Since early February, the gulf, and beaches and islands surrounding it, have been in the throes of one of the worst blooms of red tide in recent years.

Cyanobacteria blooms usually occur in summer.

The river, which starts at the Saskatchewan Glacier in the Columbia Icefields and flows through to central Saskatchewan, is usually murky brown by the time it reaches Edmonton in summer. In recent weeks, however, the water has taken on the hues of Alberta's glacial lakes, thanks to dry, hot weather combined with maintenance at a major dam.