OTTAWA -- It's not easy being green, especially along the Rideau Canal.
Parks Canada is out cleaning up algal blooms and foliage from the canal in downtown Ottawa.
Users on social media have pointed out the green blooms along the Canal over the past few days.
In a statement Friday, Parks Canada said a weed harvester would be out on the water Monday to "facilitate clean up and impede future growth."
The harvester could be seen out on the canal on Monday, collecting the green algae from the water's surface.
Despite the look, Parks Canada's Rideau Canal operations Manager Scott Tweedie says it's harmless.
"It’s a green ligamentous algae. It’s distinct from the blue-green algae which you hear so much about, which has a toxic secretion. This one is harmless to people," he said. "We’ve deployed the weed harvester out of Smiths Falls. It’s currently working the Ottawa reach. It’s picking up all of the algae and we’re going to dispose of it at an appropriate location."
Local resident Maria Beliveau said she's happy to see the canal is being cleaned up.
"At first it was first quite daunting to see it," she told CTV News, "but now I’m really happy to know that they’re going to be cleaning it up, just for the wild life so they will be able to maybe swim along the canal a bit easier."
Not everyone dislikes the appearance of the green blooms.
One local resident, named Catherine, told CTV News it doesn't bother her at all.
"I find this beautiful. The green is a darker green along the shore line, this is a softer green, and nature is there," she said.
Another resident compared it to an Henri Matisse painting, from a distance.
"Up close, not so much," she said.
The Rideau Canal opened for the season on June 1, two weeks later than normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
