Sustainable Lake management plans to transform Landcox Lake: City of Bayside

Case study: Innovative approaches to balance ecological integrity and recreational use

Discover how Wave Consulting developed comprehensive lake management plans for Landcox Lake to enhance its ecological health, recreational value, and community benefits.

Lake management plans
Bunurong lands, Brighton East

Key facts

101-hectare urban catchment

Landcox Lake is one of five main urban lakes in Bayside, providing environmental and social values to the community

The problem

Landcox Park Lake is an urban lake located in Brighton East within a 101-hectare urban catchment and is a focal point of recreation for the local community. It is also an ornamental feature of City of Bayside.

In 2000, the lake was drained and cleared of carp. It was then refilled and its aquatic vegetation replanted in 2002 following a management plan produced in 2001 by ID&A.

Since then, the council had identified the declining health of the lake. They highlighted that Landcox Lake faced signficant ecological degradation due to a highly urbanised surrounding catchment, which generated low quality stormwater. This was leading to the presence of:

sediment
algal blooms
eutrophication and high nutrient concentrations
noxious introduced fish
spread of fringing macrophytes.

As a result, a series of comprehensive Lake Management Plans was necessary to improve the quality and amenity of the lake. Wave Consulting was engaged to produce these plans.

Lake with rushes and surrounded by trees.

The solution

To address the challenges faced by Landcox Lake, a thorough Lake Management Plan was developed. The plan covered the current condition, values, the vision, options, and costs and maintenance to improve the lake.

Vision and objectives for Landcox Lake

The guiding vision of the lake includes:

improved water quality (e.g., reduced turbidity and the frequency and severity of algal blooms)
maintenance of a mosaic of different habitat types that provide space for native water birds (e.g. open water), native fish and amphibians (e.g. submerged and fringing aquatic plants) and refuges for native water birds (e.g. terrestrial plants on the island).

To meet this vision, the management plan had the following objectives:

clearer water (i.e., lower turbidity)
reduced frequency and severity of algal blooms, including of green algae and of blue green algae
improved provision of habitat for native fauna
controlled spread of fringing emergent macrophytes.

The outcome

Through thorough investigation, Wave Consulting Australia proposed three different options aimed to better different values of the lake:

Option A: prioritise ornamental and recreational values by focusing on maintaining a clear water body with improved access and attractive recreation.
Option B: prioritise ecological values by removing noxious flora and fauna and creating shallow marsh zones with improved water quality for native biodiversity.
Option C: prioritising stormwater harvesting and reuse by raising the overflow and exploring opportunities for irrigation of nearing landscaped areas or other council uses.

Wave found that Option B aligned best with the Council and communities' objectives and vision.

The City of Bayside were provided with a thorough Landcox Park Lake Management Plan which highlighted the current condition of the lake, vision and objectives, current and emerging threats, as well as options to meet the predefined objectives.

Wave additionally highlighted the necessary maintenance to uphold the performance of the WSUD assets described, allowing the council to successfully manage the lake.