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Introduction
Lake Macquarie City, covering 757km2, is a coastal destination featuring magnificent natural assets, including the lake, beaches and mountains.
Its main natural features include: the largest coastal saltwater lake in NSW, with a circumference of 174km 32km of coastline to the east Watagans National Park to the west.
The city is a diverse coastal destination abundant with natural assets that provide a distinct sense of place and uniqueness. The population of Lake Macquarie is dispersed across 95 communities, with nine economic centres across the city. More than 1.36 million people visit Lake Macquarie annually (Tourism Research Australia four-year average). The mapped coastal zone comprises 32 per cent of the Local Government Area (20 per cent of the land area) and is home to an estimated 45 per cent of the city’s population. The sustainable management of Lake Macquarie’s coastal zone is required to ensure the intrinsic environmental, social, economic and recreational qualities of the coast are maintained and enhanced for the use and enjoyment of the community. Management of the coastal zone has significant challenges. These include: • development pressure and use of the coastal zone • impacts from urban pollution on coastal and oceanic environments • the impacts of climate change.
