Lake Benalla Drawdown

Published on 30 January 2018

Water in Lake Benalla is being lowered in an effort to manage Cabomba, a highly invasive weed that grows quickly and can be detrimental to native aquatic animals such as platypus that live in the lake.

The drawdown commenced in late January and is expected to last for six to eight weeks depending on weather conditions.

The lake will be dry around the edges with a flow through the main river channel only. The only effective way to kill Cabomba is to dry it out. Drawing the lake down in the summer months exposes Cabomba to the hot sun, dries it out and kills it.

The lake drawdown has been requested by the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority and has been scheduled to fit into the hottest part of the year to get the best result. The breeding season of the resident platypus has also been a consideration for the timing of the drawdown.