Paddle boat riding in Lake Wyangan in 1984, when the waterway was the heartbeat of the town. Photo: Sharon Ponder/Old Griffith NSW Album Facebook page.
As a relative newcomer to the Riverina, locals often tell me about the magical 1980s summers in Wagga and Griffith. The lake at each location was the heartbeat of town, with families spending hours on hot days swimming, frolicking and having picnics.
As we approach the warmer months with the prospect of our main recreational waterways being largely out of action, it’s clear restoring the former glory of Lake Albert and Lake Wyangan ought to be the top priority for anyone running for council elections in September.
Councillors often talk about other big issues – like the housing shortage, lack of doctors in town and the cost-of-living crisis.
They’re all vitally important, but those at a local government level have limited power to address them.
A concerted effort to address toxic blue-green algal outbreaks and improve facilities at the lake is something that a council could lead and address without relying on the fickle support of city-centric state and federal governments.
Over the past decade, both Wagga and Griffith councils have spent millions on various initiatives to improve water quality at their respective lakes. But they all seem to be temporary measures that tinker at the edges, such as installing solar-powered buoys using ultrasound technology and applying a formulation called Waterzyme to control algal levels.
Not one of the many trials seems to have had a lasting impact. What’s needed is a comprehensive redevelopment of the lake, along the lines undertaken by Shepparton City Council for its Victoria Park Lake in 2009.
Warning about blue-green algae at Lake Albert in 2024. Photo: File.
That lake had also been plagued by constant algal outbreaks and was off-limits to the public until the council decided to plant 120,000 wetland plants alongside a pump that recirculated the water around the system. The redesign also used large scale earthmoving to deepen and reshape the lakebed and banks, allowing different types of plants to grow at different depths. It proved effective, with Victorian Park Lake becoming the focal point of town and a popular location for festivals once again.
Griffith wetlands expert Geoff Sainty wanted to apply the same principles to fixing Lake Wyangan, believing that a planted wetlands would compete with the dangerous bacteria and stop it becoming dominant.
He devised a plan to fix his town’s main recreational waterway, which he said could be implemented for half a million dollars. But personality clashes with the council at the time saw him sidelined from any involvement in his passion project.
Mr Sainty has since passed away. A golden opportunity has been squandered, while our waterways deteriorate further. Properly fixing Lake Albert and Lake Wyangan could now cost tens of millions of dollars.
But what else would be a better investment in our future?
Sure, there are other spending priorities for which certain groups advocate. Griffith City Council had proposed building a new art gallery for around $30 million. A nice idea, but how many residents would use that compared to the number that would regularly enjoy a Wyangan waterpark?
There’s not a lot to do in our towns on those long, sweltering summer days. Giving families a place where they could swim and picnic on weekends would revitalise both Wagga and Griffith. It would enhance tourism, help curtail our brain drain to big cities and make us more attractive to urban professionals looking to go bush. And improving the lakes would address the health and safety issues that come with having a toxic mess where wildlife breed.
A single-issue council candidate with a single-minded vision to revive their town’s lake would be very popular come election time.
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