The Council has decided to upgrade the Airlie Beach Lagoon lighting.

The WorkSafe Queensland inspected and concluded that there's a need to upgrade the Airlie Beach Lagoon lighting to meet the revised Australian Standards.

"The minimum lighting requirement was increased to an average of 120 lux with parameters around glare so Council allocated $500,000 in the 2021-22 Budget to upgrade the Lagoon lighting to meet the new standards," he said.
"The stricter lighting standards meant that Council had to work through a number of issues, including a concern that higher and brighter lighting towers may create confusion for turtles during nesting season and ensuring the lighting reached all parts of the lagoon swimming area.
"The tender for this lighting has been issued and the upgraded lighting is expected to be installed and operating by March next year.
"Unfortunately this has meant that the operating hours of the lagoon swimming and water activities have been altered until the upgraded lighting is installed," Mr Ferguson said.

The Council has informed that these changes will disrupt swimmers, particularly in the summer months. They have reiterated that the safety of the patrons is the number one priority. Please remember to adhere to the direction of lifeguards during this period.