What Is Up With The Mystery Of Plaster Creek Turning Bright Green?

Plaster Creek runs along the border of Grand Rapids and Wyoming and for some reason for a few hours the water turned bright green but why?

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When Water Turns Bright Green

Normally when I think of the water turning green is when they dye the Chicago River green in downtown Chicago to get festive for their annual St. Patrick's Day celebration.

Another time water can turn green, red, orange, or blue is when the rock gets weathered down over time, and the minerals from the rock dissolve and get released into the water making it turn different colors. Minerals like calcium carbonate, iron, manganese, and limestone are usually the culprits.

Another cause of water turning green is suspended sediment, algae, and unfortunately pollution. Algae blooms have been becoming more problematic in Michigan waters over the years.

Why Did Plaster Creeks Water Turn Green Temporarily?

Can you imagine driving or walking along the Grand River when you look over and suddenly the water is bright green? That is exactly what happened to multiple individuals who happened to pass by Plaster Creek.

The weird part of this story is, many people saw the water as bright green but when the city of Grand Rapids showed up to take a closer look the water had changed back to its normal clear look.

What is so concerning about this watercolor change, is not knowing what caused it and the fact that it runs into the Grand River that eventually empties into Lake Michigan. If the green color is something bad, that is a lot of water and areas that would be affected.

WOOD reported that Steven Littell and his wife noticed the color change and then took the photos. Steven Little said, "I stopped and it was fluorescent green. It was like almost glowing. Came back and checked on it for the next hour or so, it ran green for pretty close to an hour."

So What Is Behind the Mystery of the Green Water in Plaster Creek?

Sometimes water will get dyed to test the water flow. This is usually done by someone that works with the city but in this case, it is unknown if this was a dye test or a chemical spill of some sort. The city of Grand Rapids said they did not perform a test.

So where did the green color come from? We may never know.