The ACT's water police unit will no longer be based on Lake Burley Griffin, with police set to move out of their Yarralumla headquarters later this year.
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The unit is expected to move out of the complex in October, with the lease of the site not being renewed.
While there would still be a police presence on the lake, officers would be based instead near Lake Tuggeranong and Lake Ginninderra.
Water police equipment used on Lake Burley Griffin would remain in the area but be stored at a mobile facility.
Lake Burley Griffin stakeholders were told of the decision to move the water police away from the area at a meeting on Wednesday. The move away from the lake comes just months after two new water police patrol boats were unveiled.
An ACT Policing spokesman said it was looking at the capacity for water police operations going forward, but did not say what their plans were for patrols on Lake Burley Griffin after the move in October.
"ACT Policing reviews its operational sites and ongoing sustainability and is currently considering future requirements for the water police," the spokesman said.
"ACT Policing is committed to regular patrols and an ability to respond to incidents on all ACT waterways."
Police Minister Mick Gentleman said ACT police were committed to patrols of Lake Burley Griffin. "The ACT government has set aside funding to contribute to the fit-out of a modern maritime facility to support ACT Policing's water operations," Mr Gentleman said.
A reduced water police presence has raised concern among lake users, with many worried response times would lengthen in the event of an emergency.
The owner of boat hire company GoBoat, Nick James, said while there hadn't been any emergencies involving his company's boats, it was reassuring to know water police would be there in the event of an incident.
"It's concerning if at the same time that people are trying to reactivate the lake as a public space and encourage more use of it, that emergency services may not be able to respond as quickly as they had in the past," Mr James said. "We've appreciated the co-operative approach they have taken to us and to members of the public, and I'd be disappointed if that was not to continue."
Mr James said many people who used the lake had the peace of mind that water police would be on hand at Lake Burley Griffin if there was an emergency. "It gave a sense of comfort to commercial operators and to the general public that if there was an emergency, they would respond quickly," he said.
Andrew Brown
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
I've been part of the Canberra Times since 2016, after reporting at local papers in Sydney's north-west. Since starting at the paper I've had stints on the Sunday Times, on the early morning breaking news round, and now as a general reporter, covering the ins and outs of anything and everything happening in Canberra, with a focus on health.
