A cloudy white substance that flowed into Kootenay Lake Monday afternoon originated from the Nelson Curling Club.
The Ministry of Environment is looking into the incident they say occurred as the local curling club emptied their ice surface for the season into a storm drain that eventually flows into Kootenay Lake.
The white colouring is from the paint that was used to cover the rink flooring.
Nelson Fire Rescue was notified just before 2 p.m. Monday that something unusual was flowing out of the drainage pipe just upstream from the Prestige Lakeside Resort.
Two on duty members responded to assess the spill and also notified Nelson Public Works and Ministry of Environment Spill Response Team.
Nelson Curling Club’s Gary Meadows explained that because the rink floor is sand instead of concrete, removing the ice surface is a challenge. But he says there shouldn’t be cause for alarm.
“It’s nothing at all to worry about. That paint is the same kind of stuff we used as kids. It’s washable water paints,” he said. “For the little bit that went down, it dilutes in the water. It’s nothing that should bother.”
The curling club didn’t follow any different procedure this year.
The Ministry of Environment is working to determine what, if any, impact has been caused by this incident.