Fill Our Lake campaign organiser thrilled

NO ONE is more excited to see Lake Wendouree filled two years earlier than predicted than Fill Our Lake campaign organiser Graham Wilkie.The Ballarat businessman was at the press conference yesterday morning when Premier John Brumby announced a $1.3 million investment to have the lake full by late 2011 using water from the Ballarat West bore."I couldn't be happier. This announcement proves how important the lake is to the local community," Mr Wilkie said."Lobbying from the community has helped bring this issue to a head. And you can't underplay the role of The Courier in this campaign."In March this year Mr Wilkie launched the Fill Our Lake Campaign to raise funds for a right to buy the water needed to instantly refill the lake. He first devised the campaign after attending a national rowing event at Nagambie, which hosted Ballarat's Head of the Lake rowing regatta from 2004-07 after Lake Wendouree became too shallow.At the time of launching the campaign, Mr Wilkie said: "I realised a dry Lake Wendouree was costing too much for Ballarat in loss of tourist dollars, too much for the schools in travelling to other venues for rowing training and competing and too much for the environment in all those cars travelling from Ballarat to other regions for events."Bendigo Bank came on board as a trustee for funds donated by the community.Mr Wilkie said yesterday committee members and trustees would now reassess what to do with the donations. "We will have to look at handing back the donations. Some donors have already indicated they don't want their money back, but would prefer it to be used for a beautification project in the lake precinct." Mr Wilkie was unable to comment on how much had been raised through the campaign.During his announcement in Ballarat yesterday, Premier Brumby said he had been aware of the Fill Our Lake campaign."I was in Ballarat in March, when the I saw the front page of The Courier which stated that the refilling of the lake was not proceeding as quickly as possible," Mr Brumby said.