Tuggerah Lake

Tuggerah Lake is a large coastal lagoon on the coast of New South Wales about 90 km north of Sydney. Tuggerah Lake is connected with the sea through a tidal channel called The Entrance. It is also connected with two smaller lakes, Budgewoi Lake and Munmorah Lake.

Tuggerah Lake is generally quite shallow. The Wyong River empties into Tuggerah Lake. The towns of The Entrance, Tumbi Umbi, Wyong, Toukley and Budgewoi surround the lake. The lakes and their surroundings form part of the Wyong shire, the local government area.

Wyrrabalong National Park borders the lake and the sea separating the residential areas of Toukley and The Entrance, and preserves the last significant littoral rainforest on the Central Coast.

During 2004 and 2005 the Tuggerah Lakes Restoration project has been ocurring to restore and revive the lake system. Urbanisation and development have caused increased nutrients to build up in the lake stimulating weed growth. Restoration work has focussed on inshore removal of weed and ooze; foreshore reclamation and reinstatement; pollutant traps; and channel dredging to increase the tidal exchange of water with the sea.