater Today

The manganese menace in Nebraska

Duane Grashorn

Duane Grashorn, Nebraska Region Manager

Those of you who live and work in Northeast Nebraska/Northwest Iowa have likely heard about the drinking water ban in West Point, a community of 3,300 people, due to higher-than-deemed safe levels of manganese in the water. According to one news report, the city’s tap water has been discolored for months and tests revealed manganese levels “more than three times the maximum safe level”. Another report was more severe, stating that complaints had been lodged for more than a year. The Nebraska Health Department put West Point on notice and ordered the community to stop drinking the water due to the high levels of manganese. The city has plans to build a new filtering system and have it up and running by the first of the year.

“The Platte River corridor in this part of Nebraska is known for levels of manganese in the water that must be tested for and filtered out,” said Duane Grashorn, our Nebraska Region Manager. “We do this regularly for the communities we serve here including Valley, Waterloo and North Bend. It’s pretty lockstep with what we do. Manganese will settle out on its own in time, but we don’t wait for that. We speed the process along with oxidizers potassium permanganate and chlorine, and in some cases polymers to bind the manganese to these,” he added.

The good news is, manganese in the water is imminently filterable so residents don’t have to be concerned about ill-smelling and discolored tap water, or worse, worried about the health effects when manganese levels are higher than deemed safe. If you’re dealing with the manganese menace, contact us. We’ve got a solution!