Looking across the nation, a recent study has shown lakes in Tasmania’s world heritage listed area have shown some of the highest levels of heavy metal contamination recorded.
Historical mining has been found as the source of these metals, with lakes as far as 130km from the mines being contaminated, including the iconic Dove lake which sits at the foot of Cradle mountain.
"These small lakes act as almost like rain gauges,” says Simon Haberle, an environmental scientist from the Australian National University (ANU) who helped carry out the research, “they collect the rainfall water from the atmosphere so I find these findings to be quite disturbing and something that I really think the people of Tasmania need to know about."
The study shows the sediment at the bottom of the lakes is contaminated with heavy metals including arsenic, lead, cadmium and copper and scientists are not yet sure what effect it is having on animals and people who use the area.