History Main / GrimyWater

It is a good way to make a video game character avoid pits of liquid without invoking SuperDrowningSkills or going as far as {{Lava Pit}}s. Usually appears in games with [[CoolClearWater regular swimmable water]] as well. Sometimes it is possible to clear up the grimy water to make it swimmable. Rarely, just the surface causes injury.[[note]]it is implied to be something floating on it that is harmful.[[/note]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Ratatouille}}'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable has this happen for two of its sewers levels. Auguste Gusteau will warn you if said water isn't safe to swim in.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'': Woodfall and Woodfall Temple are both flooded with bright purple water that harms you on contact. The latter is purified once you activate a certain mechanism inside the temple, while the swamp as a whole is cleansed by defeating the temple's boss.

-->-- '''Music/AesopRock''', "By The River"

->''"Stop falling in the death water!"''
-->-- '''LetsPlay/ProtonJon''', [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCjMWKSpvHI Let's Play Mario's Wacky World - World 2 Part 1]]

* ''VideoGame/LEGOBatman'': there is regular water which is quite swimmable and of course grimy water which will kill you instantly. The bad water is actually green toxic waste and is accessible when you have unlocked certain characters that are immune to the toxins.
* ''LEGO Lord of the Rings'': Ordinary water will kill you, but you have a chance of jumping out of it by [[PressXToNotDie tapping A]]. Swamp water, found in the Dead Marshes, will kill you instantly.
* ''[[VideoGame/LEGOStarWars LEGO Star Wars II]]'': In a Tatooine level in ''Film/ANewHope'', there is an area dotted with moisture vaporators that has deadly pools of mud. A vaporator next to it, when activated, can suck the area dry and provide a walkable surface.

*** ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime3Corruption'': The yellow, boiling fluid in planet Bryyo looks like lava, but is actually Fuel Gel. This is the reason why touching it is harmful for Samus even with the Varia Suit, requiring an additional powerup (the Hazard Shield) to fully negate its effects.

* While [[SicklyGreenGlow green nukage]] and [[LavaIsBoilingKoolAid red-and-orange lava]] are always harmful in ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and the [[WaterIsBlue extremely blue water]] is almost always harmless[[note]]exceptions being a lonely, conveniently marked-as-toxic blue water pool in ''Doom'' [=E3M3=] "Pandemonium" and a few maps in ''The Plutonia Experiment'' (Aztec, Ghost Town and Baron's Lair)[[/note]] , whether or not brown slime and blood are damaging varies [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the whim of the level designer]]. With [[GameMod custom WADs]], no holds are barred: nukage and slime can be treated as algae-infested or plain muddy water, blue water can be electrified, or actually liquid nitrogen or reactor coolant, and blood can even be swam in; lava tends to be consistently damaging, however. A major exception in the classic episodes is [=MAP29=] of ''TNT: Evilution'', River Styx, where in addition to non-damaging rivers of blood, the level contains floors with harmless lava.

** ''VideoGame/Castlevania64'': All the water is poisonous, and literally dissolves the player like acid if (read: ''[[CameraScrew when]]'') you fall in.

In ''MichaelJordanChaosInTheWindyCity'', Acid (which looks like glowy green water) appears in a few of the Factory levels, and is an insta-kill upon touching it. MJ has to hit the levers to lower the Acid level which allows him access to further areas in the level.

** Tear Lake has one level with purple patches of water caused by the water filtration system being broken, which deal damage to Starly when she touches them. They vanish once the filtration system is working again.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLegendaryStarfy'', most of the waters in Sogwood Forest are weirdly bubbly and of an unhealthy purple colour. Needless to say, Starfy must better not touch those poisoned waters, else he would be damaged.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLorax'', befitting the CrapsaccharineWorld setting, the water in Thneedville is indicated to be irradiated in the first few minutes when one kid goes swimming and comes out glowing green.

* On ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', Ron's HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood had him spending one summer at [[AbandonedCampRuins Camp]] [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace Wannaweep]], where among other things, the lake was clearly toxic. Years later, it turned out to have mutagenic properties and even once brought an army of [[{{Snowlems}} snowmen to life]] when its waters were used to create artificial snow.

* On ''WesternAnimation/KimPossible'', Ron's HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood had him spending one summer at a terrible camp where among other things, the lake was clearly toxic. Years later, it turned out to have mutagenic properties and even once brought an army of [[{{Snowlems}} snowmen to life]] when its waters were used to create artificial snow.

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation has a few:

* {{Double Subver|sion}}ted in ''VideoGame/Splatoon2''[='=]s Salmon Run mode. This mode takes place in a restricted ocean zone, where the water is a sickly shade of toxic green... and otherwise doesn't seem very different from normal water. Except, this is ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''. [[SuperDrowningSkills Inklings dissolve in water.]]

** The third stage of The Valley of Defilement also has ''plague'' swamps. [[UpToEleven They wanted to give players something to hate more than the poison swamps]], it would seem.

* Conversely, ponds and lakes with clear, sparkling water are often deceptive: their clarity may not be a sign of "purity" at all, but ratherbiological toxins, pollution, low oxygen levels, or other issues that have killed every living thing in it.

* While [[SicklyGreenGlow green nukage]] and [[LavaIsBoilingKoolAid red-and-orange lava]] are always harmful in ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and the [[WaterIsBlue extremely blue water]] is always harmless[[note]]exceptions being a lonely, conveniently marked-as-toxic blue water pool in ''Doom'' [=E3M3=] "Pandemonium" and two pools of normal-looking water that deal maximum "super hellslime" damage in ''Plutonia'''s Map 03 "Aztec[[/note]] , whether or not brown slime and blood are damaging varies [[DependingOnTheWriter depending on the whim of the level designer]]. With [[GameMod custom WADs]], no holds are barred: nukage and slime can be treated as algae-infested or plain muddy water, blue water can be electrified, or actually liquid nitrogen or reactor coolant, and blood can even be swam in; lava tends to be consistently damaging, however. A major exception in the classic episodes is [=Map29=] of Final Doom's TNT/Evilution, River Styx, where in addition to non-damaging rivers of blood, the level contains floors with lava textures that are consistently high damage in every other appearance across Doom 1, 2 and Final Doom, yet have no damage modifier in this level.

* Ponds and lakes with clear, sparkling water are often deceptive: their clarity may not be a sign of "purity" at all, but ratherbiological toxins, pollution, low oxygen levels, or other issues that have killed every living thing in it.

Not to be confused with HazardousWater (where the water doesn't deal damage directly but still poses a risk) or MuckingInTheMud. See also AcidPool, HollyywoodAcid and LavaIsBoilingKoolAid. Inversion of HealingSpring.

Not to be confused with HazardousWater (where the water doesn't deal damage directly but still poses a risk) or MuckingInTheMud. See also LavaIsBoilingKoolAid. Inversion of HealingSpring.