Mercy mission puts water in ‘borrow pit’
RESIDENTS and the Gold Coast Turf Club are bringing in water tanks to save wildlife stranded in a drying Black Swan Lake.
After a five-year battle, turf club officials and wildlife warriors have joined forces to organise water supplies after a female ibis was stuck in the mud at the Bundall “borrow pit”.
The council late last month voted to save the lake but the 20 per cent that remains has dropped further due to the drought.
“It was great that the turf club did that and organised a water truck. It’s incredible. There are people there that care about the wildlife,” Team
Black Swan Lake Lindy Donato said.
“We’ve raised a bit of money. We’re getting two more water trucks this week. It’s horrific out there. There are birds sinking into the mud. There have been many times over its lifetime that the lake has dropped to low levels. This is the first time we’ve leader had to sustain trucks.”
Wild Bird Rescues Gold Coast experts helped save the female ibis after lake supporters were stranded knee-deep in the mud.
Two large flatboards were used, each placed in front of the other, to get to the ibis. The bird was released at nearby it with water Clear Island Lake after it was rescued and cleaned up.
“All that mud is the sediment on the bottom. The lake is shrinking daily. It’s a puddle. The birds haven’t left. They are still all there,” Ms Donato said.
Turf club officials declined to comment as negotiations continue about responsibility for the lake.
“The water levels have dropped right down. We are trying to do the right thing,” a club source said.
Black Swan Lake community group spokeswoman Tammy Hogan put a call out on Facebook for donations of water from the community.
Ms Hogan said she also wrote to councillor Daphne McDonald asking for intervention after legal advice suggested the council was responsible.
All councillors, apart from Mayor Tom Tate, last month agreed to a recommendation that would prevent the lake being filled in by June 2021.
Cr Tate has opposed the move because he wanted “finality” on the dispute.
But Councillor Bob La Castra said the turf club would face costs regardless of whether it filled in the lake or retained it, and leaving the final section would be a win for the community.
Part of the deal will involve the council and the turf club sorting out stormwater drainage issues from the surrounding stables.