Little Lake (Wallaga) is a small lagoon estuary located on the south coast of New South Wales, it is classed as a lagoon with an entrance that is intermittently open and closed to the ocean.
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 Little Lake (Wallaga) was completed over the 2023–24 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 numerical scores for these 2 indicators are averaged to give the overall grade.
Algae
Water clarity
Overall grade
The report card shows the condition of the estuary was poor with:
- algae abundance graded very poor (E)
- water clarity graded poor (D)
- overall estuary health graded poor (D).
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.
We have monitored water quality in the Little Lake (Wallaga) estuary since 2011. This table shows the water quality grades for this estuary over that time.
| Year | Algae | Water clarity | Overall grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | E | D | D |
| 2011–12 | B | A | B |
Physical characteristics
| Estuary type | Lagoon |
|---|---|
| Latitude | –36.34 (ºS) |
| Longitude | 150.10 (ºE) |
| Catchment area | 2.4 km2 |
| Estuary area | 0.1 km2 |
| Estuary volume | 44.7 ML |
| Average depth | 0.4 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 Little Lake at Wallaga is highly disturbed due to 80% of land cleared for grazing. About 10% of the catchment remains as forest.
National and marine parks
- Eurobodalla National Park is the largest conservation area in this catchment.
- This estuary flows into Batemans Marine Park.
Citizen science projects
- iNaturalist’s Plants of Eurobodalla is a citizen science project that monitors plants found in the Eurobodalla region.
Community involvement
- Eurobodalla Landcare is a volunteer network of 24 Landcare groups on the NSW south coast.
- The Coastwatchers Association is a community environmental and conservation group based on the south coast.
Aerial view of Little Lake (Wallaga)
Local government management
Local councils manage estuaries within their area. Where an estuary is attached to a marine park, marine park management teams are responsible for ensuring compliance with marine park zoning.
Eurobodalla Shire Council manages this estuary, which is located in Batemans Marine Park.
Threatened species
Estuaries are important to our native animals as they provide food, shelter and breeding grounds.
Find out more about the biodiversity in our estuaries.