Anecdotal reports of the canal's water quality include descriptions of a reddish-purplish color due to coal and slaughterhouse wastes in the 19th century, and a lighter purplish color, leading to its nickname "Lavender Lake" in the 20th century. Twentieth-century author H. P. Lovecraft described "the lapping oily waves at its grimy piers". In 1999, the water's usual color was described as "green with a white undertone, akin to the look of cream-infused coffee". A 2013 account describes the canal's "modern" color as being gray-green. In 2017, two long-time residents recalled the canal's black color in the 1950s: "All you could see was a big cesspool, and bubbles coming up."