A sharp-eyed member of the public has got the Waikato Regional Council investigating why the water at popular tourist spot Bridal Veil Falls has suddenly turned into a shade of "cow poo".
The Hamilton man said that he noticed the discoloured water after spying a photo that a visitor had taken and posted on their Facebook page.
"Hi WRC, saw these photos on a visitor's feed, and wondered why Bridal Veil Falls is the exact colour of cow poo at the moment?
"What's going on upstream that our beautiful place looks like an effluent pond ... not impressed."
The council replied that there could be a variety of reasons for the "unusual" green-brown water colour, and its incident response team would investigate.
However, the follower suggested that it had more to do with animals getting too close to the river's edge, replying "I reckon it's either those animals, or the quarry across the road ... but poo colour says animals."
The team was at the popular tourist spot, on the outskirts of Raglan, on Wednesday collecting water samples.
The result would be known in a few days, the council said.
The Herald is awaiting a formal response from the Council.