ACT Chief Minister and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Katy Gallagher, today announced that revisions have been made for a proposed trial of water ski training on Lake Ginninderra.

"The need for an alternate water ski training location has arisen due to the normal training area on the Molonglo River being closed for safety reasons since December 2010 leaving the group with nowhere to train," the Chief Minister said.

The ACT Government has undertaken a six week consultation period on the conditions of the trial which included a water ski demonstration and information session to provide the community with an opportunity to learn about the proposed water ski trial on Lake Ginninderra, and the conditions under which the trial would operate.

In response to feedback received during the consultation period, significant changes have been made to the conditions of the trial to address concerns about noise, lake users' needs and the impact on the environment.

Modifications to the conditions include:

• removing a wakeboard training course from the trial. This will reduce the area of the trial and potential impact on other lake users;
• excluding weekends and public holidays from the trial;
• amending the trial times during winter (July to September 2012) to 12 pm to 2 pm (rather than 7 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 6 pm as originally planned);
• improving environmental and noise considerations by moving the slalom training course away from the shoreline to allow ample room for other lake users to pass between the training course and the water's edge and to minimise conflict with anglers.

Training times will remain as proposed, from 7 am - 9 am and 4 pm - 6pm, from October 2012 until the end of January 2013. Wakeboarding will be allowed during the trial, however there will be no jumping.

The trial will be strictly monitored by Territory and Municipal Services, Environment Protection Authority and ACT Policing for compliance with the licence conditions. Environmental monitoring will also be undertaken, including monitoring by local bird experts, as well as noise monitoring at various locations, including near Kangara Waters retirement village.

The Chief Minister said the trial will determine whether Lake Ginninderra provides a suitable location for the ACT Water Ski Association to undertake tournament training.

"Lake users will be surveyed during the trial to allow people to provide further feedback on the suitability of this activity on Lake Ginninderra," the Chief Minister concluded.

The trial will run from Monday 9 July 2012 until Thursday 31 January 2013.

For more information about the trial visit www.tams.act.gov.au