Lake Burley Griffin acts as Canberra’s centrepiece, surrounded by national institutions, parks, walking tracks, cafés and restaurants, but what lies beneath the glistening water?

A Reddit thread recently discussed what could be found if we were to ever drain the smelly water from the lake.

Lake Burley Griffin is a man-made body of water spanning 11km from Molonglo to Kingston. Its creation began during a drought that left the lake empty for seven months until April of 1964. Since then, it has been surrounded by rumours of bodies washed from Queanbeyan Riverside Cemetery during the 1974 flood. In recent years, outbreaks of blue-green algae have caused the lake to be closed to swimming and other recreational activities.

The lake is tested weekly during peak swimming season for blue-green algae and bacteria levels by the National Capital Authority and the results are published. However, it seems algae is not the only thing Canberrans are concerned about seeing in the lake.

The muddy waters would seem to be home to an abundance of carp and shopping trolleys. Many made comment of the hazards mud and trash may cause and mentioned seeing dead animals floating while enjoying a swim or kayak. Other suggestions included rings, sunglasses, cars, bikes, trash, keys and more.

“My $200 fishing rod and reel, and potentially the largest carp ever still attached to it,” one commenter posted.

These may be a few of the reasons that during the hot seasons, Canberrans can be seen escaping to the coast or frequenting popular Canberra swimming spots of which the lake is not.

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