Griffith City Council, the Lake Wyangan Catchment Management Committee and Murrumbidgee Irrigation continue to focus on long-term solutions to the water quality issues at North Lake Wyangan.
Griffith City Council Director, Sustainable Development, Phil Harding said as part of Council’s Lake Wyangan Catchment Management project, Council Officers are working to improve recreational opportunities in the long-term at Lake Wyangan.
“We have a number of major actions that are being carried out,” said Mr Harding.
“This Summer we provided water at relatively small volumes (15 ML/day) with very positive results in water quality.”
Other actions being undertaken include;
• Developing a hydrodynamic circulation model of North Lake Wyangan (thanks to the six-month study by Chris Butson, a Chemical Engineering student from University of Sydney) to help interpret the influence of water and water discharges on the lake circulation and water quality
• Monitoring the volume and sediment and nutrient concentration of storm water runoff into the Lake
• Measuring key water quality parameters in real-time to help manage the health and ecological condition
• Continuing to work with Murrumbidgee Irrigation to develop a plan to maintain North Lake Wyangan water levels suitable for recreational purposes while also providing sufficient water for additional irrigation demand in the catchment.
In addition, two major project tenders are currently being sought, the first, to redevelop the main drain entering North Wyangan to include a large sediment retention and nutrient filtration and the other, to provide guidelines for management of waste and stormwater for large scale developments in the vicinity of wetlands and lake.
Murrumbidgee Irrigation (MI) CEO, Brett Jones, said MI supports the work that Council is doing to improve water quality in Lake Wyangan, and the overall Lake Wyangan Water Management Plan.
“We are currently working with Council to install infrastructure which will enable the transfer of water into the Lake, without it having to go through urban channels,” he said.
“This will help to reduce nutrient levels going into the Lake as well as improve efficiencies.
“We are also exploring opportunities to work with customers to increase the flow of water through the Lake.”
Please contact the Lake Wyangan Project Officer on
