As a result of being sourced from groundwater, Groveland’s water contains naturally-occurring iron and manganese. Below is an excerpt from the Environmental Protection Agency report on manganese in drinking water. For more of the report, click here.

Manganese is a naturally-occurring element that can be found ubiquitously in the air, soil, and water. Manganese is an essential nutrient for humans and animals. Adverse health effects can be caused by inadequate intake or over exposure.

Manganese deficiency in humans is thought to be rare because manganese is present in many common foods.

The greatest exposure to manganese is usually from food. Adults consume between 0.7 and 10.9 mg/day in the diet, with even higher intakes being associated with vegetarian diets (Freeland-Graves et al., 1987; Greger, 1999; Schroeder et al., 1966).

Manganese intake from drinking water is normally substantially lower than intake from food. At the median drinking-water level of 10 :g/L determined in the National Inorganic and Radionuclide Survey (NIRS), the intake of manganese from drinking water would be 20 :g/day for an adult, assuming a daily water intake of 2 L.

Exposure to manganese from air is generally several orders of magnitude less than that from the diet, typically around 0.04 ng/day on average (U.S. EPA, 1990), although this can vary substantially depending on proximity to a manganese source.

Although manganese is an essential nutrient at low doses, chronic exposure to high doses may be harmful. The health effects from over-exposure of manganese are dependent on the route of exposure, the chemical form, the age at exposure, and an individual’s nutritional status.

Regardless, the nervous system has been determined to be the primary target organ with neurological effects generally observed. Many of the reports of adverse effects from manganese exposures in humans are from inhalation exposures in occupational settings.

Although there are substantial data supporting the neurological effects of inhaled manganese in both humans and animals, there are few data for the association between oral exposure to manganese and toxic effects.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency