In the town of Virden, Man., there are fewer residents seeing red these days when they look in the mirror.
This fall, several of the town’s residents were sporting unwanted orange-tinged hairstyles after the local water supply was contaminated with traces of iron. But the reluctant redheads are gradually regaining the looks – and the locks – they had before the town’s water problems.
“It’s better but it didn’t completely come out,” said Carol Chrisp, describing the orange hue that crept into her daughter’s blond hair last summer.
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“My hair is kind of going grey, so I’m okay.”
Virden, located about 80 kilometres west of Brandon, relies on well water that is naturally laced with iron. Earlier this year, the town thought it had the iron problem in check when it opened a new water treatment plant.
Things went fine for about six months, but colored water began flowing from household taps in August. People with blond or white hair that had previously been permed or dyed were among the most conspicuous carrot-top converts.
“God help you if you had white clothing,” said Bob Chalmers, principal of the Virden collegiate. “White shorts and undershirts didn’t last very long.”
Town officials say flowing water loosened iron from the town’s cast-iron pipes.
Town superintendent Norm Baxter said he countered the problem by injecting a corrosion inhibitor. The inhibitor coats the town’s water pipes to stop iron reserves from entering the water.
The story of Virden’s redheads made international headlines and was carried to countries in Europe and Asia.
Most residents used a sense of humor to cope with the unusual situation. One woman, tongue in cheek, asked whether the town might also be able to do something for her balding husband.
“She didn’t care if his hair was orange,” said Baxter, “as long as we could get it back.”
