LAKE Macquarie is certainly keeping representatives from the NSW Environment Proctection Agency busy. While residents continue to await answers on the cause that sparked the Mannering Park fish kill earlier this year, investigators are examining the circumstances around a discharge from Centennial Coal's Newstan mine that turned LT Creek black.
While there is no evidence to date that the incidents are connected, those who live living on the lake or visiting for recreation are entitled to be concerned that such freak events appear to be coalescing into something of a trend.
Lake Macquarie MP Greg Piper said spills like the Newstan one "were once more common" and there were "legacy problems that need fixing". An EPA spokesperson said water samples had been taken and the authority was working with Centennial to find the source and cause of the discharge, while the company said "unprecedented heavy rains" last week had contributed and it was co-operating with authorities after reporting the incident immediately. As Lismore can attest after its horror year, the days of relying on rainfall to arrive regularly within accepted parameters might be behind us.
Lake Macquarie's unique habitats and attractions demand a high level of protection. Fassifern resident Callan Delaney put it succinctly: "LT Creek is a popular recreation spot. Boats, kayaks, swimmers, school groups and the residents all use it," he said.
"The amount of sediment building up in the creek is limiting the way boats can navigate the creek, and there's an ever-growing layer of black mud.
"Lake Macquarie is well-known as the biggest saltwater lake in the southern hemisphere, and we should be doing everything we can as a community to preserve it in the best possible state, both for the lake itself and the future generations."
The involvement of the NSW EPA should be enough to ensure that the causes and ramifications of the incident are detailed. But while accidents do happen, the consequences for waterways can be significant and dire as the Maitland Truegain saga and its convoluted resolution can attest.
The social licence of operating on waterways like LT Creek, and by extension the wider lake, is that they will be enshrined and protected as best they can be. But with a fish kill mystery still to be solved, Lake Macquarie residents can be forgiven for having reservations about the status quo.
