Reports of an “orange goo” on White Rock’s West Beach brought city and fire officials to the waterfront Monday morning.
Fire Chief Phil Lemire said reports of the “brown, rusty-coloured material” flowing from the Anderson Street outfall came in around 7:40 a.m.
South Surrey resident Geoff Curran told Peace Arch News that he and his wife saw it around 9 a.m., while out for a walk.
He said it was clay-coloured, “gooey,” didn’t have a noticeable odour and “spread out quite a dramatic stream into the ocean.”
“It’s almost like they excavated upstream,” he said.
Lemire described the discoloration as “quite striking,” but noted it’s not the first time such an occurrence has been reported this time of year.
It’s believed testing will reveal the cause is the same as in previous years – some sort of organic material.
“The (city’s) operations staff has taken samples,” Lemire said.
Similar information was posted to the city’s website at 9:30 a.m. Monday, promising an update “once the test results are in.”