NSW BEACHES ARE TOP QUALITY

As the weather warms up and locals and visitors are taking advantage of the spectacular conditions, NSW’s beaches have been confirmed as some of the world’s best for water quality.

The latest State of the Beaches report released by the NSW Government shows that 97 per cent of the 144 ocean beaches monitored by Beachwatch were graded as Good or Very Good.

Environment Minister Rob Stokes said water quality improved at 29 sites this year, moving from Good to Very Good.

“As well as monitoring 94 swimming spots in Sydney, Beachwatch supports and co-ordinates monitoring programs for 11 councils along the NSW coast to make sure communities know where it is safe to swim, and where we can improve,” Mr Stokes said.

“It also provides daily beach pollution forecasts for beaches in the Hunter, Illawarra and Sydney. From October 1 Beachwatch will now also provide daily forecasts for beaches on the Central Coast.”

Swimmers and beachgoers can find out about water quality by accessing daily pollution forecasts, which are available by email, on Twitter and Facebook and through a mobile app.

The full 2013/14 State of the Beaches Report is atwww.environment.nsw.gov.au/beach/ar1314/index.htm