Volunteers scouring the banks of Lake Albert for rubbish are one piece in the complex puzzle of getting Lake Albert back to its best, according to an environmental advocate.
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Thirty-three volunteers removed about 750 kilograms of rubbish from Lake Albert as part of Wagga's Clean Up Australia Day efforts.
A month ago, the council issued a red alert for blue green algae in the lake posing a public health risk for those who come in contact with the water.
Clean Up Australia Day Lake Albert site coordinator Dick Green said the lake was filled to about a third of its current capacity.
"It's really quite shallow, I mean the average depth is 3.2 metres and its down to about 1.2 metres," he said.
Mr Green said the group was finding "quite a bit" of rubbish on the banks of the lake, which would be contributing to the poor water quality.
He said the rubbish found was overwhelmingly discarded plastic, prompting concerns about the level of microplastics in the water.
With much of the rubbish concentrated around the stormwater drains, Mr Green said one of the most important ways to improve the water quality would be for more of the public to put their rubbish in the bin.
He said there was also the opportunity to create more wetlands at entry points to filter both rubbish and sediment, but the prolonged lack of rainfall remained the main problem.
"Ultimately it's water flushing through the system," he said.
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Mr Green said there were many ideas within the community about what needed to be done to help the river in the long term.
"There's two schools of thought, whether we should fill it or whether we should leave it natural," he said.
He said while some wanted the lake to be available for "passive," quiet use such as sailing, kayaking and swimming should the water quality improve, others would like to see the lake filled enough to allow motor boats.
Mr Green said personally he would like to see the lake partially filled to allow passive use but to also keep the river red gums growing on the banks and a place for the birds currently enjoying the low water after searching for a place to drink.
A council plan to build a pipe from the Murrumbidgee River to Marshalls Creek to top up the lake is currently under consideration.
Mr Green said while there were many opinions as to how the lake would be filled and to what extent, the overall health of the lake was "extremely important from everyone's point of view" because of the role it played for community recreation.
"It's one of the very few natural water areas," he said.
