Water quality at the North Entrance Beach was upgraded to Very Good in 2021– 2022 while Terrigal and Toowoon Bay beaches were graded as Poor in the annual State of the Beaches report released by the NSW State Department of Planning and Environment.
In total, 16 sites on the Coast were good and 15 were poor, including most of the estuarine pools and lagoons.
Only two beaches, North Entrance and Toowoon Bay, changed status from the last report.
Water quality at Terrigal and Toowoon Bay, both graded as poor, was mostly suitable for swimming in dry weather conditions, however, elevated enterococci levels were occasionally recorded following little or no rain, and often after light rain, the report stated.
“The microbial water quality at Toowoon Bay and Terrigal Beach remains close to the threshold between Good and Poor, and these sites have fluctuated between Good and Poor in recent years.
“The decline in water quality reflects a slightly higher proportion of samples collected at these sites during wet weather compared to the 2020–2021 assessment period.”
During 2019–2020 Central Coast Council, the then Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) and the University of Technology Sydney investigated the scale and extent of elevated bacterial levels at Terrigal Beach.
The report said that Council is using the findings from the investigation to detect and resolve water quality issues in the catchment.
All except one of the Estuarine baths remained poor
Davistown Baths, Pretty Beach Baths, Woy Woy Baths and Yattalunga Baths in Brisbane Water were graded as Poor in 2021– 2022.
“Water quality at these swimming sites was mostly suitable for swimming during dry weather conditions, with elevated bacterial levels recorded following rainfall,” the report stated.
“These sites were typically located in less well-flushed sections of the estuaries or had more significant pollution sources, with many impacted by floodwaters during significant flooding events.
Summerland Point Baths in Lake Macquarie was graded as good.
Swimming sites and coastal lagoons remained poor
Nine swimming sites on the Central Coast: Gwandalan, Chain Valley Bay and Mannering Park Baths in Lake Macquarie; Lake Munmorah Baths in Lake Munmorah; Canton Beach in Tuggerah Lakes and the four coastal lagoons at Wamberal, Terrigal, Avoca and Cockrone were all graded as poor – which was the same as last report.
“Microbial water quality at most of these sites was often elevated during dry weather conditions, and bacterial levels continued to increase following rainfall,” the report stated.
“These sites are highly susceptible to the impacts of wet weather during and for up to 3 days after rain.“
The report said water quality at lake/lagoon sites often depends on how close the swimming area is to the ocean and whether the entrance is open to the ocean.
“When the entrance is open and the site is near that opening, the site can be well-flushed by clean ocean water, and water quality is often of a high standard.
“If the site is not near the entrance, or the entrance is closed, pollution inputs are retained, and the water quality can be affected by contamination from stormwater runoff to the lake/lagoon.
“As a general precaution, it is recommended that swimming at lake and lagoon swimming sites be avoided during and for up to 3 days after rainfall or if there are signs of stormwater pollution such as discoloured water or floating debris.
Ocean baths remained good
The Entrance Ocean Baths, regularly cleaned by Council, and Pearl Beach Rockpool were graded as good.
The water quality sampling and laboratory analysis are fully funded by each local council. DPE provides quality assurance support and assistance with community reporting.
Flooding and water quality
“Monitoring by Beachwatch and partner councils showed flooding events impacted swimming sites beyond the flood zones on the NSW coast, making microbial water
quality unsuitable for swimming.
Routine monitoring at coastal swim sites on the North Coast, Central Coast, in Sydney and on the South Coast detected significantly elevated microbial counts, which posed an increased health risk to bathers,” the report stated.
“The most affected areas were in estuaries, lakes and lagoons, which have a lower level of flushing and took longer to recover from the floodwater events than the ocean beaches.
“Routine water quality testing showed some sites unsuitable for swimming for up to 4 weeks.
“While microbial levels returned to normal at many swimming sites monitored by Beachwatch and partner councils, there was still a large amount of debris or
other hazards, such as murky water, which posed a risk to recreational activities.”
Health Guidelines
Swimming sites in NSW are graded as Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor or Very Poor in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council’s 2008 Guidelines for Managing Risks in Recreational Waters.
These Beach Suitability Grades provide a long-term assessment of how suitable a beach is for swimming. The grades are determined from the most recent 100 water quality results (2–4 years’ worth of data depending on the sampling frequency) and a risk assessment of potential pollution sources.
Even in locations graded as Good, the advice is that swimming should be avoided during and for up to one day following heavy rain at ocean beaches and up to 3 days at estuarine sites.
At sites graded Poor, the advice is that the location is susceptible to faecal pollution and microbial water quality is not always suitable for swimming.
During dry weather conditions, ensure that the swimming location is free of signs of pollution, such as discoloured water, odour or debris in the water, and avoid swimming at all times during and for up to 3 days following rainfall, the report states.
Contamination of recreational waters with faecal material from animal and human sources can pose significant health problems to beach users owing to the
presence of pathogens (disease-causing microorganisms) in the faecal material.
The most common groups of pathogens found in recreational waters arebacteria, protozoans and viruses.
Exposure to contaminated water can cause gastroenteritis, with symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach-ache, nausea, headache and fever.
Eye, ear, skin and upper respiratory tract infections can also be contracted when pathogens come into contact with small breaks and tears in the skin or ruptures of the
delicate membranes in the ear or nose.
Children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems are among those who could be more vulnerable than others.
Daily forecasts
Beachwatch issues daily pollution forecasts to enable beach goers to make informed decisions about where and when to swim.
The forecasts are available before 7:30am during the swimming season (October to April) and before 8am between May and September, and cover swimming sites in the Sydney, Hunter, Central Coast and Illawarra regions.
Beach pollution forecasts can be accessed via the Beachwatch website, mobile website, email subscription, Twitter and Facebook.
