You wouldn't know it by looking at the number of swimmers, but the water in Lake Burley Griffin is actually better than "the good old days".
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In the 1980s, swimming in the lake was a popular past-time. But these days seeing people in the water is rare sight, due to a perception that it is unsafe.
A long-term report into the state of the lake from 1981 to 2015 showed a slight improvement in water quality, while National Capital Authority figures show blue-green algae blooms have been declining since 2012.
But a local ecologist believes there is significant work to be done to improve the lake's smell and appearance before we see a rise in people in the water, not just above it.
The lake was open 97 per cent of the time in the 2015-16 recreational season without restrictions, up from between 91 and 93 per cent in the three previous periods, and 77 per cent in 2011-12.
However, some spots were safer to swim than others. Over last October to March, bacteria caused the closure of Lotus Bay for two weeks, Yarralumla Beach for three weeks and Weston Park East for two weeks.
There was no reported contamination, which includes diesel spills, sewerage or broken pipes, in the lake last recreational season.
Head of the NCA, Malcolm Snow, credited the improvement to better management of the catchment and the Queanbeyan Sewage Treatment Plant.
He said the drop in swimming number could be due to people being more risk averse, because of lasting memories from when the lake was closed for long periods during the drought in the late 2000's, and an increase in gym and pool memberships.
"I think the key message is that we have to remain vigilant and we could do better and we have to implement measures that continue to improve water quality which would help change the perception that many Canberrans hold," Mr Snow said.
"[That is] that the water quality means they can't swim in it which in fact is not borne out by the information out of this report and our regular water quality monitoring."
The NCA publishes water quality updates for the lake each Friday in an annual testing period that runs from mid October until mid April.
Born and bred Canberran Max Lee-Abbott had swum in Lake Burley Griffin more times in the past week than throughout his whole childhood.
"Everyone just thought the lake was gross," he said.
"Recently my friend Gerard and I were taking photos at Black Mountain Peninsula that we decided to put the culture aside of it being bad and it was really pleasant. We've swum there nearly every day since."
The report, Lake Burley Griffin Long-Term Trends in Water Quality, showed the improving health was due to fewer harmful nutrients.
Director of the Institute for Applied Ecology at the University of Canberra, Professor Ross Thompson, said the fall in phosphorus had lead to fewer blue-green algae blooms, the primary risk to public health.
But he said it favoured conditions for more "nuisance" algae blooms that smelt and looked dirty.
"This means that you might have fewer health concerns from blue-green algae blooms, but it [green algae] may be more unsightly and have consequences for odour," Dr Thomson said.
The study showed blue-green algae blooms were common in the early 1980s, less so in the early 2000s, spiked between 2005 and 2010 and have dropped since. But they have only fallen slightly lower than their levels in the years leading into the drought, meaning the improvement since 1984 has not been major.
Dr Ben Long from the ANU College of Medicine, Biology and Environment said there was no evidence to show that the water's mending trend would continue.
"Yes there has been a decline in blooms and we are probably getting better water quality but I don't know if there is enough information to tell us if we are going to expect more or less blooms in the next few years," he said.
In May 2016, the federal government announced $76 million of funding to improve the water quality, odour and appearance of Canberra's lakes and waterways, with residents complaining of foul smells and algae.
Construction for the project is expected to start in mid 2017.
The ACT government is also funding a multi-million dollar clean-up of Canberra's waterways and is installing an $11 million stormwater system to prevent contaminated stormwater from running into Lake Burley Griffin.
