Toronto's heart-shaped pond turns scummy green

Green water in the pond at Toronto’s Love Park appears to be souring the romantic mood at the city’s newest outdoor attraction.

Less than three weeks after it opened, the park’s central water feature, a heart-shaped pond, turned from blue to an unappealing green.

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While visitors to the two-acre park, located on the northeast corner of York Street and Queens Quay West, may be surprised by the water colour, a spokesperson for the City of Toronto said some “greening” was expected in the weeks after it opened.

“The commissioning of the Love Park pond is ongoing and will include monitoring over time (the next few weeks), as the bio-filters need time to establish and the ozone treatment is being calibrated,” the spokesperson said in a statement emailed to CP24.

“Part of the commissioning process is understanding what triggers imbalance and adjusting as required. Some greening is expected to occur during this ‘balancing period’ and the green shade is expected to subside as final adjustments are made.”

The water in the heart-shaped pond at Toronto's Love Park has turned a scummy green colour.

Construction on the park, which also includes an off-leash dog area, began in 2021 and it officially opened at the end of last month.

The city said it will continue to work with the contractor to return the water to a dark blue colour.

“This ongoing work will be affected by summer weather condition changes like rain and heat,” the statement concluded.