THE 2025 State of the Beaches Report has revealed the water quality of swimming spots has improved, thanks to a year of average-to-below average rainfall across NSW.
Out of the 249 sites across NSW, water quality has improved at 23 swimming sites, while a further 179 kept their high score of ‘good’ to ‘very good’.
One Mile Beach, Fingal Beach, Box Beach and Zenith Beach all maintained their annual ‘very good’ ratings, with current conditions being rated ‘good’ at all four (tested 17 October).
The water quality of our swimming spots can be impacted by heavy rainfall and run off from overflowing storm water systems.
These conditions can lead to unsafe contaminants in our beaches, rivers, estuaries and lakes.
Ocean beaches and tidal pools generally performed better after storms, due to higher levels of flushing which quickly disperses and dilutes pollution, allowing for faster recovery.
Ninety-five percent of the 133 monitored ocean beaches in NSW scored between good and very good for water quality.
Estuarine swimming sites, which are more susceptible to stormwater impacts following rainfall, had 63 percent graded as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, up from last year’s result of 55 percent.
While the State of the Beaches Report provides a long-term assessment of how suitable sites are for swimming, people are encouraged to check water quality before swimming at beachwatch.nsw.gov.au.
You can view the results of your local swimming spots on the State of the Beaches website: beachwatch.nsw.gov.au/stateofthebeaches.
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