Tabourie Lake is classed as a back-dune lagoon with an intermittently closed entrance. It is located on the south coast of New South Wales, south of Ulladulla.
Tabourie Lake
Our water quality monitoring program has shown Tabourie Lake to have fair water quality. Find out more about the estuary and its unique features.
Water quality
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 Tabourie Lake 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.
The report card shows the condition of the estuary was fair with:
- algae abundance graded good (B)
- water clarity graded very poor (E)
- overall estuary health graded fair (C).
Find out more about our estuary report cards and what each grade means. Read our sampling, data analysis and reporting protocols and find out how we calculate these grades.
We have monitored water quality in Tabourie Lake since 2008. This table shows the water quality grades for this estuary over that time.
Grades for algae, water clarity and overall are represented as:
- A – excellent
- B – good
- C – fair
- D – poor
- E – very poor.
Physical characteristics
Estuary type: Back-dune lagoon
Entrance location |
Latitude (ºS) | –35.44 |
---|---|---|
Longitude (ºE) | 150.14 | |
Catchment area (km2) | 46.1 | |
Estuary area (km2) | 1.5 | |
Estuary volume (ML) | 1123.8 | |
Average depth (m) | 0.8 |
Tidal exchange volume
Tidal exchange volume or tidal prism data is available for this estuary.
Tide state | Flow (106 m3) |
Local tidal range (m) |
Sydney Harbour
tidal range (m) |
---|---|---|---|
Ebb flow | 0.21 | 0.41 | 1.07 |
Flood flow | 0.25 | 0.46 | 1.08 |
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 Tabourie is relatively undisturbed with over 80% forest within Meroo National Park. About 15% of the catchment is used for grazing and the small urban area of Lake Tabourie.
National and marine parks
- The largest conservation areas in the Tabourie Lake catchment are Meroo and Morton National Parks.
- There is no marine park associated with the Tabourie Lake estuary.
Citizen science projects
- Conjola Jerrawangala Landcare is a citizen science project that reports on the seasonal occurrence of flowers, seeds and animals in the local region.
- The Budawang Coast Nature Map is an online data platform the community can use to record and identify biodiversity. Data collected is used to map the distribution of native plant and animal species from Moruya up almost to Kiama.
- Our South Coast Shorebird Recovery Program provides the opportunity for people to get involved in the protection and recovery of shore birds.
Community involvement
- The Ulladulla and Districts Community Forum is a community group that acts as a conduit for the Shoalhaven City Council. The group meets each month to discuss various topics, including managing and protecting the local natural environment.
- Shoalhaven City Council’s Bushcare webpage provides links to a range of active groups in and around this catchment.
- The Shoalhaven Landcare Association represents a range of volunteer groups working in and around Tabourie Lake.
Local government management
Local councils manage estuaries within their area unless the estuary is attached to a marine park.
Shoalhaven City Council manage this estuary.