No abnormalities detected, PUB says after water in Bukit Timah Canal turned mysteriously blue

Water in a drain at Newton that leads to Marina Reservoir turned bright blue on Wednesday (Jan 17) afternoon.

Melvin Lee, 34, noticed the puzzling change in colour along the stretch of Bukit Timah Canal along Keng Lee Road near Chui Huay Lim Club.

"Initially, I thought it was colouring dye for some festival or event," he told AsiaOne on Thursday. "The drain was very blue, like a swimming pool."

Lee's TikTok video of this incident has garnered over 50,000 views.

In the comments, several netizens were intrigued by the colour of the water.

"Blue coral ice blended with jelly," one of them said, while another remarked that the drain water looked clean.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@vinnography/video/7324961007753776402[/embed]

Responding to AsiaOne's queries, national water agency PUB said that they were alerted to the incident at around 5pm.

"Our officers went on-site to conduct immediate investigations but did not observe any traces of unusual discharge at the location or further upstream," they said. "No abnormalities were detected in the water quality downstream of the canal or in Marina Reservoir.

"PUB is investigating the incident and has engaged developers and contractors in the vicinity to remind them it is illegal to discharge substances into the public drains."

The public can contact PUB on 1800-2255-782 to report any suspected pollution in Singapore's waterways.

Red water in Jurong West canal

Last August, the water in a drain in Toa Payoh that leads to the Kallang River turned milky blue.

Several fishes were observed swimming in the cloudy water along a stretch of the Sungei Kallang subsidiary drain, the Straits Times reported.

PUB said then that their officers did not observe any traces of the discharge at the location or further upstream.

"No abnormalities were detected in the water quality downstream of the discharge," they added.

Back in 2015, some Jurong West residents were alarmed when water in a canal there turned red. PUB later attributed it to an organic solvent and dye in a perimeter drain.

ALSO READ: Large-scale bubble bath? Upper Bukit Timah canal filled with foam

chingshijie@asiaone.com