Disgusted with the site, he says more needs to be done to discourage the practice in our community.

“You never hear of anybody getting caught,” he said

The rubbish, dumped sometime last Monday night, includes soft drink cans, ice cream containers and chips. 

The reader contacted the council calling for the removal of the rubbish, but said 36 hours later the bags were still there.

“Domestic waste, being dumped in a waterway so close to town, is not healthy,” he said.

He believes laziness and high tip fees are responsible for illegal rubbish dumping, which happens all too frequently in public spaces around Ballarat.

Another reader says dumped rubbish is a typical scene on the south shore of Lake Burrumbeet.

The photos he took at the site speak for themselves.

“Neither Ballarat Council nor the Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) want to take responsibility for the management of the lake facilities,” he said.

DSE Environmental Planning south-west manager Brian Simpson said DSE generally inspected and removed rubbish from South Shore on a regular basis.

But this schedule had been interrupted in recent weeks as DSE has had to re-prioritise work and divert staff to fight fires, locally and across the state

“DSE will send staff to assess the situation at South Shore in the next week,” he said.

He said the City of Ballarat had management responsibility for the lake itself, while DSE manages the foreshore, including South Shore. 

DSE had not received any recent reports about rubbish at South Shore, either from the public or council, but the Lake Burrumbeet Advisory Committee recently brought several management actions including rubbish to the department’s attention, he said.

“Illegal dumping can be a problem on public land and there is signage in place to remind people to take their rubbish with them when leaving,” he said.