5 June 2025

The Sydney Coastal Councils Group (SCCG) warmly welcomes the NSW Government’s recent decision to continue funding the Beachwatch Program, a pivotal initiative that monitors water quality across our state’s beloved beaches and swimming spots. This commitment, announced by the Minister for the Environment, Penny Sharpe, ensures that the program will remain state-funded, safeguarding public health and environmental integrity.

The SCCG has been at the forefront of advocating for the Beachwatch program to remain a fully funded state responsibility. This advocacy was in response to proposed changes that would have shifted the financial burden of water quality monitoring onto local councils – a move that many councils, already facing budget constraints, opposed. The SCCG highlighted that local councils are not legally responsible for monitoring water quality in coastal waters, a responsibility that traditionally falls under state jurisdiction. It also identified that the majority poor beachwatch ratings are also due to sewer leaks, which are not the responsibility of Sydney Councils.

The Beachwatch program is instrumental in providing the public with accurate and timely information about the safety of our swim sites. The collation of long-term monitoring data into the Annual State of the Beaches reports, also enables the health of our swim sites to be tracked and efforts to improve sewer leaks prioritised.

The NSW Government’s decision acknowledges the concerns raised by the SCCG and its member Councils. However, there are still concerns that this backflip is only a temporary reprieve and is urging the NSW Government to rule out future cost-shifting of this vital long term monitoring program for Sydney.

Read the Minister’s media release here.

For more information on Beachwatch, click here.

Sydney Water’s popular annual Community Grants Program is back, offering local organisations the chance to make a real impact in their communities. The program supports grassroots organisations and community groups across Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, and the Illawarra, providing grants of up to $10,000 for projects that deliver sustainable water outcomes and enhance local liveability.

If your group has a great idea for a water-focused initiative, now is the time to apply.

Who Should Apply?

Sydney Water is inviting applications from not-for-profit groups, social enterprises, and community organisations that have a passion for water sustainability and community wellbeing. Whether you’re protecting local waterways, educating communities, or finding innovative ways to conserve water, this grant can help bring your ideas to life.

Focus Areas for Funding

Projects must align with one or more of the following key themes:

• Water Education
  Projects that raise awareness of our connection to water, its cultural and environmental value, and promote water efficiency. These should include a clear call to action to inspire behaviour change in the community.

• Healthy Waterways
  Initiatives that protect and enhance the health of rivers, beaches, and green spaces. Projects must demonstrate a tangible benefit to aquatic environments.

• Water Conservation
  Programs that reduce, reuse, or recycle water to cut down on consumption. Eligible projects may include the implementation of water-saving technologies, devices, or systems, delivering measurable water savings.

Key Details

• Grant amount: Up to $10,000 per project

• Applications close: 5:00 PM, Monday 16 June 2025

• More info: Community grants

11 March 2025

Increased construction costs, along with predicted above-average rainfall, emphasise the urgency for builders and developers to ‘Get the Site Right’ to prevent sediment laden runoff and other building waste from leaving their sites and polluting our waterways.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics in November 2024 revealed that building supply costs have risen by up to 15%¹, while the Bureau of Meteorology’s long-range forecast predicts higher-than-average rainfall for much of eastern Australia in February and March 2025².

Now in its ninth year, Get the Site Right is a joint taskforce between the Parramatta River Catchment Group, Cooks River Alliance, Georges Riverkeeper, NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), Sydney Coastal Councils Group, WaterNSW, and councils across NSW.

The campaign aims to prevent pollution of local waterways by highlighting the importance of securing building materials and ensuring sites are properly managed. The 2025 campaign includes expanded educational materials and collaboration with councils to help standardise inspection reporting and increase awareness of best-practice erosion and sediment control.

As part of the month-long campaign in March, officers from NSW EPA and more than 20 councils will participate in inspections for a one-day compliance blitz on Thursday 13 March.

In the October 2024 Blitz, 748 sites were inspected, with 56.4 percent found to be compliant by the end of the campaign – a slight decrease compared to the May campaign, highlighting the ongoing need for greater education and enforcement.

$357,410 in fines were issued for non-compliance, including inadequate sediment controls and unsecured building waste.

NSW EPA Executive Director Operations, Jason Gordon, said builders and developers have a duty to ensure their sites have the proper controls in place to prevent pollution incidents.

“Large building sites can lose up to four truckloads of soil in a single storm if not properly managed. This not only wastes materials, but puts our environment at risk,” Mr Gordon said.

“Sediment runoff can have serious environmental impacts including harming aquatic life, eroding creeks and riverbanks, and damaging stormwater infrastructure.

“Thanks to stronger penalties, with on-the-spot fines for water pollution starting at $30,000 for companies, builders and developers have even more reason to prevent pollution and do the right thing.”

Parramatta River Catchment Group Coordinator (PRCG), Alexi Gilchrist, said that preventing sediment runoff from polluting our waterways is essential for creating more places to swim and cool off as temperatures rise.

“Many builders enjoy fishing, boating, and other water activities in our rivers, harbours, and beaches,” Mr Gilchrist said.

“Installing and maintaining proper controls on building sites saves builders time and money and helps improve water quality. This is especially important as we celebrate the opening of the Parramatta River’s newest swim site, Putney Beach, with three more planned for the next two years.”

The Sydney Coastal Councils Group Chair, Councillor Shannon Welch, emphasised the importance of strong site management in light of rising construction costs and forecasted heavy rainfall.

“It’s more important than ever for developers and builders to secure construction materials and implement proper erosion and sediment controls. The Get the Site Right campaign plays a critical role in ensuring best-practice site management, protecting our waterways from sediment runoff, and safeguarding the health of our coastal and marine environments for future ggenerations,”said Cr Welch.

A follow-up blitz week will be held from 25 to 29 August 2025.

Members of the public are encouraged to report pollution incidents, including poor sediment control, to their local council or via the NSW EPA’s 24-hour Environment Line on 131 555.

 

¹Australia inflation: Home building costs rise $100,000 over four years

²Australian climate outlooks

29 January 2025

The NSW Government has announced a proposal to shift the costs of the Beachwatch program onto local councils in the Sydney region. Most of the Sydney Councils who have Beachwatch sites in their local government area are refusing to pay. As of July 2025, the state-funded program is likely to discontinue at popular swimming sites across coastal Sydney.

The NSW Government’s proposal involves transferring the financial burden of the program, which includes monitoring responsibilities, to local councils. This shift is expected to place additional strain on council budgets, which are already stretched thin due to existing cost-shifting practices.

The Beachwatch program, which monitors water quality at swimming locations, is particularly important to swimmers and beachgoers. The program provides vital information on water safety, helping to protect public health and ensure that Sydney’s beaches remain safe and enjoyable for everyone. Shifting the costs of this program onto local councils could jeopardize its effectiveness and availability, potentially putting the community at risk.

The Sydney Coastal Councils Group (SCCG) has highlighted that councils are not legally responsible for monitoring water quality at ocean and harbour beaches. Councils’ responsibility generally does not extend beyond the mean high water mark.

The SCCG also believes that the majority of poor Beachwatch ratings in the Sydney region are primarily due to sewage contamination which is the responsibility of Sydney Water, a state owned corporation. During wet-weather, un-treated sewage can often be introduced to the aquatic environments through stormwater infrastructure (1). Research using molecular microbiological approaches done at Rose Bay also found that human faeces from sewer was the key source of contamination both during wet-weather and dry-weather (2).

Acting Chair of the SCCG, Mr Hugh Phemister stated, “Sydney is defined internationally by our extraordinary harbour, beaches, and waterways. The coordinated management and monitoring of these vital waterways is best undertaken and funded by the NSW Government, especially given the impact arising from sewage which is the responsibility of Sydney Water.

The NSW Governments proposal seeks to shift the cost of monitoring to Councils and their rate payers without adequate justification and analysis. It is crucial that the State Government acknowledges its responsibility for water quality monitoring for the benefit of local residents and to maintain our international reputation as the one of the world’s most beautiful harbour cities.”

The proposed cost shift is part of a broader trend of cost-shifting practices that have imposed a cumulative burden of over $10 billion on NSW councils over the past decade. This practice has forced councils to divert rate revenue away from existing services and infrastructure to cover the unrecoverable costs of state-imposed programs and functions.

Recent incidents of water pollution have led to the closure of 23 Sydney beaches due to the presence of balls of pollutants washing ashore. Pollutants from sewer was a key component. These incidents highlight the importance of maintaining robust water quality monitoring programs to protect public health and safety and maintain the economic viability of business surrounding these beaches.

Local councils are calling on the NSW Government to reconsider this proposal and engage in meaningful dialogue to find a more sustainable solution that does not compromise the financial stability of local governments or the quality of services provided to communities.

For further information, please contact:

Sarah Joyce Executive Director of the Sydney Coastal Councils Group | sarah@sydneycoastalcouncils.com.au | 0407733075

End of Release

This media release aims to inform the public and stakeholders about the NSW Government’s proposal and its potential impact on local councils. It emphasizes the councils’ lack of legal responsibility for water quality monitoring and calls for a reconsideration of the proposal by the state-government.

Read the Media Release here.