Why Manganese is a problem
The EPA has set a National Secondary Drinking Water Regulation for Manganese of 50 µg/L. “When manganese is present in drinking water at levels above the secondary maximum containment level, it may cause a black or brown appearance, black staining, or a bitter metallic taste. While not harmful to public health, these noticeable effects may cause people to stop using water from their public water system.”
1. Manganese: A Double-edged Sword StoryMap
Manganese: A Double-edged Sword StoryMap explores various aspects of manganese. While manganese is crucial for a healthy body, it’s a “double-edged sword” as chronic high levels may lead to a neurological disorder similar to Parkinson’s Disease.
2. Explore the manganese data in our Tuva drinking water dataset
All the drinking water data generated in the SEPA project can be found on our custom Tuva platform at arsenicdata.tuvalabs.com. Fifteen percent of all drinking water samples in our dataset meet or exceed the national secondary drinking water limit of 50 µg/L of manganese. Of those exceedances, it appears that the highest exceedances were a few years ago – in other words, the highest exceedances have decreased over the past three years compared to the first years of the SEPA project.
