Canadian shocker: town residents find taps running pink water!

Residents of a small Canadian town were shocked to discover bright pink water pouring out from their taps - but officials insisted the liquid was safe to drink.

Instead of the usual crystal clear water, the town of Onoway, Alberta, with nearly 1,000 people, had ''very, very pink'' liquid gushing out from their taps on Monday.

Mayor Dale Krasnow said in a statement on Tuesday that ''there was never a public health risk'' and the strange water was safe to use.

He added, ''We are still assessing what exactly happened but it appears a valve may have stuck allowing the potassium permanganate to get into our sump reservoir and thereby into the town's water distribution system.''

Potassium permanganate, also known as potassium salt (KMnO4), is a common inorganic chemical used to treat drinking water in order to remove iron and sulphur odours. It also can be used as a disinfectant and is similar to chlorine.

Residents were baffled by the hue and several documented the unusual occurrence by taking photos and videos, some even storing the water in containers.

Despite officials insisting it was safe, some people weren't willing to take a chance on the off-coloured water.

Vicki Veldhuyzen Van Zanten told local media she learned of the pink water from her neighbour who called and asked if she noticed the weird liquid. She said at the time it was still running clear but it later ran bright pink from the hot water taps.

''It was very, very pink,'' Veldhuyzen Van Zanten said. ''It was weird. I just didn't use it, I had leftovers, I put what we had in the microwave; I didn't need water to make supper. But I'm sure other people had issues.''

Mayor Kransow said environment officials from Alberta were going to pay a visit to the small town to help fix the situation