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Lake Arragan

Our water quality monitoring program has shown Lake Arragan to have good water quality. Find out more about the estuary and its unique features.

Lake Arragan is located within Yuraygir National Park on the north coast of New South Wales. The estuary is classed as a lake with an intermittently closed entrance.

Lake Arragan has been recognised as a near-pristine estuary and its ecological and recreational value is valued by visitors to the camping area adjacent to the entrance.

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 located between the Queensland border and Taree every 3 years. The most recent sampling in Lake Arragan was completed over the 2021–22 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.

A

Algae

C

Water clarity

B

Overall grade

The report card shows the condition of the estuary was good with:

  • algae abundance graded excellent (A)
  • water clarity graded fair (C)
  • 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.

Historical water quality grades

We have monitored water quality in Lake Arragan since 2009. This table shows the water quality grades for this estuary over that time.

YearAlgaeWater clarityOverall grade
2009–10BDC
2012–13AAA
Physical data

Physical characteristics

Estuary typeLake
Latitude–29.57 (ºS)
Longitude153.34 (ºE)
Catchment area9.3 km2
Estuary area 1 km2
Estuary volume813.7 ML
Average depth0.8 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 Lake Arragan remains virtually undisturbed and completely forested within Yuraygir National Park.

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National and marine parks

Aerial view of Lake Arragan surrounded by dense greenery, with a winding river leading to the sea. The coastline features a sandy beach with waves crashing ashore, under a sky dotted with fluffy clouds.

Aerial view of Lake Arragan

Local government management

Local councils manage estuaries within their area unless the estuary is attached to a marine park. Clarence Valley Council manage this estuary.

Threatened species

The heathlands surrounding Lake Arragan provide habitat for many threatened species such as the vulnerable eastern ground parrot.

Find out more about the biodiversity in our estuaries.