Council sets the record straight after 'disgusting' sight at famous Aussie beach
Surfers Paradise is famous for its stunning stretch of beach but many agreed it was far from its finest state this week.
Stunned Australians were left speculating the worst after seeing what they thought was vast amounts of sewage in the water at a famous Queensland beach.
Footage of a large patch of brown shoreline at Surfers Paradise on the Gold Coast was shared online on Thursday with the "disgusted" poster asking what on earth the sludge could be. "I am sick to my stomach about it," she said.
While the concerned onlooker guessed it could be an "oil spill", others said it looked to be "sewerage overflow".
Many were concerned with the apparent oil or sewage spill, asking what could be done to fix it and why it looked like people were still "swimming in the "poo". A few locals however appeared to set the record straight by sharing what the "spill" actually was.
"I lived on the Gold Coast for 19 years. Big seas has pushed algae onto the beach, that’s all it is! Stop fear mongering if you don’t know!" one exclaimed. "Algal bloom, it happens annually," another added.
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Council confirm real cause of brown water
As some of the locals said, a Gold Coast City spokesperson confirmed with Yahoo News Australia that the brown water was a "harmless" algae.
"The discolouration of the water was caused by a naturally occurring brown algae," they said. "The algae is harmless and often occurs in pockets close to the shore when there is a large swell."
According to the Queensland Government, algal blooms and algal drifts are common seasonal events along their coasts and "play an important ecological role in marine and estuarine environments".
While some blooms have the potential to be harmful to humans and other animals others may merely be a "nuisance" — like this one.
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