Gold Coast’s Evandale Lake closed indefinitely after stonefish scare

ONE of the Gold Coast’s most popular lakes will remain closed indefinitely after a stonefish scare last week failed to find the deadly fish but uncovered another problem.

THE Gold Coast City Council is still making a decision about when to reopen Evandale Lake after a stonefish was spotted in the water last week.

Orange barriers still remain around the lake while council decides its future after divers uncovered another problem while searching for the potentially-deadly stonefish.

“The lake remains closed until Council decides if it will undertake some refurbishment works,” a council spokesman said.

“A reopening date is still not known.”

Evandale Lake is closed indefinitely. Picture: Jerad Williams

Upgrades are being considered by council to ensure the lake is in top shape for next year’s Commonwealth Games.

It is hoped any refurbishment work can take place in the winter months.

The lake was closed on Tuesday afternoon after the potentially deadly fish was spotted.

Divers from SeaWorld scoured the lake for it without success on Wednesday.

No stonefish was found but the divers did discover a large amount of algae on the bottom of the lake.

Sea World divers went hunting for a stone fish but found algae instead. Picture: Jerad Williams

The algae is not a health concern but the council is considering how to remove it.

Options include a suction clean, partially draining the lake or placing more sand to cover the growth.

The council is also considering refurbishing the entry and exit pipe to restrict fish over a certain size.