: News Article

New Family Friendly Lake Paluma

25/09/2002

A new management system, designed to end uncontrolled camping and recreational activity at Lake Paluma, came into effect on Saturday, September 21.

The site was being ‘loved to death’ in recent years, attracting more than 350 campers on some nights.
NQ Water spent more than $500,000 during the off-tourism season upgrading recreational facilities to encourage more environmentally responsible use.

It was, by far, the largest commitment of any agency to the Paluma region in what is a Wet Tropics Management Authority area, said Chairman Ian Hamilton.

NQ Water made the investment to preserve water quality and the Board also took the opportunity to enhance Lake Paluma's tourism potential, Mr Hamilton said.

"What was once a free-for-all is now regulated under a whole new management system in an effort to preserve the environmental integrity of the area and protect water quality," he said. "That's our core business."

"This is done in three ways. Firstly, we have allowed for a generous number of visitors to the area. The number of campers has been capped with 23 camping places able to accommodate more than 150 users."

"Bookings for camping can be made at the NQ Water website, or by ringing NQ Water. The owners of motorised watercraft are also required to book ahead for access to the lake, as numbers are capped to ten at any one time.

"Thirdly, rangers are actively patrolling the area enforcing local laws as they apply to preservation of water quality and flora and fauna, appropriate behaviour and the use of vehicles and boats.

NQ Water also introduced a camping fee which mirrors those employed at national parks. The cost is $16 a night for a family sized camping site.

The measures were necessary as the site was showing signs of stress as the result of unregulated use, said Mr Hamilton. 'The old camping sites were the same ones used by construction crews more than 45 years ago,' he said.

"NQ Water has shown leadership in addressing these issues and calls on the lead agencies, the Wet Tropics Management Authority and the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service, to show a similar commitment."

More than 100 members of the public and civic and community leaders attended the official opening, which was led by Thuringowa Mayor Councillor Les Tyrell on Friday 20 September.

Division One councillors Kathy Girvan and Ron Taylor also attended the function.
The Board was concerned to make the area more attractive to families, said Mr Hamilton.

"While this work was outside the core responsibilities of NQ Water, the Board felt that it has a community service obligation to help provide a certain standard of facilities," he said. "This is in line with its relatively recent change to a local authority."

"Lake Paluma is an outstanding attraction and it should be accessible to the whole community," he said. "These facilities are a vast improvement on the amenity of the area."

"It is also a boost to the area's tourism stocks, which will not only benefit the Paluma township but the whole north Queensland economy.
Visitors to Lake Paluma will find comfortable, well equipped facilities with landscaped camping grounds designed to minimise impact on the wet tropics setting.

Each two campsites share a wood-fired barbeque. There are shelters, picnic tables and gas fired barbecues for day visitors.
A dedicated boat ramp and state of the art toilet blocks have been built and roads have been resurfaced to improve access.

Other works were aimed at protecting the natural heritage of the area and include traffic mitigation, drainage works, erosion protection and re-vegetation.

A range of civil and structural works was also completed. Bridges have been sandblasted and painted and the intake tower was upgraded.

© 2004 NQ Water