THE Save Lake Illawarra Action Group (SLIAG) is concerned the proposed lake management committee would have little power to improve the overall health of the waterway.
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Following the disbandment of the Lake Illawarra Authority (LIA), the responsibility of the lake was handed to Shellharbour and Wollongong councils, who are in the process of forming a Joint Estuary Management Committee.
The committee would be responsible for providing advice on the health of the lake and strategic planning, which would then have to be agreed upon by both councils.
It is proposed the committee be comprised of representatives from the community, industry, environmental interest groups, researchers and state and local government.
However, SLIAG president Col Wilton said the new committee would have little power and funding to implement the work that was required.
"The LIA had the same power as a local council, but this committee is just advisory, which basically is just someone with an opinion," he said.
A Shellharbour City Council spokesperson confirmed the committee would have "no delegated powers".
"Both councils will have to fund any works and water quality monitoring they want done," the spokesperson said.
Mr Wilton said he would like to see each council have one officer oversee management and be responsible for water quality.
"The lake needs to be considered as part of the planning process," he said.
"If each council had one go-to officer responsible for water quality then nothing can happen around the lake without their approval."
Mr Wilton said the condition of the lake and its overall health was a result of what happened on the land around it.
"Water doesn't generate its own pollution," he said. "There are 180 drains that enter into the lake - the majority are not filtered.
"We have a power station that changes the temperature of the water, affecting natural chemical reactions. We have run-offs from farmlands and roadways that is uncontrolled and we have sewerage systems that overflow into the lake.
"It is a whole mix of little things, that when added up, ultimately make one major problem, that is only going to get better if we increase the tank sizes and get better piping."