Kiama Municipal Council will work with Sydney Water and relevant agencies to find solutions after mixed results for our local beaches in the NSW Beachwatch 2026 State of the Beaches report.
Four of Kiama's five ocean beaches - which had undergone sufficient sampling to warrant an annual rating - were rated as Good or Very Good: Gerroa, Werri, Kendalls and Jones Beach.
Unfortunately, the water quality at Surf Beach was downgraded to Poor so Council will investigate the trends that have led to this result.
Mayor Cameron McDonald said Kiama's ageing wastewater infrastructure was in desperate need of an overhaul and the Surf Beach rating was indicative of this.
"As a local, I know how we cherish our beaches and oceans. Surf Beach is a premier destination in Kiama and is a patrolled beach that many of our community and visitors swim in," he said.
"The channel at Surf Beach provides an outfall for stormwater within its catchment where water quality is influenced by rainfall, urban run-off and aged sewerage infrastructure impacted by heavy rainfall events.
"We're tired of being overlooked in Kiama when it comes to critical infrastructure and we will be advocating for guaranteed outcomes in the lead-up to the next state election in March."
Council's advice is to avoid swimming for at least three days after heavy rainfall. However this advice will be reviewed given the changes to the site grading, including for periods after wet-weather events of less than 10mm rain over 24 hours.
Residents can access current water quality forecasts based on this information and swimming advice through the NSW Beachwatch website.
Annual water quality grades are based on monitoring results collected over the previous swim season (October to April) by Sydney Water.
This data assists to inform Council's decision making and strategies that help protect the health of our waterways and beaches.
Some of these actions already in place within Council's 2026/27 Delivery and Operational Plan, including reviewing chapters of the Development Control Plan to update the Water Sensitive Urban Design Policy.
The objective is to improve provision for stormwater management and water sensitive urban design to address increasing pressures and downstream impacts of development and urban run-off to waterways.
