Drone footage of inviting turquoise waters and sandy-looking beaches makes this lake in Siberia look like paradise.<br /><br />In reality, the lake is a dump for chemical waste. <br /><br />A recent New York Times report highlights how the picturesque lake, actually a man-made waste site for power plant Heating and Electrical Station Number 5 outside Novosibirsk, has become a hit for Instagram influencers who pose for photos.<br /><br />Social media users have even nicknamed the site the “Maldives of Novosibirsk,” the Times reported.<br /><br />It added that the plant’s operator, Siberian Generating Company, acknowledged the site had become a “social media star” but added that the water is not poisonous. “The radiation level is normal,” the Times reported the operator as saying.<br /><br />But YouTuber and local citizen Artem154nsk who captured the footage in June disagrees with that assessment.<br /><br />He said: "Literally 20 minutes from my house there is a stunningly beautiful lake, which recently has aroused great interest among the residents of our city.<br /><br />"But in reality, this is not a miracle of nature, but an ash dump, where [coal plant] CHPP-5 discharges, therefore, it is strictly prohibited to swim in this reservoir.<br /><br />"The lake has this color due to the dissolved salts of calcium and other metal oxides in the water, as well as high pH.<br /><br />"The lake attracts lovers of beautiful photos, photo shoots, but in this place you do not feel relaxed alone with nature, as it is unsafe."
