Lake Illawarra Entrance Options Study

Wollongong and Shellharbour City Councils are working together with the NSW Government to assess options for the Lake Illawarra Entrance. The project, called the Lake Illawarra Entrance Options Study, is looking at options to manage the impacts and changes that have occurred around the lake entrance and lake entrance foreshore. The community will be invited to share their feedback on the options.

Background:

In 2007, Lake Illawarra was permanently opened, by building training walls where the lake meets the ocean (the entrance) by the former Lake Illawarra Authority. This was done to address several issues including water quality, odour, and algal blooms.

The permanent opening of the channel has led to some improvement in water quality but has created significant and unintended changes to the lake and its entrance channel.

The changes that have impacted the Lake include:

• Increased erosion along the Windang foreshore
• Movement of sand underneath the Windang bridge piers and need for protection works
• The lake’s water level now constantly fluctuates with the ocean tides. This means the average water level has dropped, but the tidal range in the lake has increased, and is projected to continue to increase for a long time
• Increasing tidal ranges within the lake that have led to impacts on key habitats including seagrass and saltmarsh
• Undermining of built assets such as jetties and boat ramps

Tell me about the Lake Illawarra Entrance Options Study:

In 2020, Shellharbour and Wollongong Council created a Coastal Management Program (CMP) for Lake Illawarra to coordinate its management among stakeholders. Through strategic direction and actions, the CMP aims to address threats to the lake's value and sustainability. The Lake Illawarra Entrance Options Study is an action under the "Manage the Entrance Channel (EC) " strategy, one of nine management strategies identified.

The study is looking at options for managing the lake entrance, and parts of the foreshore within the entrance channel that are actively eroding. The study will also consider a range of environmental, social, economic and cultural perspectives.

The UNSW Water Research Laboratory (WRL) are the expert consultants doing the study.

You can find out more by:

• reading the FAQs
• viewing the videos about impacts
• reading the data compilation and findings of the depth survey that are part of the Study
• reading about impacts of the permanent entrance in the Lake Illawarra Coastal Management Program documents.

Take part:

The Illawarra loves the lake! And not just us, but people who come to visit as well.

We know it’s a valued and important natural asset to our communities. When the Study has been completed, we’ll invite you to share feedback on a shortlist of recommended options. These options will be created using a decision-making framework based on the community values of the lake, and expert advice. Your input will help us define suitable options for managing the entrance.

If you want to receive updates about the Lake Illawarra Entrance Options Study, and be directly notified when engagement opens, please register here.

This project is supported with funding from the NSW Government’s Coastal and Estuary Management Grant Program.