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City of Wollongong
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Estuaries are unique and important natural environments. They contain a wide range of habitats and ecosystems that support many different types of plants, animals, birds and fish.

The health of Lake Illawarra can be threatened by coastal development, human activity and natural weather events such as storms and floods. However, we can help to protect and manage the estuary through the Lake Illawarra Ecosystem Health and Water Quality Monitoring Program.

This program focuses on the estuary health and recreational health of Lake Illawarra.

  • Estuary health refers to the ecological integrity of an estuary.
  • Recreational health of an estuary relates to the safety of the water body for swimming or boating.

Council collects and analyses data on this complex ecosystem. The information we collect helps us to understand the health and condition of Lake Illawarra so we can manage it effectively.

Reports

  • Technical reports analysing water quality and estuary health indicators are produced regularly, based on the NSW Government's Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting (MER) protocols.
  • A report card provides a 'snapshot' of the ecological health of Lake Illawarra.
  • Recreational water quality is measured by the presence of enterococci, and tells us if the water meets primary and secondary recreational water quality guidelines.

You can read recent reports and report cards for Lake Illawarra below.

Type Name File Size
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Estuary-Health-Report-Card-2024.pdf 2.0 MB
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Estuary-Health-Techncial-Report-2024.pdf 5.4 MB
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Estuary-Health-Report-Card-2023.docx.pdf 2.2 MB
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Estuary-Health-and-Water-Quality-Report-2023.pdf 4.8 MB
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Estuary-Health-Report-Card-2022.pdf 2.0 MB
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Water-Quality-and-Estuary-Health-Report-2022.pdf 4.4 MB
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Estuary-Health-and-Water-Quality-Report-Card-2020-21.pdf 2.7 MB
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Water-Quality-and-Estuary-Health-Monitoring-Report-2021.pdf 4.5 MB
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Water-Quality-and-Estuary-Health-Monitoring-and-Reporting-February-2020.pdf 1.2 MB
PDF File Lake-Illawarra-Estuary-Health-Monitoring-and-Reporting-June-2018.pdf 2.7 MB

Catchment water quality monitoring

Wollongong City and Shellharbour City Councils have been conducting water quality monitoring across 21 sites within the Lake Illawarra catchment from December 2021.

The main aim of this monitoring program was to provide councils with a reliable baseline of waterway water quality conditions. This will help us use data to make decisions about managing the lake.

You can read the final report and a short summary of the program below.

Lake Illawarra Catchment Water Quality Monitoring Final Report December 2021 - April 2024 PDF, 14381.09 KB

Summary of the Lake Illawarra Catchment Water Quality Monitoring Program PDF, 1310.34 KB