State of the Beaches report reveals NSW’s best and worst beaches for swimming
The best and worst NSW’s beaches have been revealed in terms of water quality, giving beachgoers a heads up on where you could cop a mouthful of poo. How did your local beach rate?
Central Coast
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The seven dirtiest beaches along the coast of NSW have been revealed with the Hunter region boasting the cleanest shores.
With beach season well underway, the State of the Beaches annual report has been released and shows where each NSW beach stands in terms of water quality.
The overall condition of our beaches has dropped over the past 12 months, as beaches such as Toowoon Bay, once the crowning jewel of the Central Coast, slumps to “poor” status.
Beachwatch Programs manager Dr Meredith Campey saying it’s been a “tough year” due to extreme wet weather and flooding.
“We have seen some record wet weather and a lot of flooding,” she said.
“This did have an impact on swimming sites up and down the coast. Rainfall is the main driver of pollution.”
Seven of our beaches recorded a rating of “poor” meaning the they are susceptible to faecal pollution, including human and animal poo and the water quality is not always suitable for a dip.
They have been revealed as Sydney’s popular Coogee Beach, Caseys Beach and Surf Beach on the south coast, Toowoon Bay and Terrigal beaches on the Central Coast and Woolgoolga Main Beach and Emerald Beach on the Mid North Coast.
The report revealed 54 of our beaches received the highest status of “very good”. It comes as beach quality drops slightly with 80 per cent of beaches classified as good or very good, compared to 85 per cent last year.
Very good means the beach has excellent microbial water quality with “very few” sources of poo and is considered safe for swimming almost all of the time. Good means the beach is suitable for swimming most of the year however beachgoers are advised to wait a few days after heavy rain.
“While this is a great result, it is a slight decline in performance from the previous year and reflects the extended wet weather conditions experienced in many coastal areas, including the wettest summer in NSW since 2012 and significant flooding events,” the report stated.
The Hunter region took the win for the most healthy beaches in the state with 14 beaches hitting top marks, closely followed by the south coast.
Five ocean beaches were promoted to “very good” from previous years including North Entrance Beach on the Central Coast, Merewether Beach, Burwood South Beach and Glenrock Lagoon Beach in the Hunter and Werri Beach in the Illawarra.
The State of the Beaches report is prepared by the NSW Government’s Beachwatch program which works with councils to gather water quality results.
Dr Campey said the program aimed to monitor and report on recreational water quality, letting people know where and when it is safe to swim and identifying areas with issues around stormwater and wastewater.
She said a “poor” rating means elevated levels of the bacteria enterococci to indicate the beach has been contaminated with faecal pollution.
“We don’t suggest people avoid the beaches,” she said.
“We recommend people don’t swim at those beaches after periods of rainfall or if there’s floating debris or discoloured water.”
Dr Campey attributed the Hunter’s beach cleanliness to the open nature of the beaches.
“We find open beaches perform better because of the regular flushing of stormwater and wastewater,” she said.
She said in comparison to beaches in other states, NSW performs well considering its urban footprint.
“There’s good management around sewerage infrastructure and wastewater management,” she said. “We are really lucky to have such beautiful beaches.”
She said while the overall cleanliness figures were down, the 2021/22 report was a “great result” considering the extreme weather events.
The State of the Beaches also released individualised report cards breaking down the state into seven regions. Take a look at how your region fared.
HUNTER REGION
Almost a straight-a student, the Hunter region has recorded the healthiest beaches in 2021/22.
A majority of the beaches were rated “Very” Good with the remaining “Good” due to the open nature of the coastline.
“In 2021–2022, 100 per cent of swimming sites in the Hunter region were graded as Good or Very Good,” the report card read.
“These sites were suitable for swimming for most or almost all of the time. This is an excellent result, similar in performance to the previous year, and despite some wet months and the flooding impacts in autumn.”
Very good: Zenith Beach, Box Beach, One Mile Beach, Nobbys Beach, Newcastle Beach, Bar Beach, Merewether Beach, Burwood North Beach, Burwood South Beach, Glenrock Lagoon Beach, Dudley Beach, Redhead Beach, Blacksmiths Beach, Caves Beach
Good: Fingal Beach, South Stockton Beach and Swansea Heads Little Beach.
CENTRAL COAST
“53 per cent of swimming sites in the Central Coast region were graded as Very Good or Good, including 13 ocean beaches and 3 ocean baths,” the report read.
“While this is a slight decline in overall performance from the previous year, it reflects the wet weather conditions and associated flooding over summer and early autumn.
“In 2022, major flooding events on the Hawkesbury River resulted in floodwaters impacting water quality at ocean beaches at the southern end of the Central Coast.”
Very Good – North Entrance Beach
Good: Lakes Beach, Soldiers Beach, The Entrance Beach, Shelly Beach, Wamberal Beach, North Avoca Beach, Avoca Beach, Copacabana Beach, Macmasters Beach, Killcare Beach, Ocean Beach and Umina Beach.
Poor: Terrigal and Toowoon Bay
MID NORTH COAST
This report card reveals Sawtell Beach as the best in the region.
“75 per cent of swimming sites in the Mid-North Coast region were graded as Good or Very Good, including 5 ocean beaches and one ocean baths,” the report reads.
“This a great result despite the very wet summer and extreme wet weather events and flooding experienced in the region.”
Very Good: Sawtell Beach
Good: Safety Beach, Diggers Beach, Park Beach and Jetty Beach (Coffs Harbour)
Poor: Woolgoolga Main Beach and Emerald Beach
NORTH COAST
The North Coast recorded an improvement in 2021/22 despite the extreme weather impacts.
“72 per cent of swimming sites in the North Coast region were graded as Good or Very Good, including all ocean beaches,” the report stated.
Very Good: Seven Mile Beach, Shelly Beach, Lighthouse Beach and Shark Bay
Good: Airforce Beach, Main Beach
ILLAWARRA
Another students at the top of its class in the yearly report card is the Illawarra region.
“100 per cent of swimming sites in the Illawarra region were graded as Good or Very Good,” the report read.
“This is an excellent result, similar in performance to previous years, and despite a very wet summer and autumn, with significant wet weather events and flooding impacts.”
Very Good: Stanwell Park Beach, Austinmer Beach, Woonona Beach, Wollongong City Beach, Coniston Beach, Fishermans Beach, Shellharbour Beach, Werri Beach
Good: Coledale Beach, Thirroul Beach, Bulli Beach, Bellambi Beach, Corrimal Beach, North Wollongong Beach, Port Kembla Beach, Warilla Beach, Boyds Jones Beach, Bombo Beach, Surf Beach Kiama, Seven Mile Beach (Gerroa)
SOUTH COAST
In 2021–2022, 90 per cent of swimming sites in the south coast region were graded as Good or Very Good, including 18 ocean beaches.
“While this is an excellent result, it is a slight decline in performance from previous years, and reflects the very wet summer conditions.”
Very Good: Shoalhaven Heads Beach, Tilbury Cove, Warrain Beach, Collingwood Beach, Cudmirrah Beach, Mollymook Beach, Rennies Beach, Racecourse Beach, Bawley Point Beach, Merry Beach, Cookies Beach, South Broulee (Bengello) Beach, Brou Beach
Good: Malua Bay Beach, Broulee Beach, Shelley Beach (Moruya Heads), Tuross Main Beach, Narooma Main Beach
Poor: Caseys Beach and Surf Beach
SYDNEY
The report revealed 81 per cent of swimming sites were Good or Very Good, including 37 ocean beaches.
“While this is a decline in overall performance from the previous year, it reflects the extreme wet weather conditions and flooding experienced over summer and early autumn,” the report read.
Northern Sydney
Very Good: Palm Beach, Whale Beach, Avalon Beach, Mona Vale Beach, South Curl Curl Beach
Good: Bilgola Beach, Newport Beach, Bungan Beach, Warriewood Beach, Turimetta Beach,
North Narrabeen Beach, Collaroy Beach, Long Reef Beach, Dee Why Beach, North Curl Curl Beach, Freshwater Beach, Queenscliff Beach, North Steyne Beach, South Steyne Beach and Shelly Beach.
Central Sydney
Very Good: Clovelly Beach, South Maroubra Beach
Good: Bondi Beach, Tamarama Beach, Bronte Beach, Gordons Bay, Maroubra Beach, Malabar Beach, Little Bay Beach
Poor: Coogee Beach
Southern Sydney
Very Good: Greenhills Beach, Wanda Beach, Elouera Beach, North Cronulla Beach, Shelly Beach and Oak Park
Good: Boat Harbour, South Cronulla Beach
Coogee couple Danika Gillis and Matt Sammut are regulars to Coogee Beach and said the news of the beach’s unhealthy status “threw a spanner in the works”.
“It definitely surprises me,” Ms Gillis said.
“I have heard that sometimes run off can cause the beach to be dirty.
“Physically it doesn’t often look dirty, although in the past few months it has been frothy with brown water. You notice it after big storms.”
She said the classification will make her rethink swimming at Coogee Beach.
“Knowing it’s rated unhealthy, I’m definitely not going to go swimming there,” she said.
Mr Sammut said he had been swimming daily at Coogee with the weather getting warmer.
“I like to swim in the pool, not the actual beachfront,” he said.
“I have heard that the beach can be dirty but with the pool, you can see what’s going on a bit more clearly.”
He said the news had put him off the beach and made him consider other options such as Tamarama or Bondi.
“Knowing it can have some sort of contaminant, who knows what you could catch,” he said.
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