And this weekend they’ll come in their droves to Lake Albert for the annual Barry Carne Interstate Ski Challenge.

The event has been plagued by a litany of cancellations in recent years due to the ebb and flow of the lake level itself.

The cancellations have been a blow to the sport, the local economy and the morale of the thousands that live and recreate around the much-loved waterway.

That Wagga needs a healthy lake is without question.

The image of dead, bloated carp washed up on the withered lake bed during the millennium drought is one that will live long in the memory of many locals.

How we prevent a repeat of it has been the subject of fierce debate for years.

Theories abound.

Diverting stormwater from Tatton drain, building a $5 million pipeline from the river and holding prayer vigils on the banks of the lake have all been tossed up.

The Wagga Boat Club, with the support of council and the state government, even stumped up tens of thousands of dollars for a water diviner to find a site for a test bore recently.

The 78-year-old water diviner’s methods seemed more sorcery than science.

And so it proved.

It was an audacious gamble from the boat club and one that, regrettably, failed.

The club’s commodore on Thursday revealed while two water fractures were found deep beneath the earth’s surface, there was not enough to warrant sinking a bore.

Of course, it’s better to have tried and failed than not tried at all.

But it places the boat club, and the community, back in the lap of the gods – or at least Mother Nature.

Securing the lake’s water supply is largely an issue beyond the control of bureaucrats and politicians. 

It will take cash, a dash of luck and some creative thinking to come up with a workable solution.

It will take a united effort from lake users, all three levels of government and the community to fund and find ways to secure the future of Wagga’s most cherished natural asset.

The lake does not just exist for those lucky enough to live around it.

It exists for us all.

As such, we all have a stake in its continued health.