Beachwatch A program of the DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, INDUSTRY & ENVIRONMENT

Central Coast report card 2019–20

This report card provides a long-term assessment of how suitable a site is for swimming on the Central Coast of . Monitored locations include ocean beaches from Lakes Beach to Umina Beach, ocean baths, estuarine areas in , designated swimming areas in Lake Macquarie, and , and four coastal lagoons.

Best beaches Soldiers Beach, MacMasters Beach, Killcare Beach and Umina Beach. 15 Ocean beaches These sites had excellent water quality and were suitable for swimming almost all of the time. 4 Estuarine sites Estuarine and lake/lagoon swimming sites did not perform as well as ocean beaches due to lower levels of flushing which increase the 10 Lake/Lagoon sites time needed to disperse and dilute pollution inputs, taking longer to recover from stormwater events. 3 Ocean baths Rainfall impacts Rainfall is the major driver of pollution to recreational waters, generating stormwater runoff and triggering discharges from the wastewater treatment and transport system.

Monitoring on the Central Coast Beach Suitability Grades for Recreational water quality has been monitored in the Central Coast swimming sites region by Central Coast Council since 2002 under the Department in the Central of Planning, Industry and Environment’s Beachwatch Partnership Coast region Program. The overall performance of the Central Coast region is influenced by a large proportion of monitored sites being in lagoons and estuaries, where the impacts of rainfall are more apparent with reduced dilution and flushing of pollution inputs.

19 Very good/Good

Beachwatch issues daily beach pollution forecasts to enable beach goers 0 Fair to make informed decisions about where and when to swim. 13 Poor/Very poor For additional information see the State Of The Beaches 2019–20 Report at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/state-of-the-beaches environment.nsw.gov.au/beachwatch Beachwatch Central Coast report card 2019–20 Beach suitability grade Dry weather swimmability 59% VG Very good 100 Percentage (%) of dry swimming weather samples within G Good the safe swimming limit sites graded

F Fair Good or Very good P Poor

VP Very poor

P 70 Gwandalan

G 84 Summerland Point Baths

P 61 Mannering Park Baths

P 72 Chain Valley Bay

P 82 Lake Munmorah Baths

G 94 Lakes Beach

P 48 Canton Beach

G 89 Cabbage Tree Bay Rockpool

VG 95 Soldiers Beach

G 94 North Entrance Beach

G 93 The Entrance Beach

G 94 The Entrance Ocean Baths

G 82 Toowoon Bay

G 92 Shelly Beach

P 77

P 80 Yattalunga Baths G 96 Wamberal Beach

P 64 G 93 Terrigal Beach

Central Coast Council P 46 Woy Woy Baths G 94 North Avoca Beach

P 68 Avoca Lagoon G 93 Avoca Beach

P 63 Davistown Baths

P 80 Cockrone Lagoon G 90 Copacabana Beach

VG 99 MacMasters Beach G 100 Ocean Beach

P 73 Pretty Beach Baths

VG 99 Umina Beach

VG 95 Killcare Beach

G 99 Pearl Beach Rockpool

Published by Environment, Energy and Science October 2020 EES2020/0288 October 2020. Photo/DPIE