A prestigious Wirral water sports location is at risk of becoming unusable.

A worrying council report revealed boat propellers are getting entangled in seaweed and surfboards are being grounded at Marine Lake in West Kirby.

The lake is described as “possibly the finest outdoor location” in the borough and hosts the Wilson Trophy, one of the most important team sailing events in the world.

One major problem with the lake is the build up of silt on the seabed, which is decreasing the water’s depth, making it too shallow for large sailing boats.

These issues have been growing for a number of years, as the report states: “Since the last dredging operation in 2009 there has been a build-up of windblown sand and tide-borne silt within the lake which is significantly reducing the available depth of water in many locations.”

A new, fast-growing breed of seaweed is the other main concern. This is a much more recent problem, but dealing with it will be far from easy.

The report continues: “In 2018 reports were received of an invasive species of seaweed within the lake, thought to be sargassum muticum.

“The seaweed has since been observed to grow rapidly during May-June and has formed large rafts of floating weed which fouls propellers and rudders of sailing craft and impedes users of the lake.”

One final issue is the degrading of the outer lake wall, thought to be caused by the growth of marine life.

This is particularly inconvenient for Wirral Council, as it has commissioned a new sailing centre at Marine Lake, due for completion in March.

It is also upsetting for West Kirby Sailing Club, which has a large membership and presence in the local community.

Wirral Council has three options for how to deal with the problems.

One option is to do nothing, which seems unlikely given the cultural importance of the Marine Lake.

The most immediate solution is to dredge the lake to rid it of silt, which will deal with the depth issues.

However, this is a quick fix which would not deal with the underlying cause of the problem.

A similar approach to the seaweed build-up would be to drain Marine Lake and capture the offending weed.

But this has legal complications, as it may lead to a further spread of invasive seaweed elsewhere, a potential offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act.

Such an approach is also “likely to cause significant damage to the lake wall and walkway due to its current degraded condition”, according to the council report.

A longer-term solution is also being considered. It would involve an in-depth investigation of how to protect the lake for years to come in consultation with experts and resident groups.

The current state of play is that, subject to council approval, a group of specialists will be commissioned to assess the merits of the different options available.

A start date for the work has not yet been set, but the council report states it would seek to avoid the peak sailing season in mid-summer.