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Australian Environment authorities are continuing to investigate what turned a creek in Melbourne鈥檚 north to bright pink over the weekend.
Edgars Creek, in Coburg North, turned a bright shade of聽fluorescent pink on May 9, but authorities are still unsure of the cause behind the bizarre phenomenon and warned members of the public to avoid contact until further notice.
“EPA officers are investigating the cause of the strange discolouration which happened near Adnette Court,” Victoria鈥檚 Environmental Protection Authority wrote on Facebook Saturday. In an updated post, the authority said the creek has since started “returning to normal as it is naturally flushed from recent rainfall.”
On a further post on Sunday, the EPA said heavy rains have now “flushed the pink pollutant from the creek which is returning to normal,” and thanked the聽Coburg North community for reporting the incident.
Tara DeGraft-Hayford, a Melbourne resident, told The Age that she had seen the pollution聽on Saturday morning while she was out walking her dog.
“I thought it was a plastic sheet and as I got closer, I noticed it was coming from the drain and the water was actually pink,” she said, noting that the bizarre sight almost looked like soap.
“It looked quite thick and so bright, almost like some kind of soap – but not. It was weird,” she said, adding that the pollution had no smell, but it looked “not right and definitely not safe whatever it was.”
According to The Age,聽Edgars Creek runs 17 kilometres (10.5 miles) from Wollert through Epping, Thomastown, and Reservoir before joining the Merri Creek at Coburg North and is populated with native bird species.
Edgars Creek is not the only body of water in Victoria to turn pink as the city’s聽Westgate Park also turns a bright cotton candy shade most summers due to a natural process, when salt levels are higher than usual.
“Westgate Park鈥檚 salt lake has turned pink again this season: a natural phenomenon in response to very high salt levels, high temperatures, sunlight and lack of rainfall,”聽Parks Victoria explained in a 2017 Facebook post.
“Algae growing in the salt crust at the bottom of the lake produces the red pigment (beta carotene) as part of its photosynthesis process and in response to the extremely high salt levels.”
The organisation said that while the聽algae is not harmful to local wildlife, people should avoid coming into contact with the water and instead just “enjoy the views.”
Focus News: Environmental Investigation Launched After Melbourne Creek Turns Bright Pink