Coogee has ranked as the Sydney ocean beach most polluted with faecal matter, an annual state survey has found. Of 245 swimming sites across New South Wales, 43 sites (17.6%) received a rating of “poor” or “very poor” in the 2026 State of the Beaches report, part of an annual survey by the state’s environment department. Coogee’s grading – unchanged from last year – indicates “microbial water quality is susceptible to faecal pollution, particularly after rainfall and occasionally during dry weather conditions”.
Across NSW, 97% of oceans beaches achieved a “good” or “very good” rating. Prof Stuart Khan, a water quality expert and head of the School of Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney, said Coogee’s “poor” rating was unsurprising and was largely weather dependent. Storm water runoff to beaches brings bacterial pollution via several sources, washing dog poo from streets and bird droppings from roofs.
Sydney’s sewers were also designed to overflow at times of heavy rain, running into storm water drains that discharge directly into the ocean or waterways. Because Coogee beach was a very steep catchment, “when it rains, you very quickly generate a lot of runoff moving … into the storm water system, and very quickly down to the beach”, he said. As a semi-protected bay, Coogee “doesn’t flush as well as some of the other beaches”.
Across all NSW swimming sites, including rivers, lagoons and tidal pools, 79% were rated “good” or “very good”, which the government characterised as a statewide improvement “largely associated with drier weather conditions across many parts of NSW during the reporting period, which generally reduced stormwater runoff and pollution entering waterways”. Twelve other Sydney swimming spots received a rating of “poor” – including the Bayview baths, Frenchmans bay, the Kyeemagh baths and Rose Bay beach, which are all classified as estuarine sites. Foreshores beach, beside Sydney airport, and the Gymea Bay baths were the only two Sydney sites to receive ratings of “very poor”, in addition to Yosemite Creek in the Blue Mountains.
The government advises swimming should always be avoided at “very poor” sites, while the water quality at “poor” sites is often unsuitable, especially after rain. Malabar beach in the Randwick local government area, and Shelly beach in Manly, which both received a rating of “poor” last year, improved to a “good” rating this year. Eight coastal beaches shared the state’s highest water quality rankings, including Avalon beach in Sydney’s north, Wollongong’s City beach, One Mile beach in the Hunter, and three Central Coast beaches.
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