Langley residents complain of brown, dirty water; Township says it’s safe

LANGLEY (NEWS 1130) – There are recurring complaints about brown, dirty water in Langley, and while the Township is making moves to fix it, some who live there still have safety concerns.

Residents have posted photos to a Murrayville community Facebook page showing brown-tinted liquid filling sinks.

It’s a recurring problem, according to Anna Remenik, a community activist, who says it’s the result of manganese reacting with chlorine in the water supply, fed in part by 17 wells.

The Township has told residents that while it looks bad, the water is safe. However, Remenik says she has seen the staff report.

“Those wells are not within parameters, they’re not within aesthetic values, and there’s one that they had to decommission because it was actually over the health value,” she says.

Remenik and others are worried about exposure to high levels of manganese and says the Township has been less than forthcoming about the situation.

“The intention is to make people think that there’s absolutely nothing going on,” she says. “When the reality is, is that there are underlying concerns and you really actually need to be telling people.”

The Township is moving to connect impacted residents to the Greater Vancouver Water District supply, which Remenik applauds, but she says in the meantime, residents are forced to take their own measures.

“Filtering, buying water, if that’s been your choice, and you keep being very diligent to look at the water before you actually get under the shower.”