2017-18 State of the Beaches Report

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The annual State of the Beaches Report 2017/18 has been released by Beachwatch. The State of the Beaches reports on water quality of swimming locations within ocean and harbour beaches across NSW.

According to the NSW News published on 19 October, 85% of the state’s swimming sites have been rated as good or very good for the first time since 2010.

The NSW News provides a summary from the report as follows:

  • 90 per cent of the 97 Sydney region swimming sites tested rated good or very good with improved water quality at seven sites and decreased scores at only four.
  • 78 per cent of the 18 North Coast swimming sites rated good or very good with two downgraded.
  • 84 per cent of the 38 Hunter region swimming sites rated good or very good with improvements at seven sites.
  • 53 per cent of the 32 Central Coast sites rated good or very good – a decline from the previous year due to changes in the monitoring program rather than water quality.
  • 100 per cent of the 21 Illawarra beaches rated good or very good with improved water quality at one beach.
  • 100 per cent of the 35 South Coast region sites rated good or very good with two sites showing decreased water quality.
  • 81% of estuarine swimming sites are listed as goof or very good.

Environment Minister Gabrielle Upton said “while these figures are welcome, they also show there is still work to be done, as according to the report, coastal lakes, lagoons and estuarine swimming spots were adversely affected by heavy rainfall”.

Download a copy of the State of the Beaches Report here.

To read more about the Beachwatch program and to find out about the daily pollution forecasts for your local beach click here.