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Baragoot Lake

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

Baragoot Lake is located on the far south coast of New South Wales. It is classed as a back-dune lagoon with an intermittently closed entrance. When the entrance is open, Baragoot Lake flows into Baragoot Beach. Mangans Creek is the major tributary for this waterway.

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 Barragoot Lake was completed over the 2014–15 summer, when 2 sites were sampled on a monthly basis.

C

Algae

A

Water clarity

B

Overall grade

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.

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

  • algae abundance graded fair (C)
  • 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.

Historical water quality grades

We have monitored water quality in Baragoot Lake since 2008. This table shows the water quality grades for this estuary over that time.

YearAlgaeWater clarityOverall grade
2008–09DBC
Physical data

Physical characteristics

Estuary typeBack-dune lagoon
Latitude–36.46 (ºS)
Longitude150.07 (ºE)
Catchment area12.6 km2
Estuary area 0.6 km2
Estuary volume303.7 ML
Average depth0.6 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 Baragoot Lake has relatively low disturbance, with almost 70% forest, most of which falls within Bermaguee Nature Reserve and Biamanga National Park. Urban and grazing areas each occupy about 10% of the catchment.

Get involved

National and marine parks

Citizen science projects

  • The Far South Coast Conservation Management Network supports the local community to better manage native biodiversity. The network organises citizen science projects, provides information for private landowners, manages a local plant database, and coordinates events.

Community involvement

A view of Baragoot Lake with Baragoot Beach in the foreground and Bermaguee Nature Reserve in the background

Aerial view of Baragoot lake.

Local government management

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

Bega Valley Shire Council manages this estuary.

Threatened species

The catchment area of Baragoot Lake contains habitat that protects koala and long-nosed potoroo populations.

Find out more about the biodiversity in our estuaries.