This is part two of a series exploring Lake Cathie's history, the issues surrounding the lake's management and thoughts on its future. The Port Macquarie News talked to Lake Cathie residents including Lisa Willows, Lynne Leayr, Sue East, John Drewitt and Helen Tarrant.
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Read part one: Cathie collection: memories of the lake's heyday
Throughout time Lake Cathie has been a point of contention on a number of issues including when and how it should be opened to the ocean.
Presently, the ailing lake is experiencing concerning environmental issues and it's having an impact on the many animal species who reside at the location.
Lake Cathie is classified as an Intermittently Closed and Open Lake or Lagoon, and is one of about 70 such coastal lakes and lagoons located along the coast of NSW.
At times, the lake has been artificially opened by Port Macquarie-Hastings Council to reduce the impacts of localised flooding.
In the early days residents took it upon themselves to open the lake to the ocean.
According to Lake Cathie resident John Drewitt, during the 70s people would use equipment at a nearby park to judge whether an opening should occur.
"Once the water got up the legs of the table that was a sign the lake should be opened," he said.
The residents just used shovels, rather than machinery, to dig into the sand and create a channel.
Lake Cathie resident Helen Tarrant said all that was required to open the lake to the ocean was a little bit of a nudge.
She said Bob Pead, one of Lake Cathie's first residents, used to say all he needed to do was 'drag his walking stick through' to successfully open it.
However, today Helen said residents would be digging for years without any success.
The residents say up until the present time, the closure of the lake was never a big issue, unless major flooding resulted.
Lynne Leayr was the owner of the Lake Cathie caravan park for 22 years from 1972 and said the park was always booked out during the holidays, even when the lake was closed.
Locals and visitors, she said also reported more successful prawning and fishing ventures when the lake was closed.
Resident Lisa Willows, who grew up in the 80s, said she used to prefer swimming in the lake when it was closed because the water was warm.
The management of the environment of Lake Cathie remains a complex issue. It's a point of discussion within the community and by staff at Port Macquarie-Hastings Council.
At the December council meeting it was revealed the most current environmental data for the lake is more than two decades old.
It came after the November council meeting, where council voted in favour of obtaining a one-off licence from Crown Lands to open the lake.
However, before that licence is granted, council must conduct a review of environmental factors (REF). The last time this was done for the waterway at Lake Cathie was 1995.
On May 16 in 1994, the then Port Macquarie News editor John Sommerlad wrote the Lake Cathie/Lake Innes Estuary Management Study was the first step in developing a long term strategy, for an estuary system in need of urgent help.
"The demise of Lake Cathie over recent years to nothing more than a series of sand choked pools has prompted widespread community concern about the estuary's long term future," he wrote.
"While it is accepted that the Lake Cathie/Lake Innes estuary system is a sensitive environmental area, the time has come for action which will provide for a long term future for the lake system."
It's a sentiment which is eerily reflected by members of the community presently, as the lake continues to face an uncertain future.
Throughout the rest of the year of 1994, some residents called for the lake to be left alone and to fix itself, while others attended council meetings to rally for its restoration.
According to an article published in the Port News in August, 1994 the then Lake Cathie Waterways Citizens Committee chairman Ken Canham said there should be no further need for "time and money-consuming studies".
The action plan by residents resulted in $100,000 of council and state government money spent dredging thousands of metres of sand from the lake, and creating a temporary opening back to the bridge in time for the 1994 Christmas holidays.
In March of 1995 high seas opened up the channel between the lake and the sea, while a big rain event saw water rushing in and out of the water body.
Lake Cathie residents told the Port Macquarie News people can expect another major rain event to occur sometime in the future, but say the lake will never be in the same health as what it was.
Sue East has been holidaying in the area since 1955 and has owned property since the 1970s. She said the lake's condition is the worst she's seen.
Lake Cathie's prospects for its future and residents' thoughts on actions will be explored in part three of this series.
For more information on the management of Lake Cathie, please visit the Port Macquarie-Hastings Council website.
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