But he will never feel as much at home as swimming in the water that divides Canberra's north and south.

Mr Orr trained tirelessly in a lake that many Canberrans have never stepped foot in, in preparation to take on the famous English Channel. He completed the tough swim in 14 hours and 41 minutes.

While his fond memories of jumping in LBG may not be widely shared among the Canberra public, he hopes that will soon change.

"For open water swimming events held in the lake I have seen an increase in numbers since I started in 2007," Mr Orr said.

"There used to be only a handful of us, now there are more than 50 participants in each event. But times outside the organised events I have very rarely seen another swimmer".

With water temperatures ranging from 12 degrees to 17c degrees in the channel, diving into the chilly LBG (even in winter) was perfect preparation.

The channel swim "changed who I was, especially mentally".

He could not credit all of his success to LBG. Over two years he trained his body to adapt to the cold by taking cold showers, dressing lightly all year, driving with the air conditioner and sitting in the AIS plunge pool for hours.

But he said training in LBG laid the foundation for building up his swimming skills and wished more people saw its potential.

While blue-green algae blooms have been on the decline in recent years, Mr Orr said he had periods when he had to move his training to Sydney as recently as last May, which wasn't a good look for potential new swimmers.

However, he said majority of time there was at least one safe and clear area for him to train in.

"Most of the misconception [about the unsafe water quality] is not represented by fact," Mr Kane said.

"People always tell me I am crazy for swimming in Lake Burley Griffin. But not once have I had a water related illness."

But Mr Orr said an improvement of the "sub-standard maintenance" of the lake's beaches would get more people dipping, including by regularly cleaning up the pollution, removing the vegetation and updating water facilities.

When asked if he had some tips for those who may decide to break their LBG virginity before summer ends, he said he followed rules on spots to try and others to avoid.

"The best places to swim are the deeper sections of Scrivener Dam, in front of Government House, the rowing lanes, and between Scrivener Island and the Yacht Club," he said.

"There are also the absolute no-go areas link the Sullivan's Creek entrance, and anywhere East of the Yacht Club. From my experience areas with more algae either have poor flow and/or are shallower areas where the water is warmer."

An NCA spokeswoman said elevated bacteria occurs most often naturally, without explanation and passes when conditions change, or may be caused by birds spending a lot of time in one area.

Long-term and recent data released from the NCA showed water quality in LBG was improving. But a water scientist believes it will take a decade to fix the poor smell and appearance.

Belinda Barlow of Phillip is a more recent to LBG, only deciding to take the plunge this year on discovering her new dog was a sucker for a good swim.

"A lot of the lakes have the blue-green algae and I hope that if it was bad there would be signs, so I just gave it a go," she said.

"It has been pretty hot lately and it was actually really refreshing. My dog loves it too."