Background - Narrabeen Lagoon Entrance ARGUS system
Narrabeen Lagoon is located approximately 16 km north of Sydney’s Central Business District, within Warringah Council Local Government Area. The lagoon covers an area of approximately two and a half square kilometres and the tidally effected part of the estuary has a scale of 100's of metres. The lagoon entrance is subject to continuous infilling which restricts water exchange between the estuary and the ocean, and in extreme cases closes the lagoon off completely. This in turn effects the entire lagoon system leading to problems with flooding and water quality. As a response to this the entrance to Narrabeen Lagoon has undergone numerous engineering changes including the building of an artificial dune field, a road bridge and a seawall.
The Water Research Laboratory (WRL), a facility of the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales, is assisting Warringah Council by providing quantitative and independent monitoring of the entrance to Narrabeen Lagoon, with particular focus on short and long term management strategy plans. Digital video images of the lagoon entrance are being captured every daylight hour by four cameras mounted on the roof of North Narrabeen Surf Lifesaving Club, approximately 20 m above sea level. These images are analysed at WRL, and the results are made available on this website.
