Where are all the fun seeking heat-relief seeking lake users?

davo101 said :

Girt_Hindrance said :

but are people aware that the Cotter, Uriarra, Casuarina etc have the water from Lake Tuggeranong and Lake Burley Griffin running through them?

In the case of LBG highly unlikely, given that the Molonglo joins the Murrumbidgee downstream of all of the sites you mention. As for Tuggeranong I’d be putting my money on it being not currently spilling, any local residents care to comment?

Oops, I’ll get back in my box then… Cheers for the correction tho, appreciated.
Can’t say I know whether lake Tuggeranong is spilling currently either.

paganava said :

My son and I swim in the lake often . Lake Ginninderra that is.
John knight park side is gross but the other side (near dog park – off Diddums cl) is beautiful. There is a sectioned off part for kids to swim , grass is lush and there are plenty of tables and BBQs 🙂

Our family hasn’t tried that area – thanks for the tip. We swam on the Florey side of the lake, off Macdermott Place a few times this holidays, and it was excellent. The water wasn’t crystal clear, but seemed a hell of a lot cleaner than LBG water, didn’t smell at all, and reminded me of the water you’d get somewhere like Pine Island. It’s been recently renovated, with new BBQ areas, covered tables, and new play equipment (including rope spider web and flying fox – I was pleasantly surprised to see we’re not yet risk averse enough to stop building that fun stuff!) Heaps of shady trees, roped off area for the kids to swim, and pontoon for the bigger kids.

Would swim there 100 times before swimming in LBG.

paganava said :

If the algae levels are too high there would be a sign stating so.

Not all of us are saying “Don’t swim there.”
But there are more lovely places to have fun with water.
Try out these places:

Tetranitrate said :

Uriarra Crossing, Casuarina sands are all lovely places to swim

If the algae levels are too high there would be a sign stating so.
Where we swim , there is a sign with a little marker with a safe / unsafe option and i have seen someone in a government ute , drive up , test the water and check the sign – on two serperate ocasions.
They certainly wouldnt have a designated kids swimming area at Ginninderra marked by rainbow bouys if it was unsafe. Too inviting for the littlies.

And no one in their right mind would eat the fish – not because of the water but because the only fish in there are disgusting carps. Although someone once asked if they could keep the ones we had caught while we were out fishing.
Do you check where your beef comes from ? A dirty poop filled barn probably.

Solidarity said :

Would it be possible to un-dam the lake, let it empty, get to work scrubbing/dealgae-ing/de-carping then fill it back up?

Wouldn’t help, other than devastate the existing ecosystem that took such a long time to get to this level.

The problem is actually two folds:
– Natural water circulation, such as run-offs of rain water into the LBG, would keep the water healthy, except Canberra doesn’t get enough rain and so the water stagnates.
– The mild weather of Canberra is ideal for algae to bloom.

If both factors are prolonged then LBG becomes off-limits to any water activities as the algae reaches human hazardous level.

Solidarity said :

Would it be possible to un-dam the lake, let it empty, get to work scrubbing/dealgae-ing/de-carping then fill it back up?

where would Queanbeyan’s sewerage go if the lake was emptied

Would it be possible to un-dam the lake, let it empty, get to work scrubbing/dealgae-ing/de-carping then fill it back up?

Girt_Hindrance said :

but are people aware that the Cotter, Uriarra, Casuarina etc have the water from Lake Tuggeranong and Lake Burley Griffin running through them?

In the case of LBG highly unlikely, given that the Molonglo joins the Murrumbidgee downstream of all of the sites you mention. As for Tuggeranong I’d be putting my money on it being not currently spilling, any local residents care to comment?

With the potentially fatal levels of blue-green algae in Canberra’s lakes, why would anyone swim in them?

Tetranitrate said :

BenMac said :

Most are still down the coast, where the real water is.

Plus, anyone who’s been in Canberra long enough is not going to go swimming in LBG.

Yeah I wouldn’t really want to Swim in any of Canberra’s lakes. Every now and then I hear stories of dogs dying after drinking the water in lake Ginninderra so it’s not just LBG (blue green algae usually).

Pine Island, Kambah Pools, Uriarra Crossing and Casuarina sands are all lovely places to swim though. Pine Island has been very busy every time I’ve gone down there this summer, though it seems they’ve gotten rid of the awesome rock that you used to be able to jump off – that or I just can’t remember where it is anymore.

Kambah pools and Pine Island aren’t affected, but are people aware that the Cotter, Uriarra, Casuarina etc have the water from Lake Tuggeranong and Lake Burley Griffin running through them? Albeit diluted by other rivers and possibly distance travelled…
My major concern with swimming in the lakes, particularly LBG, are the reeds that can wrap around legs/torsos etc and drown people. Mrs Hindrance believes that particular lake “eats people”.