FIND UNITY IN DRYING LAKE

FOR the past five years Black Swan Lake has been this city’s most divisive environmental issue.

But the final chapter for Bundall’s socalled “borrow pit” has been a celebration of common sense.

A super majority of councillors late last month voted to keep the remaining 20 per cent of the lake intact. Only Mayor Tom Tate was opposed, saying he didn’t want the issue to return and haunt City Hall.

To that end, council and the Gold Coast Turf Club are still sorting out the finer points of a complex leasing deal.

A lot of competing interests are involved here, including the Show Society – with its future office base in the racing precinct – the development of the Traintech stabling facility next to the “borrow pit”, compensation to the turf club for council staff parking during the week at the racecourse, and the lake itself – where residents can sit and watch the birds, and trainers walk the horses.

But there needs to be some urgency about the negotiations now as new photographs emerge showing wildlife being stranded in the mud. Residents describe the lake as a “hot puddle”. Who takes responsibility for this growing mud cake needs to be sorted out.

Lake supporters predict unless a quick solution can be found, and given that heavy rain might not occur until February, the lake will dry up by Christmas.

Many of the older residents who love the lake have stayed true to their word. They are transporting injured wildlife. They have raised enough money for maintenance, and some of those funds were used for trucks to deliver water.

The remarkable part of this final chapter is the turf club offering to send a water truck to help. It responded after a call for help from a resident.

This was a most unexpected Christmas present. It was not done to buy positive publicity. The club does not wish to comment. What this shows is wounds are healing between the club and lake supporters.

After spending large amounts of money on the lake, turf club officials are reluctant to spend much more, which in part explains their support for it to remain.

Councillors voted to keep the lake because they saw it as a win for the community – to keep it alive, to save the remaining bird life.

Surely council can resolve a minor maintenance issue like managing regular water drops during the dry stretch.