Gone too far? Couple under investigation after contaminating waterfall for baby's gender reveal
A couple is bearing the brunt of public outrage for dying a waterfall for their gender reveal party, which possibly contaminated the water supply of a nearby town.
In a report by The Independent, the Cachoeira Queima-Pé, a 59-foot-tall waterfall located in Mato Grosso, Brazil, was polluted when a couple used it as the venue for their gender reveal party, wherein they poured blue dye on its crystal waters to show that they were having a baby boy.
When the couple posted a video of it on Instagram, backlash from Internet users immediately followed, with many angered at the couple for allegedly putting polluting substances in the water. The video was deleted afterward, but copies had already circulated on the online platform.
We don't deserve this planet
Couple in Brazil dye a waterfall for their gender reveal 😒 pic.twitter.com/6wirF9DovL— Richard B Colón 2.0 (@RichardBColon) September 27, 2022
"A Brazil couple dyed a whole 60-foot waterfall blue as part of a gender reveal, because who needs drinking water when you have 'likes'? One more time for those in the back: NO ONE CARES THAT MUCH ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S GENDER," American commentator Reese Waters wrote on Twitter.
A Brazil couple dyed a whole 60-foot waterfall blue as part of a gender reveal, because who needs drinking water when you have “likes”? One more time for those in the back: NO ONE CARES THAT MUCH ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S GENDER pic.twitter.com/XSBzwLWGaL
— Reese Waters (@reesewaters) September 28, 2022
Another user commented, "Bestie showed me another gender reveal disaster. Couple dyes a f*cking waterfall and poisons the only drinkable water source in the municipality and the ecosystem there. Just buy a f*cking colored cake instead! It's a delicious alternative and no one gets arrested for terrorism."
Bestie showed me another gender reveal disaster. Couple dyes a fucking waterfall and poisons the only drinkable water source in the municipality and the ecosystem there. Just buy a fucking colored cake instead! It's a delicious alternative and no one get arrested for terrorism.
— Samantha Marcella Veto (@MarcellaVeto) September 29, 2022
The environment ministry in Brazil has gotten wind of the couple's actions towards the ecological tourist attraction, which is frequently used as a water supply by the nearby town during droughts, and has promptly launched an investigation on them.
A spokesperson for Mato Grosso’s environment protection agency told The Washington Post that pouring dye on the waterfall was a violation of Brazil’s federal environmental law. While the penalties are still being discussed, the unnamed family member behind the stunt will be charged with harming the environment.
According to a Brazillian law, it is considered an offense to "throw solid, liquid or gaseous residues or debris, oils or oily substances" into the environment and may result in a fine of 5,000 to 50,000 reals (P50,000 - P500,000).
Fortunately, when the agency sent a team to check the condition of the waterfall following the incident, they found that there was "no change in the water’s physical parameters, such as color and other, and no trace of local fish mortality."