Water managers determine cause of mysterious yellow water reported in Davis, Weber counties

LAYTON — Water managers say they believe they now know why water turned yellow at several homes across northern Utah last week.

Elevated levels of manganese were discovered in water samples conducted in recent days, which “resulted in some yellow tinting to the water,” Weber Basin Water Conservancy District officials wrote in an update Friday. They explain that the mineral is normally found in natural surface and groundwater sources, and can be naturally dissolved into the water that is carried into a treatment plan.

Residents in Clearfield, Syracuse, Kaysville, Sunset, Clinton and West Point in Davis County, and Roy and Hooper in Weber County, all reported discolorations starting in the morning of Dec. 7. Dozens of samples collected at the time came back clean and safe to drink.

‘Yellow water’ reported in several Davis, Weber county cities, cause is under investigation

Manganese naturally occurs in “most foods and may be added to some foods,” the Utah Department of Environment Quality notes. The agency points out that “eating a small amount (of it) from food or water is needed to stay healthy,” but it can cause health problems at “high levels.”

In this case, the water with elevated levels still met Environmental Protection Agency standards, Weber Basin Water Conservancy District officials said. The mineral is typically filtered out of the water by the district’s ozone system, but that system was shut down two months ago for repairs since manganese levels are normally lower in the winter.

“It appears that elevated levels of manganese came through the watershed in the latter part of November or first part of December which resulted in the yellow-colored water in the city distribution systems,” district officials wrote, adding that the system has now been repaired and is operating again.