Reedy Lake

Reedy Lake
Lake Reedy
View of lake with black swans
Reedy Lake Location in Victoria
Location	Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria, Australia
Coordinates	38°12′21″S 144°25′13″E / 38.20583°S 144.42028°E / -38.20583; 144.42028Coordinates: 38°12′21″S 144°25′13″E / 38.20583°S 144.42028°E / -38.20583; 144.42028
Type	Intermittent freshwater swamp
Primary inflows	Barwon River
Primary outflows	Barwon River
Surface area	5.5 km2 (2.1 sq mi)
Average depth	0.5–2 m (1 ft 8 in–6 ft 7 in)
References

Reedy Lake, historically also known as Lake Reedy, is a shallow 5.5-square-kilometre (2.1 sq mi) intermittent freshwater lake or swamp on the lower reaches of the Barwon River, on the Bellarine Peninsula southeast of Geelong in the Australian state of Victoria.

The lake is included in the Lake Connewarre State Game Reserve, managed by Parks Victoria and is the largest freshwater swamp in central Victoria, and is part of a wetland complex which includes Hospital Swamp, Lake Connewarre, Salt Swamp and the Barwon estuary. The lake's outlet to the tidal lower Barwon River is controlled by a weir. The lake is listed under the Ramsar Convention as a wetland of international significance, as part of the Port Phillip Bay (Western Shoreline) and Bellarine Peninsula Ramsar Site.

Six thousand years ago Reedy Lake was part of a large marine bay. With a subsequent change in relative sea level it was cut off from the sea by a barrier of sand dunes, and its bed covered by a layer of alluvial clay deposited by the Barwon River. Before European settlement of the area in the early 19th century the lake was an ephemeral wetland that became saline in summer from the seepage of salty ground-water and occasional exceptionally high tides. In winter it usually became fresh, as river floods flushed out the saline water.

The first barrier across the Barwon was built in 1838 to provide fresh water for Geelong. In 1899 a second barrier, known as the 'lower breakwater' was built further downstream on the river at the southern boundary of Reedy Lake, making it a predominantly freshwater wetland, with an extensive cover of vegetation, that supported diverse populations of waterbirds and other aquatic wildlife. By the 1930s its natural values were becoming appreciated and, in 1935, it was temporarily reserved for "public purposes". Later it was protected permanently and its level of protection upgraded to that of game reserve. During the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s further works were carried out and refinements added, such as inlet pipes from the river above the lower breakwater and an outlet channel with a flow regulator, to maintain and control water levels in the lake.