Take the plunge in Avalon, keep your mouth closed in Coogee: The quality of Sydney’s beaches mapped

While you can breathe easily at Avalon, it’s best to keep your mouth shut when you venture into the water at Coogee, Rose Bay and basically everywhere in Botany Bay.

The 2026 State of the Beaches report, released on Thursday, has revealed an overall improvement in water quality across NSW, and 79 per cent of waterways achieved a rating of “good” or “very good”.

Avalon was named equal-cleanest of the coastal beaches, alongside three in the Central Coast, two in the Illawarra, One Mile Beach in the Hunter and Warrain Beach in Shoalhaven.

Overall, 97 per cent of the state’s ocean beaches were graded good or very good when rated against the national guidelines. Places in those categories are considered suitable for swimming almost all the time.

The percentage of Sydney Harbour’s beaches in the top tier improved from 78 per cent to 81 per cent.

Coogee – a popular spot but always more susceptible to stormwater than other beaches – received a “poor” rating for the fifth year in a row, and was joined at that level by Rose Bay and a slew of spots in Botany Bay. This will come as no surprise to those who venture to such places to walk their dogs but keep their toes dry.

The rankings went beyond the beaches: other Sydney swimming spots to receive a “poor” rating included the estuarine sites Bayview baths, Frenchmans bay, the Kyeemagh baths and Rose Bay beach.

Two sites in Sydney were deemed “very poor”: Foreshores beach, a notorious site beside Sydney airport that many on social media have decried as “the most polluted beach in NSW” with mercury, phosphate and dog droppings in the water, and the Gymea Bay baths, which also ranked lowly last year.

The NSW government said the improved results could be attributed to drier weather conditions during the reporting period, which reduced stormwater run-off and pollution entering waterways. (There were fewer grime balls than the year before.)

The government said the number of estuaries, lakes and lagoons that achieved good or very good scores increased from 63 per cent to 69 per cent. These typically record lower water quality than open ocean beaches.

Swimmers are encouraged to check the Beachwatch website before they take a dip.

Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said the data would help shape decisions. “Through decades of consistent monitoring, Beachwatch provides the robust data needed to track water quality trends and give swimmers confidence in the information they use.”

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