AUSTRALIA’S FIRST PUBLIC RECREATION LAKE
17 Dec 2019
Waterscapes Australia has made a great splash in the pool industry by developing Australia’s first public recreation lake, situated at Woodford on the Sunshine Coast, QLD.
The lake is situated on the 500-acre block of land, lovingly known as Woodfordia, which plays host to three main events throughout the year: Artisan Camp, the Planting Festival and Woodford Folk Festival – Australia's longest-running festival, now in its 36th year. 
While each differs in size and focus, they are united in their aim to invoke in the community a sense of wide-eyed wonder, fostering curiosity, igniting imaginations, nurturing the environment and bringing people together. 
The project has been in the planning for a couple of years and was built over the last five months by Patrick Handley and the Waterscapes Australia team with the assistance from several certified Aquascape contractors from around Australia joining them to gain valuable knowledge and experience from such a large project. 
With the assistance of some heavy machinery, the team managed to install 2000 tonnes of rock, 2000 tonnes of pebble and 700 tonnes of sand on this magnificent manmade lake. 
Lake Gkula was officially opened by the Queensland Treasurer on 7 December 2019 and will provide Woodford Folk Festival campers with the opportunity to cool off and swim among the many waterfalls, native fish and aquatic plants. The lake provides plenty of room to relax and enjoy, with grassed areas, a 90-metre-long beach along one bank, an island to swim to and explore, and plenty of large rocks to jump off. 
The 1.3-acre natural living lake holds 12 megalitres of water, is six metres deep and is naturally filtered by two Aquascape Upflow Wetland Filter systems located at either end of the lake. Water is drawn into an intake bay by the four large external pumps, which then push a combined total of 580,000 litres per hour of water through the wetland systems before spilling back into the lake over several waterfalls. 
Another 380,000 litres per hour of water is pumped through a series of jets positioned around the lake to increase the movement and circulation which help provide the lake with crystal clear water. 
