ALGAE A BLOOMIN’ DISGRACE
ONE of the Gold Coast’s largest and most popular recreational lakes has been a ticking toxic time bomb for more than a decade.
Documents show Gold Coast City Council was told 12 years ago that Lake Hugh Muntz had water quality below what was acceptable for a freshwater catchment area.
A report last month revealed the 43ha lake, used by sports stars such as Hayley Bateup and nippers who could train with no fear of bull sharks, had been shut down due to an uncontrollable blue-green algae bloom.
A management plan provided by consultants to council in September 2008 found the count for blue-green algal cells in April 2006 was “unusually high” and above recommended guidelines.
“There are 16 stormwater pipes in the catchment that discharge into the lake. There are some areas where drainage is more concentrated and large catchment areas discharge into relatively confined sections of Lake Hugh Muntz,” the report warned.
Consultants recommended an improved water quality program, upgrading the stormwater system and crackdown on algae and the pest fish population.
The Lake Hugh Muntz Care Group has an incomplete set of results from August 2012 to August 2017 which show nitrogen levels consistently higher than quality objectives for an estuarine lake.
Resident Troy Smith said photographs from Care Group supporters and data obtained by a recent Right to Information request to council showed water quality in the lake was not improving.
“As a regular user of Lake Hugh Muntz I have been concerned that the water quality has been deteriorating for some time. I lodged the Right To Information application in the hope that I could find out for myself if there was a problem,” Mr Smith said.
The process had been “frustrating” and lengthy, and the excel spreadsheet provided with missing information and an invitation to visit council’s office and look for the water quality data.
“The algae bloom at Lake Hugh Muntz is so bad that the lake has been closed for over three months,” Mr Smith said.
“I would have thought having this information readily available would be a priority for the Gold Coast Council so that they are able to properly manage the lake and ensure it remain opens for the community to use.”
A Care Group spokesperson said residents had been frustrated in recent years when attempting to obtain data.
“There is no long term water monitoring. This is why it takes an incredibly long time to get data as it is not available,” the spokesperson said.
“Council test if water is within health standards but does nothing else with results. Every lake on the Gold Coast is just left to its own devices.”
Area councillor Paul Taylor told the Bulletin he would back residents and the council had contacted a scientist from Griffith University to investigate.