29 May 2012

The swan amongst the sludge

| johnboy
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swan in algae

We really don’t want to harp on about the Blue Green Algae in Lake Burley Griffin.

But this picture by Mark really does tell a story.

We couldn’t be skimming this?

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rosscoact said :

john87_no1 said :

rosscoact said :

john87_no1 said :

Does anyone know what action the ACT Govt is taking to fix this?!

I would expect that seeing it’s in no way their responsibility, very little. However, they are clearing the willows upstream so that’s one thing.

The lake is an NCA responsibility, you could ask them what they are doing to fix it by emailing natcap@natcap.gov.au

Oops that’s who i meant…. arent they part of the ACT governements portfolio?

They are Feds, Admin Services I think.

There isn’t any plan on their website concerned with fixing the lake though

Yeah i was just having a look around on the NCA website.

All i could gleen from their “Management Plan” is that they dont have one! Pretty poor form really. Its a stinking, ugly shite hole nearly all year round these days!

Maybe they’re just hoping people wont notice….

john87_no1 said :

rosscoact said :

john87_no1 said :

Does anyone know what action the ACT Govt is taking to fix this?!

I would expect that seeing it’s in no way their responsibility, very little. However, they are clearing the willows upstream so that’s one thing.

The lake is an NCA responsibility, you could ask them what they are doing to fix it by emailing natcap@natcap.gov.au

Oops that’s who i meant…. arent they part of the ACT governements portfolio?

They are Feds, Admin Services I think.

There isn’t any plan on their website concerned with fixing the lake though

rosscoact said :

john87_no1 said :

Does anyone know what action the ACT Govt is taking to fix this?!

I would expect that seeing it’s in no way their responsibility, very little. However, they are clearing the willows upstream so that’s one thing.

The lake is an NCA responsibility, you could ask them what they are doing to fix it by emailing natcap@natcap.gov.au

Oops that’s who i meant…. arent they part of the ACT governements portfolio?

Tetranitrate12:36 pm 04 Jun 12

rosscoact said :

john87_no1 said :

Does anyone know what action the ACT Govt is taking to fix this?!

I would expect that seeing it’s in no way their responsibility, very little. However, they are clearing the willows upstream so that’s one thing.

The clearing of the willows upstream and resulting streambank erosion is likely a major cause of the present outbreak.

john87_no1 said :

Does anyone know what action the ACT Govt is taking to fix this?!

I would expect that seeing it’s in no way their responsibility, very little. However, they are clearing the willows upstream so that’s one thing.

The lake is an NCA responsibility, you could ask them what they are doing to fix it by emailing natcap@natcap.gov.au

Does anyone know what action the ACT Govt is taking to fix this?!

Bit pedantic, but… it’s… not… algae.

Algae are a type of plant.

Cyanobacteria are a type of (not surprisingly) bacteria.

The current blooms are a result of what must be _very_ high levels of nutrients in the lake. Along with some others, I’d be very interested to know what makes its way into the water near Canturf, though all inflows to the lake are probably contributing.

Evil_Kitten said :

Stinger said :

We need to keep carping on about it till something is done about it. LBG is a magnificent recreational asset for Canberra, it should be maintained to swimming quality!

hehe “carping”…. I see what you did there (probably not on purpose). Actually I wonder if the carp are even still alive? Yes probably. Happily down in the “other” sludge, on the bottom of the lake.

It so was on purpose! I’m glad someone picked it up… 🙂

OpenYourMind said :

Years of drought followed by months of heavy rain – suddenly everything that has been piling up gets swept into the lake.
NCA is finally doing Damn maintenance, drops water level, which raises the concentrations even higher.

Driving across Commonwealth Bridge today I had to close the car windows because of a very strong mouldy smell – that can’t be healthy for anyone, let alone those people sensitive to such things. I will not go that way again!

Needs another island in the middle to make the water run faster in places that will stir it up more. Its too slow and to flat to do anything useful.

Also needs some tree’s or something perhaps some kind of lilly or something to use up more of the bad stuff. More boats can’t hurt

OpenYourMind said :

A while back, I used to do a triathlon in summer every few weeks with the swim leg in LBG. The water wasn’t great, but it wasn’t that bad. I really wonder what conditions have changed so rapidly to make it this bad.

Careful bud I’d get that growth checked out.

OpenYourMind said :

I really wonder what conditions have changed so rapidly to make it this bad.

I’m not sure where I read this (maybe here on RA?), but according to my hazy memory it has to do with a moderate run-off of storm water, rich in fertilisers, into the lake that becomes the food source for algae. Follow this up with an ideal condition for algae to bloom, such as nice calm sunny days, and Bob’s your uncle and Jack’s your aunt.

OpenYourMind8:38 am 30 May 12

A while back, I used to do a triathlon in summer every few weeks with the swim leg in LBG. The water wasn’t great, but it wasn’t that bad. I really wonder what conditions have changed so rapidly to make it this bad.

SnapperJack said :

Stinger said :

We need to keep carping on about it till something is done about it.

Yes, but what *can* be done about it? To get rid of the algae you would have to spray chemicals on it which would kill the fish and other wildlife. We are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Firstly, and foremost, restrict nutrients getting into the lake, ie fertilizers, leaf litter, etc.

Like the willows and Canturf?

DrKoresh said :

I used to make fun of my English mates for that semi-solid “river” they call the Thames. I guess I should hold my tongue now.

I used to live by the Thames, and it was a popular place to swim. A bit muddy from all the boats, but much cleaner that this rubbish we have here.

Stinger said :

We need to keep carping on about it till something is done about it. LBG is a magnificent recreational asset for Canberra, it should be maintained to swimming quality!

hehe “carping”…. I see what you did there (probably not on purpose). Actually I wonder if the carp are even still alive? Yes probably. Happily down in the “other” sludge, on the bottom of the lake.

the Swan’s colour is coming off !

For “what can be done about it” read the “Report on the state of the watercourses and catchments for Lake Burley Griffin”. It lists what needs to be done, some of which is already happening, like the wetlands in O’Connor and Ainslie which act as a catchment/filter for some things (the nutrient sinks in Stinger’s post, I think). The summary isn’t very long and gives you a pretty good idea what’s going on. Sorry, draining the lake isn’t one of the things the scientific types think would be useful so we might miss out on that spectacular sight. Also we’re going to miss out on having wildlife killing chemicals sprayed all over the place. Oh well… I’m with the scientific types, since they’ve thought about it more than me:
http://www.envcomm.act.gov.au/investigations/lake_burley_griffin_investigation

Mr Evil said :

Swan does a u-turn on Greens?

That, is truly cringeworthy 🙂

I dips me beak. Oh, it burns! It burns!

Swan does a u-turn on Greens?

Wow! Classic shot!

I walked down to the lake today, man it really smells bad…..stinky

wildturkeycanoe5:30 pm 29 May 12

Is this green stuff what stank as we drove through the tunnel under the ANU on Parks Way? Even with the air vents closed you can smell some horrible stench, all the way from Glenloch to the big birdbath roundabout.

SnapperJack said :

Stinger said :

We need to keep carping on about it till something is done about it.

Yes, but what *can* be done about it? To get rid of the algae you would have to spray chemicals on it which would kill the fish and other wildlife. We are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Perth’s Swan River has had serious algal blooms in the past, but have put in nutrient sinks to reduce the inflow of fertiliser run off, to great success. It’s not fool proof, and we do have to contend with the low funding available for this, but I think getting rid of the cow paddock and turf farm at the eastern end of LBG would be a start.

I reiterate my previous comments from an earlier article; Drain it, remove the high nutrient sediment, make the lake deeper, close dam and allow refilling. You may even be able to put in some sort of mitigation measure while the lake is empty.

It looks as if the swan is made of rubber and it is dissolving in the green as it swims. Soon it will be a little black duck.

DrKoresh said :

I used to make fun of my English mates for that semi-solid “river” they call the Thames. I guess I should hold my tongue now.

When I lived in London as a kid the Thames was a putrid stinking tidal cesspool.

Today it is once again a beautiful and stunning river.

So I’ve come to understand. I don’t have a leg to stand on now. But there’s always the British Smile, I can still get some mileage out of that one.

Insert “greening initiative” joke here.

Stinger said :

We need to keep carping on about it till something is done about it.

Yes, but what *can* be done about it? To get rid of the algae you would have to spray chemicals on it which would kill the fish and other wildlife. We are caught between a rock and a hard place.

Stinger said :

We need to keep carping on about it till something is done about it. LBG is a magnificent recreational asset for Canberra, it should be maintained to swimming quality!

Exactly. It’s simply not good enough that the lake is now a slowly moving body of toxic sludge wandering through the heart of the capital.

Expending scarce resources on cleaning the lake would detract from more worthwhile activities like banning thin plastic bags at the supermarket so that they can be replaced by slightly thicker plastic bags. Or building wildly popular “art” works like the giant penis-bird on Belconnen Way.

Who cares that grown men can walk on the surface of the lake due to the presence of this attractively green and no doubt reasonably harmless sludge? I just sleep more peacefully at night knowing that all the shopping trolleys at the Kaleen Supabarn are safely corralled away in their stalls due to the efforts of the local government and the shopping trolley police.

The above image provides a very humorous counterpoint to previous discussions on the algae issue, especially the current Solarbee trial.

I used to make fun of my English mates for that semi-solid “river” they call the Thames. I guess I should hold my tongue now.

We need to keep carping on about it till something is done about it. LBG is a magnificent recreational asset for Canberra, it should be maintained to swimming quality!

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