Posted on July 10, 2018
Lake Cathie to open to ocean on Wednesday, July 11?
Locals have watched with interest the dredging of Lake Cathie and this has now been completed. However we have been told that the
sand needs time to settle before an artificial opening can be performed! In the meantime the water level due to heavy rain continues to rise. ?
Sand by its very nature moves. If you were able to walk along our lovely foreshore now (which you can’t because it is under water) you would notice sand has already begun sliding back into the lake! The tides have also been hitting the new “hills” of sand on the ocean side. Is that sand expected to behave and stay put?
When the lake is finally opened, the sand along the foreshore will no doubt be washed back into the lake by the incoming tides…isn’t that what happens in nature?
My husband and I have lived here for 24 years and we have never seen the water level so high. We have seen previous attempts by council to dredge and manage the lake opening. No strategy yet has proven to be a permanent or even long term solution. Why waste money on strategies that are doomed from the start??
I understand this attempt to rebuild the foreshore and dredge the lake has cost somewhere in the vicinity of $350,000! Talking to a number of other residents, we wonder who is advising council and why would they even think this might solve the problem.
I wonder if Town Green in Port Macquarie was inundated to even a fraction of what we are experiencing, would the council leave it for such a long time to fix?
As for Lake Cathie, the paths, wooden sections and stairs, lake beach near the bridge and many other areas are under water. This can’t be doing the grassed areas and cement paths any favours. I can’t imagine how some of the homes along Kenwood Drive are faring, the water must be ruining their backyards.
It is just very frustrating to see the wasted money and manpower that has been expended! Lake Cathie deserves better than this…Port Macquarie Hastings Council, please start treating residents with some respect and intelligence. The council happily collects our rates, so now is the time to find a suitable solution and use our money wisely.
Chris Godman
Lake Cathie
Source: Camden Haven Courier
