St. Patrick's day might be a month away, but Austin's downtown waterway isn't going green to celebrate.

Austinites might've noticed a striking green hue to Lady Bird Lake over the past few days, but according to the city's Watershed Protection Department, it's not a cause for alarm.

The green coloring is actually a dye used to find leaks in plumbing fixtures, according to the department. A representative said the dye might be seen in the water for several days, but it does not pose any type of health threat.

Water tracing dyes are often bright green to increase the visibility of the flow of water. They can help with determining how long it takes water to flow from point A to point B, to detect water overflow or leakage, and to check for any harmful pollutants making their way to a natural water source.

The same body of water drew attention in late January because of a dam failure that led to water levels dropping at least two feet. However, there is no public information connecting the incident with the green dye.

Austinites are in tune with color along the Colorado River because toxic algae blooms are not uncommon, and can cause serious negative health effects, especially in dogs that ingest the water while swimming. The culprit, Cyanobacteria, is also called blue-green algae, but it has a visible texture unlike the clear green dye.

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Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com. Details about the dam failure and toxic algae were added by CultureMap.