Lake Fidler is a
meromictic lake beside the
Gordon River in the
Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Site area of the west coast of
Tasmania,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. The lake has a layer of
fresh water
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
overlying an
anoxic salt water layer. The meromictic lakes and ponds of the Gordon River were discovered by D. A. Hodgson and Professor Peter Tyler.
Description
It became evident that, following the establishment of a
hydro-electric power industry on the Gordon River, the flows of fresh water into the lake were disturbed and the anoxic salt layer was declining in depth. Previously, low river flows at certain times of the year allowed salt water to migrate upriver and occasionally spill into Lake Fidler through a narrow channel joining it to the river, thus recharging the salt water layer.
In 2004, Hydro Tasmania gained state and
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
approval to recharge the lake with
seawater drawn from the sea outside
Macquarie Harbour at the mouth of the Gordon River. This involved having a sea-going tug draw up approximately of salt water in lots of approximately , and discharge the water through a diffuser that allowed the seawater to settle into the lower salt layer. (See diagrams at Hydro Tasmania press release, 18 June 2004) This was completed and the results confirmed in April 2005. However, it was noted that, if no natural recharging occurs, the process of recharging may need to be repeated in about 10–15 years.
See also
*
List of reservoirs and dams in Tasmania
*
List of lakes in Tasmania
References
Further reading
*
*
*
External links
Hydro Tasmania press release, 18 June 2004Hydro Tasmania proposal to Australian Department of Environment and Heritage
under Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999; DOC file, with maps
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fidler
Lakes of Tasmania
Meromictic lakes
Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area
hu:Fiedler (egyértelműsítő lap)#Fidler