Don’t be overly concerned about the orange-brown drinking water in Stillwater…

1:07 PM EDT on September 9, 2013

It looks like the upcoming Sports Illustrated exposé isn't the only thing that has folks in Stillwater all worried. According to KFOR, the tap water around the OSU campus has a brown-orange tint to it (see pic above). And no, contrary to popular belief, that's not common.

From KFOR:

School spirit runs orange in Stillwater; The people, the fountains, and now, the water flowing through the pipes at OSU.
Student, Christian Sigler said, “That has nothing to do with school spirit. That’s just gross water.”
The University has been flooded with inquiries and concerns about the rusty water color.
The problem first surfaced when students returned to campus in mid August. It became alarming enough to warrant an investigation by DEQ and the OSU utilities and energy department.
OSU Official, James Rosner said, “We are working with the Department of Environmental Quality to test the water and make sure we are in compliance.”

Basically, the water looks like it should taste like Norman water. That's not a good sign. However, it is good to know that Oklahoma State is working with government officials to make sure the water is "in compliance." Because if there's one thing out there that you'd like to see meet the absolute minimum levels of quality and compliance, it's the water you drink, cook with and bathe in.

So, how concerned should OSU students be about the water? Should they send a batch to the writers at Sports Illustrated???

Here's more from KFOR:

Lake Carl Blackwell is the water source for OSU. The recent rains stirred up the water, causing unusually high levels of Manganese.
School officials say it may look bad but is not harmful to students and faculty.
Rosner said, “It’s a discoloration issue, not bacteria or a health issue. Right now you don’t need to be overly concerned when you look at it.”
Students are being encouraged to use the fountains around campus that have carbon filters to remove most of the “organic rust.”
And the University is taking daily water samples to ensure the safety of all Oklahoma State students, staff and visitors.

Yeah, there's no reason to be alarmed. The orange-brown water isn't harmful and you shouldn't be "overly" concerned about it, but in the meantime, we're going to test water samples daily and "encourage" everyone to drink out of these special water filter fountains. I'm sure that will calm everyone down and not result in any frantic emails to Erin Brockovich.

Seriously, there has to be something more to this, right? We are talking about Stillwater. Although the brown stuff is likely manganese, it could also be fracking fluid, leftover rust from Lewis Field, or simply mean that the grease from Eskimo Joe's has finally infiltrated the city's water supply. That last one would be catastrophic.

Patrick @okcpatrick

Patrick is the founder, editor and publisher of The Lost Ogle.