The water company warns that high levels of manganese could be dangerous for children.
MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — A warning from the water company to parents who live in one community in Monroe County: Don't let infants drink the water. Water testing shows high levels of a mineral, which can cause health issues.
Officials with Pennsylvania American Water say mixing water containing high levels of manganese and baby formula, which already contains manganese, can cause dangerous levels of the mineral in infants.
The people Newswatch 16 spoke with question the safety of the water for every household in this community, whether they have infants or not.
Water is the talk of the neighborhood at Blue Mountain Lake Estates near East Stroudsburg.
Pennsylvania American Water says water testing from a well indicated higher-than-normal levels of manganese, a naturally occurring mineral.
The alert sent to residents last Thursday advises parents to not allow infants under 6 months old to drink the tap water, but people who live here say they still worry about the safety for everyone.
"We've done our own research to know that manganese in a high level can impact and affect people over 50, people who are immunocompromised, so there are other different variables to this that they are not taking into consideration at all," said resident Neicy Rubin.
Pennsylvania American Water placed an alternate water supply for the community, but Rubin says she's going to keep using bottled water for now.
"That's the latest thing, and giving my dog bottled water and even bathing with bottled water because we just don't know," Rubin said.
"It also says the manganese level can't be filtered through anything. We're all just drinking bottled water at this point," resident Tricia Holste said.
Officials with Pennsylvania American Water say because manganese is naturally occurring, it's unclear why the levels were slightly elevated from what the government recommends.
"Kids are getting out of school, they want to be playing in their kiddie pools. We have a beautiful splash park over by the swimming pool. Is it safe for toddlers to run around in there? Is it safe for them to be exposed to that water and get it in their mouths and eyes? We don't know," Holste said.
"At the end of the day, we should have clean water," Rubin added. "We pay for clean water. We are not getting answers, and we are not getting resolution, and we are concerned."
Pennsylvania American Water tells Newswatch 16 its engineers are working with DEP to develop a system to remove manganese. That's expected to take a month or more.
Pennsylvania American Water maintains that the water at Blue Mountain Lake Estates is safe to drink except for babies younger than 6 months.
https://www.wnep.com/article/news/local/monroe-county/worries-about-the-water-in-monroe-county-community-blue-mountain-lake-estates-pennsylvania-american-water-manganese/523-a1970856-4eed-4ee6-b05a-2f08ae89e8c3