Lake Albert has been without a Red Alert since 2024, prompting Wagga Wagga City Council to continue its current BGA treatment trial with Hydro2050. Photo: Chris Roe.
Wagga Wagga City Council (WWCC) has confirmed it will continue with its current trial of blue-green algae treatment for Lake Albert.
The current treatment, undertaken by water cleansing company Hydro2050, uses ultrafine bubbles of oxygen and ozone to increase the lake’s oxygen levels and manage the level of blue-green algae (BGA).
Since the beginning of the treatment back in January, Lake Albert has not had a single red alert related to BGA.
Council’s City Growth & Regional Assets manager Ben Creighton said the reason for continuing the trial was to allow the treatment to have a full 12 months before testing its effectiveness.
“The primary purpose behind that was really making sure that we’ve got enough data to consider the overall outcomes of the trial,” Mr Creighton said.
“We’ve trialled it for six months to date and by doing the next six months, it’ll allow us to have a full year’s worth of data.
“Since we put in the units at the start of this year, we actually haven’t had any red alerts from algae. There are a number of contributing factors to that and not just those units, so this is really about us extending the trials and gaining additional data.”
Mr Creighton said the new treatment would cost WWCC about $200,000 to continue the treatment, a similar figure to the first six months.
“We do have some data already from the first six months of this year, but really, this is allowing us to get additional data and get a better understanding of how the technology works across a number of climatic conditions, including the early summer period, where BGA red alerts are more common,” he said.
“I think the fact that we got through last summer is about is a positive outcome, but I think it’s still early days and we still need to get this additional data before we can actually start to get a clearer direction in terms of what the technology is able to achieve across a broad range of climatic conditions.”
In conjunction with the trial, WWCC has also been working with Charles Sturt University to understand the factors that cause BGA blooms within the lake.
“It’s fair to see the work with CSU is to prevent BGA blooms while the trial with Hydro2050 is to help treat it in its current form,” Mr Creighton said.
“We know that nutrient loading, as well as a large body of water that’s relatively shallow, is all contributing to that at the moment. Through that, we are looking for a long-term solution.”
The Hyrdo2050 trial will continue until January 2026.
