The removal of weed from Lake Wendouree is nearing completion, with 70% of the area to be cleared now harvested.

2024 compacted tonnes of weed has now been removed from the lake through the use of GPS equipped weed cutting vessels.

The lake weed has proved popular on local gardens and is available for collection free of charge from Victoria Park, Gillies St, opposite the Ballarat Transfer Station.

The weed cutting process will be completed in time for the upcoming rowing season.

City of Ballarat Councillor Judy Verlin said the completion of the weed harvesting would be another positive for the lake which is set to be honoured at the Victorian Engineers Excellence Awards in Melbourne next week as a finalist in the ‘Infrastructure, up to $20 million’ category.

“Our ‘A Secure Water Supply for Lake Wendouree’ project has been nominated for its innovation in breaking Lake Wendouree’s dependency on annual water allocations from local water supply reservoirs”.

“We think it would be fitting to see the project come away with a win to recognise the hard work that has gone into getting this iconic community asset back up and running”.

The project provides an ideal demonstration site for other local government authorities to gauge the benefits, project management steps and consultation required to introduce such a significant sustainable water supply initiative.