The Gowanus Creek Canal in the western portion of Long Island was dubbed Lavender Lake due to its oily discoloration, the New York Post reports.

Dr. Niloufar Hague told the New York University publication, Scienceline, a student found gonorrhea in a water sample.

Typhoid and cholera infected the waterway in the 1970s, but lobbying efforts resulted in environmental cleanup of the waterway.

A seal was seen in the canal in 2003.