The deteriorating condition of Lake Tabourie

Lake Tabourie currently January 2010











Lake Tabourie a popular and favourite holiday destination on the South Coast of NSW, was once a pristine saltwater lake abundant with life. The clear clean waters once enjoyed by visitors and locals alike are all but memories as the condition of the lake slowly but surely declines.

The lakes water level is now so shallow indicators suggest it is below the low tide mark and continues to reduce at around 10mm per day. This reduction in water level is in turn reducing the surface area and volume of the lake which is now heavily covered in a slimy green surface type algae, (the only creature to thrive in such condition). This heavy thick coating is choking the lake – the sea grasses beneath are dying off with large areas of the lake floor have become muddy swamp of rotting aquatic vegetation. The shallow ocean end to the bridge over the highway is the most effected thus far, however, it is progressively moving up into the main body and won’t be long before the lake is all but a shallow swamp void of the traditional life it once supported.

Sewer overflow was a big contributor to the poor condition of the lake. Now the township has a pressurised main sewer system however the residue from days of old continue to plague the lake bed and some areas need dredging to remove the years and years of sewerage and silt build up. This residue is not helping the situation but at least for the moment fresh raw sewerage is not entering the lake - that we know of at present.

The main issue stems from the lake being closed for an extended period, low rainfalls and a gradual build up of sand in the entrance of the lake. It is in fact the build up of sand which is the greatest concern. The entrance was once a large basin clearly seen in early photos, however, this basin is now a sand mound some 300m long 300m wide and 1.5 – 2-m tall.

The additional concern is that without fresh salt water the lake will fill with more and more rain water as winter approaches – this fresh water will see raise to large numbers of fish kills as well as the death of many aquatic and semi aquatic creatures, flora and fauna, Lake Tabourie is a salt water lake not a fresh water pond as it may very well become without our help.

Local Councils and the State Government have an entrance management plan which permits Council to open the lake only to prevent flooding. This consists of digging a quick trench to drain off the water into the sea, this soon fills back in with sand closing the lake off again. For years now local residents and visitors alike have partitioned Council to open the lake properly, clear the entrance so that once again it flows with fresh clean water, without success. Part of the entrance management plan is an ecology study to evaluate the impact on wildlife if the lake was to be opened mechanically on a permanent or semi permanent basis. However that has not been completed as yet and may never see the light of day. But in the mean time the lake is and will die, resulting in the death of the very wildlife they say they are trying to protect.

The recent fish kill as reported in the Milton Ulladulla Times was described as a natural occurrence. It was recorded as a result of low diffused oxygen from shallow warm water, along with high algae blooms, aquatic vegetation and living creatures all competing for what little oxygen was available. This can only worsen as the lake shallows and warms, as the water level is dropping around 10mm per day. The algae continues to bloom, aquatic grasses and fauna are dying off adding more and more rotting vegetation to the thickening oxygen starved lake water. With the upcoming winter period just around the corner the heavy rainfall will flush the lake with high volumes of fresh water further reducing the quality of the lakes natural ecology.

The Government departments continue to argue the point on interfering with the natural order of things, concerns about possible endangered species and protected wild life all of which will be killed off when the lake dies and or the lake floods with excess amounts of fresh water and the toxins it brings from the surrounding catchment area.

Locals and visitors are not asking Council to change the ecology or change nature’s course - we are simply asking them to return the lake to what it once was – act as the caretaker they are empowered to be. The lake entrance has silted up with sands, some from which may very well be contributed to poor management in the past, some from wind, wave and other factors. These sand flats/dunes are gaining momentum as the sand rises grasses are taking hold trapping more and more sand as time goes by.
The solution is quite simple; all that is required is to remove the sands from the entrance recreating the basin which was how mother nature had constructed it, "the natural order of things".

This will leave a small sand bar allowing the lakes waters to break through naturally during the king tides and high rainfalls of summer as it has for generations.

However due to the very low level of the lake and the current condition it may need an initial opening to provide sufficient clean water to sustain and preserve life until mother nature is in control again. From there a simple maintenance plan of keeping the basin clear will effectively maintain a healthy natural lake.

There are several lakes on the South Coast which are breeding grounds for many fish species providing the next generation of fish to replenish the ocean and lakes alike – take one of these lakes off line and there will be a significant drop in the number of available fish in an already depleted resource.

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