The beautiful blue waters of the man-made pond, nicknamed the “Novosibirsk Maldives,” are literally caused by a close-by coal plant.
Government officials are warning tourists to stay away from traveling to
the “Novosibirsk Maldives,” a lake that
appears natural and
beautiful however is actually man-made and probably dangerous.
The body of water is found close to the
Russian city of Novosibirsk and received its
nickname for its sky-blue water, which is comparable to the Maldives, a group of islands that are a popular luxury vacation
destination in the Indian Ocean. The location has been increasing
in popularity with
Instagram users, who flock
to the area to
snap a photograph with
the supernatural H20.
The Siberian pond even has its own Instagram account, which boasts over 150 posts showing visitors posing close to the
water in bathing suits, or perhaps on
the water in pool floats or on stand-up paddle boards.
However, officials claim the water’s unbelievable blue color is actually the results
of a colossal ash
dump from a close-by coal
plant, and are asking visitors to stay afar from the realm.
According to the Moscow Times, “this lake isn’t a natural miracle in the least, but an ash dump into that CHPP-5 the coal plant
is dumping waste.”
The power plant in question, the Siberian
Generating Company, claims that whereas the pond is ‘not technically toxic,’ visitors shouldn’t go
swimming in the body
of water.
One local who took some photos alongside the pond last
month, told Mashable that though there
wasn’t any detectable odor, she still stayed clear of getting into the
water.
“The whole periodic table is in there,” she said.
The Siberian Generating Company took to Russian
social media website VK
last month to clarify specifically what
chemicals are in the water,
attributing the color to
“calcium salts and other metal
oxides are dissolved in it. a
corporation representative warned, “skin contact with such
water might cause an allergic reaction.”
The company additionally declared that the bottom of the pond is extremely muddy, which makes it tough for swimmers to gain solid footing just in case of an emergency.
One Instagram user commented on a photograph of the pond, claiming that after swimming in the water, “the next morning,
my legs were slightly red and itchy day two, and then it went away.”