The Fitzroy River is a typical regulated turbid river in Queensland, Australia where the construction of a barrage for water supply purposes has created a 50 km long slender lake with a maximum depth of 12m. Monsoonal rainfall predominantly from December to March produces large flows transporting large amounts of sediments. For the rest of the year flows are negligible and the barrage is subject to frequent blue-green algal problems.Turbidity and nutrients in the river are always high after a flood. As the flow recedes the turbidity declines slowly due to settling of fine particles taking months for the water to clear. Nutrient concentrations also decline before the onset of algal growth. Temperature stratification sets in in spring and strongly influences the light climate, the oxygen distribution, nutrient release at the sediment/water interface and the succession of cyanobacteria from large to small species. Despite persistent temperature stratification and nutrient concentrations in the epilimnion below the limit of detection, cyanobacterial blooms persist for months. We attribute their success to the intermittent strong wind forcing enabling enhanced nutrient transfer across the metalimnion. Algal growth is sustained until the barrage is flushed with the next flood.