Beachwatch A program of the OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENT & HERITAGE

Central report card 2017-18

This report card provides a long-term assessment of how suitable a site is for swimming in the Central Sydney region. Monitored locations include ocean beaches from Bondi to Little Bay, a rockpool and estuarine areas in Sydney Harbour, lower River and lower Lane Cove River.

Best beaches Clovelly Beach, Camp Cove and Nielsen Park. 10 Ocean beaches These sites had excellent water quality and were suitable for swimming almost all of the time. 26 Estuarine sites Estuarine swimming sites did not perform as well as ocean beaches due to lower levels of flushing which increase the time needed to disperse and dilute pollution inputs, taking longer to recover from 0 Lake/Lagoon sites stormwater events. 1 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 in Sydney Beach Suitability Recreational water quality has been monitored in the Sydney region Grades for since 1989 by the Office of Environment and Heritage’s Beachwatch swimming sites Program. in the Central Sydney region

31 Very good/Good

Beachwatch issues daily beach pollution forecasts to enable beach goers 2 Fair to make informed decisions about where and when to swim. 4 Poor/Very poor For additional information see the State Of The Beaches 2017–18 Report at www.environment.nsw.gov.au/topics/water/beaches/reporting environment.nsw.gov.au/beachwatch P 87 Davidson Reserve F 96 Gurney Crescent Baths Council F 99 Northbridge Baths G 97 Clontarf Pool G 95 Fairlight Beach G 97 Forty Baskets Pool Willoughby Council G 97 Manly Cove G 97 Chinamans Beach G 94 Little Manly Cove G 90 Tambourine Bay G 99 Edwards Beach Lane Cove G 91 Woodford Bay Council G 97 Balmoral Baths Mosman G 94 Cabarita Beach Hunters Hill Council G 94 Woolwich Baths Council VG 98 Camp Cove G 94 Clifton Gardens G 96 Watsons Bay G 96 Parsley Bay City of VG 99 Nielsen Park Council P 93 Hayes Street Beach Inner West City of G 94 Greenwich Baths Council Sydney G 91 Chiswick Baths Council G 97 Dawn Fraser Pool Woollahra Municipal P 79 Rose Bay Beach Council G 94 Murray Rose Pool

G 98 Bondi Beach Beachwatch Central Sydney report card 2017–18 G 100 Tamarama Beach G 100 Bronte Beach

VG 98 Clovelly Beach 84% G 97 Gordons Bay swimming G 85 Coogee Beach sites graded Good or Very good

Randwick City Beach suitability grade Council VG Very good G 95 Maroubra Beach

G 97 South Maroubra G Good G 95 South Maroubra Rockpool F Fair

P Poor P 78 Malabar Beach VP Very poor

Dry weather swimmability 100 Percentage (%) of dry G 91 Little Bay Beach weather samples within the safe swimming limit Published by Office of Environment and Heritage October 2018 OEH 2018/0333 October. 2018. Photo, Cameron Board/OEH