The Save Lake Illawarra Action Group has welcomed an agreement between Wollongong and Shellharbour councils to form an estuary management committee for Lake Illawarra.
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In June 2013, the NSW state government withdrew its recurrent funding of the Lake Illawarra Authority and announced the body would be disbanded and replaced by an estuary management committee.
While Shellharbour council endorsed the initial structure in December 2013, Wollongong council only recently agreed due to the concerns about costs of managing former LIA land.
This week, Shellharbour City Council appointed Mayor Marianne Saliba, two councillors - Helen Stewart and David Boyle - two community members and two staff to the committee.
There will be equal numbers of Wollongong representatives.
Representatives from the Department of Trade and Investment, the Office of Environment and Heritage, Roads and Maritime Services, Sydney Water, two scientific advisers and an Aboriginal representative will be included.
SLIAG president Col Wilton welcomed the committee's formation but said the size of the committee was "getting silly".
He said the SLIAG would be calling for transparency, including a website and the publication of minutes straight after the meeting, so people were aware of what was being discussed and proposed.
"Sadly, transparency was something we felt was lacking under the LIA," Mr Wilton said.
"The lake is a recreation area, a food source, it is a cooling unit for a power station, the stormwater drain for the region and a sewage overflow.
"Very little has been spent on what needs to be done in recent times, there is foreshore work at Windang where screens were put up before the LIA was disbanded."
Mr Wilton said the new committee would need to pay close attention to sand movement within the lake, the condition of the entrance channel as well as monitor the effects run-off from the development at West Dapto would have on water quality.
Cr Saliba said it was important there was a balance between the commercial and environmental needs of the community.
"This committee will ensure that we have the right people at the table to help guide decisions of council and fill the void left us by the state government's decision to disband the LIA," she said.
The council said funding of the committee would be shared by both councils "at a rate proportional to the geographical split of the lake".
Shellharbour council has budgeted $85,000 for 2015-16, including $15,000 towards the cost of a project officer position to manage the committee.
Mr Wilton, a Mt Warrigal resident, said he would be applying for one of the Shellharbour community positions when advertising takes place next month.