A push to restore Lake Cathie to health has taken another step.
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Revive Lake Cathie president Danielle Maltman handed over more than 700 submissions on Thursday, April 18 to Port Macquarie-Hastings Council in response to the council's 2019-20 draft operational plan.
The submissions represent a collaboration of volunteer research supported by 787 submissions from concerned community members.
Volunteers split into five research pods to formulate the community group's submission and a pop-up at Lake Cathie attracted more than 780 community submissions.
Mrs Maltman said they were hoping to remedy and revive Lake Cathie.
"We really need to take action for the future for our kids and our wildlife," she said.
"There is no water [in the estuary] from Kenwood Drive Bridge all the way to Houston Mitchell Drive."
The documentation requests funding for an environmental impact study to identify strategies to revive the lake and the allocation of a council staff member to implement the strategies.
Mrs Maltman said an environmental impact study was vital as it would lay the foundation for the future and ensure actions were backed up by science.
Other measures addressed in the submissions include strategies to stop the significant decline in the health of the entire ecosystem of Lake Innes, Lake Cathie, Lake Cathie lagoon and Cathie Creek; water monitoring and the installation of remote water monitoring devices; and direct contact and consultation with Revive Lake Cathie.
Council's acting director strategy and growth Holly McBride accepted the submissions on behalf of the council.
She said submissions to the draft 2019-20 operational plan would be taken into consideration as part of finalisation of the operational plan and budget.
A report will be presented to the June council meeting.
Mrs Maltman said the lake was a valuable asset.
"We owe it to our community, to our children and to our wildlife to look after it," she said.
"We want to make sure the whole system is nurtured, revived and future-proofed."
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