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Context: No consensus has yet been formed on project development in lake-water conservancy on aspects such as lake quality, ecological environment, rural economy, social culture, leisure living environment and leisure aspirations due to the current lack of comprehensive discussion. Aims: This study mainly uses the case of Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan to verify the impact of lake-tourism optimisation and water-conservancy projects on the rural economy, water quality, ecology and sustainable development of tourism for local young people in the area around the lake. Methods: We employed open-sampling questionnaires and semistructured interviews to collect data and conducted multivariate analysis. Key results: The study investigated the hypothesis that optimising water-conservancy projects for lake tourism creates a stable leisure and tourism environment in rural areas, enhances visibility, and increases emotional exchanges and the preservation of historic sites. However, problems such as excessive tourism waste and a lack of public facilities negatively affect local young consumers' willingness to engage in tourism activities. Conclusions: Improving problems in the villages, ecology and natural environment surrounding lakes that are being conserved can increase young local individuals' willingness to engage in and share experiences of tourism activities. Implications: If the local government can improve the issues of protected villages, ecology and the natural environment around the lake, it can increase the willingness of local young people to participate in and share their experiences in tourism activities. Lake tourism-optimisation water-conservancy projects are indeed conducive to creating a safe leisure and tourism environment, thereby enhancing human interaction, historical monument protection and local visibility. However, problems such as shortage of basic public facilities and excessive tourism waste will still affect people's perception of the local environment and willingness to consume. This article belongs to the collection Ecological Monitoring and Assessment of Freshwater Ecosystems: New Trends and Future Challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]