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Assembly wants task force to manage Lake Burley Griffin
The ACT House of Assembly's standing
committee on management has recom
mended the urgent establishment of a spe
cialist task force to manage Lake Buriey
Griffin to save it from further deterioration,
and also to determine a firm policy for the
long-term management of all ACT water
ways and the Googong Dam.
The Assembly unanimously endorsed the re
port.after it was tabled last night by the commit
tee's chairman, Mr Clements (L-ab).
The Assembly will recommend to the Minister
for the Capital Territory, Mr Hodgman, that the
task force be established urgently and that the
report be submitted to the Parliamentary Joint
Committee on the ACT for consideration in its
inquiry into the Murrumbidgee River.
The report says that the lake suffers from
several serious afflictions, including an almost
total dominance of the fish population by Euro
pean carp, an oversupply of nutrients, and ex
cessive pollution, mainly "sewage effluent from
Queanbeyan", urban and rural runoff, and zinc
inflow from the Captains Flat mine.
The committee recommends that in addition
to Lake Burley Griffin, the specialist group
should have management control over all ACT
waterways, including the river systems, Lake
Ginninderra, and the Googong Dam which,
although in NSW, is Commonwealth property
and supplies water to Canberra.
It said there was no coordination of the efforts
of the government deparments, agencies and
individuals involved with the management of
Lake Burley Griffin, no dissemination of informa
tion and no pooling of resources. This had re
sulted in a fragmented approach and ineffective
management.
"The Department of the Capital Territory is
responsible for much of the management of the
lake, but it does not have sufficient personnel or
adequately co-ordinated resources to properly
exercise,this function", it said. "The present staff
arc competent and dedicated and perform their,
tasks admirably, but more qualified staff are
required if effective management , is desired".
Apart from working on the existing problems
in the lake, "the most fundamental question is
to determine the role of the lake in the national
capital".
It had been designed for "purely ornamental
and aesthetic" reasons, but had now "become a
very popular recreational resource, catering for
swimming, fishing and boating", and also was a
valuable ecological area.
"These roles are not consistent with each other
and demand different management options", if
a combined recreational-aesthetic policy were to
be adopted, it said. Long-term data collection was
essential for future planning if a "multi-use
option is to be pursued", it said. "And to perform
this task, suitable qualified personnel are essen
tial.
"This management task force should be
formed as soon as possible so that a program can
be developed and implemented without delay to
ensure that the national capital's lakes and water
ways do not deteriorate further".
It warned that unless precautions were taken
now, Lake Ginninderra could, within a few years,
suffer the same problems as Lake Burley Griffin.
During its inquiry, the committee studied
proposals to remedy the lake's problems. These
included trapping or selective poisoning of the
carp, draining the lake to remove deposited silt
and nutrients, and building catchment ponds
upstream to catch nutrients to avoid excessive
build-ups in the lake.
Mr Clements said that while some of these
suggestions had merits and should be seriously
considered by the task force, others were drastic
and unrealistic.
The task force "which would consist of recog
nised experts in the various biological and en
vironmental areas, should adopt a firm policy
plan to allow for the effective management of
every aspect of Lake Burley Griffin and its
environs, as well as all ACT water bodies and the
Googong Dam", he said.
The report concluded that unless urgent action
was taken, the problems now evident in Lake
Burley Griffin.would be repeated in other areas
and would result in a serious threat to water
quality.
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