A$100,000 maintenance outlay, patch-up, re-filling and operating of the leaking Millicent Swimming Lake is set to get under way in the coming weeks paving the way for public use again by mid-December.

All going well, the lake will be open for swimming for the 44 days of the school holiday period and then be emptied in late January.

Wattle Range Council debated the merits of the lake re-opening for 35 minutes at its marathon November monthly meeting in Millicent on Tuesday night.

Engineering services director Peter Halton said the $100,000 he quoted was a ballpark figure and included the operational costs over summer.

Mr Halton said this figure was already a part of the 2023/24 council budget.

Most of the councillors took part in the debate and the motion from Deputy Mayor Councillor Peter Dunnicliff was carried.

The vote to endorse the re-opening of the lake was by a clear majority of 9-2.

It is now expected the council will consider various major upgrade options, call and evaluate tenders and then engage contractors at the end of the festive season to re-construct the bitumen base with a long-lasting concrete floor, replace pipes and undertake other infrastructure upgrades.

Mr Halton said this cost was not yet known.

Council had considered a written report from Mr Halton and also heard from Millicent resident Tamara Cockrum and her teenage son Chad who advocated for swimming at the lake this summer.

The agenda contained a letter with a similar stance from Millicent Business Community Association joint chairperson David Smith.

The minutes of a recent Lake McIntyre Management Committee were tabled with members expressing concern the ongoing closure of the Millicent Swimming Lake would lead to further instances of illegal swimming in pools of water in the adjacent council quarry.