The picture is not great but the southern shore of the Lake between the yacht club and Yarralumla Bay appears to be chokkas with blue green algae again on the basis of my walk along there this morning.
So just a few weeks into summer and after good rain (and with it water flows) this is an issue again.
Perhaps it’s time for the NCA to start looking harder at causes and preventative measures?
Top spotting Johnboy. That’s exactly the stretch that I (and a fair few others) swim in during the warmer months. It irks me that the NCA is so preoccupied with bling and bollocks and trying to come up with ideas for memorials and architectural (but sterile) projects that the twonks seem to have forgotten the other important part of their mandate, i.e. looking after the lake and areas of national significance.
Another part of me is relieved: while they’re busying themselves further destroying the area around the central basin of the lake and fluffing around in the parliamentary triangle (has anyone else noticed their kooky lighting arrangements along the southern foreshore?), they’re not able to spend the time, energy, or money on destroying other areas that they have ‘responsibility’ for. Thank god they’re yet to notice the slightly feral and organic feel of many parts of the west basin. It’s fantastic just the way it is. I look forward to the day when both our idiotic mayor and the rest of the muppet show from the legislative assembly, as well as the gits at the NCA, cease ruining our town, and start concentrating on matters of substance, such as sensible catchment management strategies.
So what do you suggest they do?
Blue-green algae is a bit of a misnomer – it is a type of bacteria and if you can see it at all, it tends to look like scum rather than long filaments in lakes. Not all algae is toxic either, so puddling about in the lake may still be okay for a while yet.
Could we just pour in some salt? Maybe lots of it?
i noticed the lake had a bit of a green tinge driving past on the parkway yesterday, it almost looked nice, rather than the brown that it usually is!!
Rad Dave said :
I was thinking white tiles and chlorine…
I’ve already had a swim at Yarralumla Bay a week ago. Water looked a bit greenish, especially at the edge of the bay, but I had no skin reactions whatsoever.
Hard to tell from the photo, but perhaps this is string algae – a scourge of frog pond owners like myself when the water gets warm and quite evident downstream of Scrivener where I was on Saturday?
Blue-green I believe is more like little flakes below the surface.
As far as what to do about it, algae blooms because of nutrient loads in the water. We are talking run-off of fertilisers, manures (dogs, birds, etc), detergents (wash your car on the driveway anyone?), and I’d think the heavy load of deciduous leaves being flushed out of some stormwater piping during recent rains. All congregating and not getting away. That’s what happens when you build dams.
So some things governments can do, but also a lot individuals need to do. Or hold on for one hell of a lot more rain…
I wonder how much longer the drought that started in 2001 has to go before people start to believe it is a pattern rather than an event? Another couple of decades if your name is Tuckey or Joyce.
What we need is some clever scientist to figure out how to make the algae irresistable to the Euro Carp. With the number of them in our water system the blooms should clear up in no time.
They could certainly pump the lake full of some kind of chemical to get rid of it but it would an ongoing requirement. The long term solution would have to be stopping or reducing what actually causes it i.e. catchment, run-off etc
I wonder if the ACT Governments removal of the willow trees on Molonglo river above the lake had any affect on algae in the lake?
Yes, you’re right – that picture is not great.
“On the basis of my walk along there”
what?
I am no expert on causes of or alleviation of algae, but I’d add that accounts of early inland explorers contain references to blue green algae they encountered in watercourses and ponds while exploring the inland in the 19th century.
why do we end up with crap road side art,when our natural resourses go to shit!!,correct me if im wrong,but didnt Walter Burley Griffin plan our city around this lake as a focus??why is there so many issues with all the waterways around canberra..you used to be able to catch trout in LBG,now all you seem to be able to catch is a nasty rash?