The swan amongst the sludge

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.

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.

Thumper said :

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

Thumper said :

Mr Evil said :

Swan does a u-turn on Greens?

That, is truly cringeworthy 🙂

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

Mr Evil said :

Swan does a u-turn on Greens?

That, is truly cringeworthy 🙂

Swan does a u-turn on Greens?

Wow! Classic shot!

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

Thumper said :

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.

Also sediment traps (reed beds) on all inflows, ie Sullies Creek.

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.

Thumper said :

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.

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.

Insert “greening initiative” joke here.

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.

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.

Thumper 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!

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.

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.

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!