The Rideau Canal, the prized jewel in the heart of Ottawa, has a new nickname tonight: the “Rio” Canal.
The water has taken on a bright green hue, almost like the water in the diving pool at the Rio Olympics. It's believed the ongoing heat coupled with a persistent lack of rain is promoting the growth of green algae. Anyone who's a regular on the Rideau Canal can't help but notice the recent color change. The unsightly green hue, while not dangerous, had some wondering whether St Patrick's Day had come a little early.
Four-year-old Nolan Tarrant had one thought when he saw the color of the Rideau Canal this morning.
“Are there alligators in the water?” he asks his mother Heather Lim. She admits she did a double-take, too.
“It’s the first time I saw it so green,” she says.
In the last couple of weeks, the water in the Rideau Canal has become decidedly green, from the ground level and even worse in the water, where Meredith Hutchings and Donna Moore are canoeing.
“It’s very green,” says Hutchings, “I think the ducks are very happy with it.”
“The water in the canal should be a priority for a city and the National Capital Commission,” adds Donna Moore.
Ottawa resident Chris Piper used to swim in the canal when he was younger
“I thought it was St. Patrick’s Day,” he says, as he snaps some photos of the green water.
Piper says this jewel in the heart of our city is more like an emerald, almost as green as the diving pool at the Rio Olympics. Piper wants answers.
“I know what this is,” says Piper, “this is budget cutbacks. This is simply a lack of money; they won't spend the money cleaning the water. Let's hope the tourists don't mind.”
Trying to get an explanation for all this isn't easy. The National Capital Commission is responsible for skating on the canal. They sent CTV Ottawa to Parks Canada. Parks Canada says it is not responsible for water in the canal so they sent us to the provincial Ministry of Natural Resources. But they tell us that they are not responsible for water quality. That lies with the provincial ministry of the Environment.
Paul Hamilton, an aquatic microbe specialist with the Museum of Nature analyzed the green bloom on the Rideau River recently and found 3 kinds of green algae that bloom when the water is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus.
“They are not toxic and are not typically correlated to bacteria pollution and metal pollution,” Hamilton wrote in an email to CTV, “The biggest issue is that basically people can see it and they don’t understand and like what they see.”
Parks Canada sent a sector manager to walk the area who reported that the green color was consistent from Dow’s Lake to the top of the Ottawa locks and concluded it was likely a green algae bloom, due to the heat and lack of rain.
For Bob and Diane Grabo, boaters from New York, the green hue is a bit of a turn-off but it will not turn them away.
“I am also looking forward to coming back in the winter and going skating,” says Diane Grabo, enjoying the sun from the deck of her boat.
Just this spring, Canada's Environment Minister announced a significant infusion of money for the Rideau Canal to encourage more people to use it. If only the water would cooperate.
