Two of Sydney’s most famous beaches have water quality that has been ranked as poor in the latest health check into the state’s swimming spots, which will soon include the increasingly popular Penrith beach, better known as Pondi.
Bronte and Coogee have received a poor rating in the government’s State of the Beaches report, which means both are susceptible to “faecal pollution” and their microbial water quality is not always suitable for swimming, particularly after heavy rainfall.
Bronte Beach and Coogee Beach have been rated poor, meaning both are susceptible to “faecal pollution”.Credit: AAP, Edwina Pickles
Coogee received the same rating last year, but Bronte’s ranking has dropped from its previous “good” ranking. The ratings were collected before hundreds of mysterious tar balls washed up on Coogee Beach earlier this month, and then also surfaced at Gordons Bay, Clovelly, and the northern end of Maroubra.
However, Coogee and Bronte are outliers when it comes to ocean beaches. The report says that swimming sites in NSW performed well, with 72 per cent of monitored swimming sites graded as good or very good.
“Of these, 95 per cent of the monitored ocean beaches were graded as good or very good, meaning these sites were suitable for swimming for most or almost all of the time. While this is a good result, it is a slight decline in performance from the previous year.”
Overall, NSW swimming spots performed well despite above-average-to-record rainfall, according to the report, but other locations in the east, including Rose Bay beach and Murray Rose Pool, also known as Redleaf, received the poor ranking.
Estuarine, lake, lagoon and freshwater swimming sites did not perform as well as ocean beaches because they more susceptible to stormwater impacts after rainfall. Only half were rated as good or very good.
Swimmers across NSW will from Saturday have access to real-time information on the water quality of their favourite beaches, with inland swimming spots added to the live Beachwatch site, including the new Penrith beach.
Pondi, a lakeside beach built on a remediated quarry on private land north of Penrith, opened in December. Deputy Premier Prue Car at the time described it as an “incredible swim spot”, despite locals mocking it on social media as Penrith Pond.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a wet summer, and with rain often the cause of lower water quality, the government is urging swimmers to check the live updates before they dive in.
Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Penny Sharpe said NSW beaches and inland swim spots were “some of the best in the world”.
“I’m excited that this summer, a range of popular inland swimming spots including the hugely popular Penrith Beach will be added to the live Beachwatch water quality site. This site also gives swimmers information about swells and tides,” Sharpe said.
“Our beaches almost always have good to very good water quality, but after rain it’s important to
check before you swim. The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a wet summer, so check the Beachwatch website as the weather warms up.”
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