Tuggeranong, an area that's not been particularly blessed when it comes to recent federal or territory infrastructure spending initiatives, has had a win. Not a munificent win, but a win nonetheless. Roughly $27 million (or nearly 29 per cent) of a joint Federal/Territory grant of $93.5 million for the ACT Basin Priority Project has been earmarked for nine initiatives centred on Lake Tuggeranong.
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Of the six catchments listed for the construction of new water quality infrastructure and the redesign of some existing infrastructure, Lake Tuggeranong arguably represents the strongest case for remediation, particularly if one of the prime considerations is improving the amenity of the greatest number of people. The lake is beset by algal blooms, particularly in the warmer months, and by significant amounts of detritus either swept in via the concrete stormwater channels that bisect the area, or simply deposited by the wind. As a result, sailing and canoeing on the lake are frequently restricted. As for swimming, only dogs remain unfussed by Lake Tuggeranong's uninviting waters.
None of Canberra's other lakes or creeks is particularly tempting, either. Indeed, Clean Up Australia chairman and founder Ian Kiernan reckons they're the worst in the country. An an average of 646 items of rubbish was recovered from various of waterways earlier this year, which Mr Kiernan claims was a jump of 60 per cent on the amount collected the previous year. Cigarette butts accounted for most of the rubbish collected, but beverage cans, bottle lids, straws and plastic bags were also prevalent.
All the waterways of the ACT's six catchments are afflicted to some extent by pollution and poor water quality. This is partly due to the ACT's clay soils, which contribute to naturally turbid waters, but mainly because Canberra's urban planners intended the waterways to act as a stormwater storages, trapping sediment, nutrients (and rubbish) before they washed into the Murrumbidgee river to be carried downstream to other users. The sentimental payoff for this altruism was, obviously, the creation of ornamental lakes where none previously existed.
However, the lakes' environmental health and recreational value has been severely compromised by population increases, by the 1999-2010 drought and the 2003 bushfires (which compromised catchment integrity and increased sediment loads) and by the annual influx of leaf litter from the city's deciduous trees. The stormwater delivery system as originally laid down has been another significant contributor.
Concreting rivulets and water courses might have seemed a good idea at the time, but the rubbish washed into the lakes after heavy rain suggest the planners' knowledge of hydrology and drainage was incomplete. The innovative interception, filtration and drainage systems that have been incorporated in Canberra's newer suburban developments are testament to a much-improved understanding of storm water management.
Canberra's lakes will not be fully rehabilitated, however, until stormwater infrastructure laid down in the post-war is replaced. The $93.5 million now being tapped for the basin project will not go close to achieving that, but it's a good start.
