The swan amongst the sludge

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?

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… 🙂

Aeek said :

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.

Damn that maintenance!

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.

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