Thousands of visitors who usually fish, boat, canoe and swim in the picturesque lake at Barmera in the Riverland have stayed away.

And hopes visitors will return as flood waters recede and the lake is reconnected to the River Murray at Nappers inlet are being constantly thwarted by new outbreaks and misinformation about the algae.

“This time of year, we are normally struggling to get bread on the supermarket shelves with all of the visitors in town, but this year it’s pretty quiet,” says local Mayor Ella Winnall.

“Lake Bonney has been exempt from the boating ban, which should have meant the Lake would be booming, but the algae has prevented that.”

Latest SA Health advice recommends avoiding water near the Barmera Jetty and the Lake Bonney Yacht Club until further notice, but other parts of Lake Bonney have been cleared for water activities after the latest round of testing.

Winnall hopes more South Australians will take a punt and put the town of Barmera back on holiday lists, saying the algae is disappearing and the lake looks magnificent.

“Lake Bonney is incredibly important to the whole community – it’s critical to our economy, our environment, and our lifestyle,” she says.

“It’s hard to choose just one best thing about the lake, but for me, it’d have to be the sunsets. It doesn’t matter how many times I see the sunset on the lake, it still frequently stops me in my tracks for a photo – and the photo never does it justice.”

Lake Bonney jetty before it was covered in rising River Murray water. Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Right now, various State Government departments are monitoring water levels with a view to reconnecting the lake with the River Murray.

The council is also getting on top of the algal bloom using pumps supplied by the State Emergency Service to circulate water at the most affected part of the lake near the inlet.

Aerators have been installed on the southern side of the lake, with most of it looking good, but the region is also having to combat misinformation spreading in the form of old photographs on social media.

“The continual sharing of the old images of green water at North Lake isn’t representative of the situation, so while the town has had the floods to deal with we are also trying to combat misinformation about it all,” Winnall says.

“It’s been hard for the community and visitors to keep up to date with the current advice.”

Berri Barmera Council is also moving ahead with plans to reinvigorate the town that usually sees its now-closed waterfront holiday park attract thousands of visitors and public campsites hundreds more.

Work is starting to create a new jetty to attract even more visitors to the lake, with locals contributing ideas during the consultation phase. Once a popular design is identified, it will be costed and the council will hunt for funding.

“We’d really like to hear ideas from visitors to the area, too,” she says.

The existing wooden jetty is already at the end of its life, but locals expect it to be in even worse condition once its upper platform begins emerging from high water.

Ideas trickling into the planning pot include building a new structure similar to the original jetty “that was iconic for water sports and events and providing users with an enclosed swimming area”, along with viewing areas and launching pads for kayaking.

“This process is invaluable for council to work closely with the community to build a sense of ownership around the ideas being proposed and then see them develop into a design,” chief executive officer Dylan Strong says.

“This is what will set the new jetty in good stead and for it to remain part of Barmera’s history for many more years to come.”