Restoring Lake Pedder

[doogs]

The water would be drained slowly, very slowly, giving plenty of time for the bath mark to start to be revegetated before the beach reemerges. I'd expect it to take a few years to drain rather than days.

[Stibb]

iirc the wave action is what cause the most harm and therefore a quicker draining is preferable. If you drain slowly there will be more scarring than necessary. There are lots to consider but imo the project would be amazingly interesting in itself.

And how lucky we are that Pedder is not an egg, and certainly not a scrambled egg.

[sthughes]

I think if we're about bringing in tourists we should forget un-damming Pedder. Instead, start damming the Franklin River as was planned. We'd have thousands of "tourists" (a.k.a protestors) arriving within days! We could arrest them all with our new laws, and fine each and all up to $10,000! Just imagine the cash injection to state coffers!

[GPSGuided]

Then the money can be used to restore Lake Pedder. Bingo!

[Swifty]

There would be 240 square kilometers to re-plant. Thats 240 million square meters of barren Neoproterozoic quartzites, not comparable with ultra-fertile andesitic pyroclastics from Mt St Helens as mentioned by someone earlier. I would like to see Lake Pedder as it was, but draining would not work I think. Have you seen the old airstrip on the buttongrass plain on the Bombadier track north of the Denisons? It has been there for over fifty years and looks far from recovered.
I think we might need to wait until the next interglacial, give it another 120,000 years.

[corvus]

I was respectful of the Green Movement and at times did agree with some of their suggestions however the thought of draining Lake Pedder and attempting to restore it is an expensive pie in the sky waste of money IMHO
We should be concentrating on proposed Teacher and other Public Service cuts and really protest about that, our children are more important than an obscure albeit nice lake.

[Mechanic-AL]

While I can't condone the damming of Lake Pedder in the first place I don't think that Pedder in it's current form is unsightly or ugly. I think it is still a beautiful lake. OK, not of the same calibre as the original.....but still beautiful.
So is the main purpose of draining it really to attempt to restore it to it's former state or to give some the opportunity to say "I told you so"?
I think whats done is done and future generations should be able to look back on this and hopefully learn from it without this generation blowing a gazillion dollars to make it obvious to them.

Leave it be.

AL

[ILUVSWTAS]

One thing I am curious about, how is the proposed drainage planned? Why do people think it would cost a stack of money to do so? Excuse my ignorance but isn't it just a matter of "pulling a plug" so to speak??

[GPSGuided]

One thing I am curious about, how is the proposed drainage planned? Why do people think it would cost a stack of money to do so? Excuse my ignorance but isn't it just a matter of "pulling a plug" so to speak??

Off the top of my head, pulling the plug will mean changes to all those who's life/work depends on the lake. Given the opposing views out there and the society we have, there'll be more enquiries, reviews, downstream impact studies, upstream impact studies, protests, counter protests.... And the list goes on. Then there'll be demand for money for the regeneration program, rehabilitation program and so on. Just saying.

[ILUVSWTAS]

There aren't really alot of people who's loves depend on that lake, besides fisherman I cant really think who else would be affected? They can always go fish one of the many other lakes in the area/state. Also As a few people have mentioned the percentage of value Hydro get out of the lake could surely been made up from one of the other many lakes they have access to?
Rehabilitation doesn't cost anything either, just leave it alone and it will recover! And if it gets lots of media coverage/political interest then great, that will generate tourists into the state to come and have a gander.....

[corvus]

There aren't really alot of people who's loves depend on that lake, besides fisherman I cant really think who else would be affected? They can always go fish one of the many other lakes in the area/state. Also As a few people have mentioned the percentage of value Hydro get out of the lake could surely been made up from one of the other many lakes they have access to?
Rehabilitation doesn't cost anything either, just leave it alone and it will recover! And if it gets lots of media coverage/political interest then great, that will generate tourists into the state to come and have a gander.....

I suspect you never got to see the original and as mentioned in previous posts it would take many years for rehabilitation ,you and I will be long dead as I suspect would be our children before it resorts to near what it was .
Mate there are many much more worthy things for hard earned dollars to be spent on ,Health ,Education ,Disability support ,a dollar spent on this drain is one lost on really important issues for the living for that which was was a nice wee lake in an nice setting that I rate second to the Paradise of Lees Paddocks .

[horsecat]

Personally I find it hard to think of a large lake with such beauty as Pedder. And it hardly receives any visitors. So, the argument is to drain it to recover buttongrass plains and an intact pebble beach (if it's still there), thus bringing in tourists?

[corvus]

I think if we're about bringing in tourists we should forget un-damming Pedder. Instead, start damming the Franklin River as was planned. We'd have thousands of "tourists" (a.k.a protestors) arriving within days! We could arrest them all with our new laws, and fine each and all up to $10,000! Just imagine the cash injection to state coffers!

What a good idea.

[corvus]

One thing I am curious about, how is the proposed drainage planned? Why do people think it would cost a stack of money to do so? Excuse my ignorance but isn't it just a matter of "pulling a plug" so to speak??

Are you for real ??

[Scottyk]

One thing I am curious about, how is the proposed drainage planned? Why do people think it would cost a stack of money to do so? Excuse my ignorance but isn't it just a matter of "pulling a plug" so to speak??

See here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9wiGka ... e=youtu.be
explains it pretty well

[GPSGuided]

Pretty optimistic video and POV. What civil engineering works can one buy with $100M these days?

[stepbystep]

...which was was a nice wee lake in an nice setting that I rate second to the Paradise of Lees Paddocks .

corvus given that you'd choose to describe the original Pedder, an entirely unique environment once described as the most beautiful lake on earth as second rate to a cattle property speaks volumes.

[ILUVSWTAS]

One thing I am curious about, how is the proposed drainage planned? Why do people think it would cost a stack of money to do so? Excuse my ignorance but isn't it just a matter of "pulling a plug" so to speak??

Are you for real ??

Yes I am. Are you really real?

Is any of this real?

Nature reclaims it's own alot faster than anyone here is giving it credit for. I think it would bounce back faster than you would think. And just because "You and I wont see it in our lifetime" is NOT a good reason to not go ahead. That's very much a typical attitude seen here in Tasmania, chop it all down cause once we are dead it doesn't matter.....

Last edited by ILUVSWTAS on Sun 30 Nov, 2014 7:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

[frenchy_84]

It won't be as simple as pulling the plug and waiting for everything to grow. There will be huge losses of topsoil which will prohibit new plant growth. There will also be the opportunity for non native pioneer plants (aka weeds) to fill the gaps as they can do it a lot quicker and easier. Also the serpentine River itself, I was led to believe that one of the factors that made pedder so unique was due to the meandering nature of the serpentine which saw the slow release of water from pedder, what happens if we have a high rainfall event and then with no vegetation on the banks the course of the river changes so that its loses the meanders and the lake drains quicker which could lead to just having a dust bowl with a creek through the middle. If the regeneration is going to happen well and in less than a few 100 years there will need to be a lot of human intervention. While what we have now may not be as spectacular or a beach wide enough for a plane, it still is a scenic lake, I think it's better to leave it as is.

[Scottyk]

Pretty optimistic video and POV. What civil engineering works can one buy with $100M these days?

I think the concept is sound but the cost is, I agree a bit optimistic.

I think ultimately it would take a very brave labour or liberal poly to stick their neck out and call for a feasibility study into it. That would be a very brave poly indeed.

[north-north-west]

...which was was a nice wee lake in an nice setting that I rate second to the Paradise of Lees Paddocks .

corvus given that you'd choose to describe the original Pedder, an entirely unique environment once described as the most beautiful lake on earth as second rate to a cattle property speaks volumes.

Good job it does, because the comment leaves me speechless.

[GPSGuided]

Ultimately, expending limited funds to limiting future destruction of unique and important habitats is more productive in the big picture. What's the point of draining a lake in an attempt to restore a pretty little lake but lose more old growth forests on a massive scale? Old battles have been lost and won, time to move on.

[stepbystep]

I see potential in a restoration project if for example a large engineering firm in conjunction with Hydro, philanthropists, tourism investors, conservation groups, government and public funding streams work towards a singular goal. Creative thinking and a motivated group to facilitate and drive the project. I get annoyed when there's a carte blanche 'no' coz the govt won't pay.

[GPSGuided]

I see potential in a restoration project if for example a large engineering firm in conjunction with Hydro, philanthropists, tourism investors, conservation groups, government and public funding streams work towards a singular goal.

Whilst it's good to be idealistic, but what's the realistic chances of this gaining momentum when the people of Tassie has just willed in a conservative govt?

[maddog]

That’s what we need SBS – thinking outside the square. How does one pay for such folly? It seems safe to assume Tasmanians would not expect to pay for it. Perhaps environmental organisations could offer to trade their tax-free status for the funds necessary to ‘de-engineer’ the island.

[corvus]

One thing I am curious about, how is the proposed drainage planned? Why do people think it would cost a stack of money to do so? Excuse my ignorance but isn't it just a matter of "pulling a plug" so to speak??

Are you for real ??

Yes I am. Are you really real?

Is any of this real?

Nature reclaims it's own alot faster than anyone here is giving it credit for. I think it would bounce back faster than you would think. And just because "You and I wont see it in our lifetime" is NOT a good reason to not go ahead. That's very much a typical attitude seen here in Tasmania, chop it all down cause once we are dead it doesn't matter.....

What credence do you have that faster reclamation is possible and where did I mention chopping it all down ? I have been a practical conservationist for a long time and love our State and its Wonder

[icefest]

One thing I am curious about, how is the proposed drainage planned? Why do people think it would cost a stack of money to do so? Excuse my ignorance but isn't it just a matter of "pulling a plug" so to speak??

Pulling the plug isn't an option. Firstly, there isn't a simple plug, as the dams were not designed with the purpose to empty the lake. They have an emergency overflow, but no ability to slowly empty the lake, as they were only designed to divert the water into lake Gordon. The second issue with pulling the plug (i.e. uncontrolled demotion resulting in a rapid drainage, is the massive erosion across the col dividing the Huon and Serpentine drainage. The other problem is that the riverbed that would be chosen for drainage wouldn't cope with the amount of water, causing massive erosion and washing away large amounts of important topsoil.

There aren't really alot of people who's loves depend on that lake, besides fisherman I cant really think who else would be affected? They can always go fish one of the many other lakes in the area/state. Also As a few people have mentioned the percentage of value Hydro get out of the lake could surely been made up from one of the other many lakes they have access to?
Rehabilitation doesn't cost anything either, just leave it alone and it will recover! And if it gets lots of media coverage/political interest then great, that will generate tourists into the state to come and have a gander.....

Rehabilitation of such a large area cannot be a passive event. Rapid stabilisation is needed to prevent any rainfall further washing away any soil that is left.

Read the geology paper poster earlier, regarding the suggested drainage rate. IIRC it's a couple of weeks-months to prevent wave damage as it drains.

[corvus]

...which was was a nice wee lake in an nice setting that I rate second to the Paradise of Lees Paddocks .

corvus given that you'd choose to describe the original Pedder, an entirely unique environment once described as the most beautiful lake on earth as second rate to a cattle property speaks volumes.

stepbystep your description of Lees Paddocks as a cattle property shows your lack of understanding of a unique icon of both Aboriginal and European useage ,it was a favoured area for our Indigenous people who practised burning off to encourage re growth for wildlife fodder ,they also had a couple of shelters there (one obvious ) and the other well hidden.

Later on we had a Pioneer family with foresight to utilise this fantastic area, they over the years built Huts (that are open for public use) and keep open a Magnificent area ,who cannot awake at Wadleys "Hut Paddock" and not be in awe of the surrounding Mountains and the bell of the Currawong and the ripple of the Mersey and an area that is not road accessible,unlike your new Pedder.

[GPSGuided]

That’s what we need SBS – thinking outside the square. How does one pay for such folly? It seems safe to assume Tasmanians would not expect to pay for it. Perhaps environmental organisations could offer to trade their tax-free status for the funds necessary to ‘de-engineer’ the island.

Something like this, it's a dead end if they government is not going to cooperate. Money is but a small part of the equation.

[corvus]

I flew in how many of you commenting here actually saw it ?