Little Lake in Narooma is a small back-dune lagoon with an intermittently open entrance. It is a shallow estuary and the entrance opens to Narooma Beach.
Located on the New South Wales south coast, the lake is largely surrounded by the Narooma Golf Course.
Water quality report card
As part of our water quality monitoring program we assess the water quality and ecosystem health of an estuary using a range of relevant indicators. We sample a subset of the estuaries between Wollongong and the Victorian border every 3 years. The most recent sampling in Little Lake (Narooma) was completed over the 2014–15 summer when 2 sites were sampled on a monthly basis.
This report card represents 2 water quality indicators that we routinely measure: the amount of algae present and water clarity. Low levels of these 2 indicators equate with good water quality.
Algae
Water clarity
Overall grade
The report card shows the condition of the estuary was good with:
- algae abundance graded good (B)
- water clarity graded excellent (A)
- overall estuary health graded good (B).
Grades for algae, water clarity and overall are represented as:
- A – excellent
- B – good
- C – fair
- D – poor
- E – very poor.
Go to estuary report cards to find out what each grade means, read our sampling, data analysis and reporting protocols, and find out how we calculate these grades.
Physical characteristics
| Estuary type | Back-dune lagoon |
|---|---|
| Latitude | –36.22 (ºS) |
| Longitude | 150.14 (ºE) |
| Catchment area | 2.2 km2 |
| Estuary area | 0.1 km2 |
| Estuary volume | 35.3 ML |
| Average depth | 0.4 m |
Notes: km2 = square kilometres; m = metres; ML = megalitres.
Water depth and survey data
Bathymetric and coastal topography data for this estuary are available in our data portal.
Land use
The catchment of Little Lake at Narooma is highly disturbed due to 60% urban land-use, which includes an industrial estate. One-third of the catchment is forest.
National and marine parks
- Eurobodalla National Park is the largest conservation area in this catchment.
- This estuary flows into Batemans Marine Park.
Citizen science projects
- iNaturalist’s Plants of Eurobodalla is a citizen science project that monitors plants found in the Eurobodalla region.
Community involvement
- Eurobodalla Landcare is a volunteer network of 24 Landcare groups on the New South Wales south coast.
- The Coastwatchers Association is a community environmental and conservation group based on the south coast.
Aerial view of Little Lake (Narooma)
Local government management
Local councils manage estuaries within their area unless the estuary is attached to a marine park.
Eurobodalla Shire Council manage this estuary, which is located in Batemans Marine Park.
Threatened species
Estuaries are important to our native animals as they provide food, shelter and breeding grounds.
Find out more about the biodiversity in our estuaries.