Coogee Again Ranks as Sydney's Most Polluted Ocean Beach
Coogee was ranked Sydney's most faecally polluted ocean beach in the 2026 State of the Beaches report, with no change from the previous year. The report was published on 23 September 2026 and assessed 245 swimming sites across New South Wales. The Guardian
What the statewide numbers show
Forty-three swimming sites received a rating of "poor" or "very poor". Ninety-seven percent of NSW ocean beaches achieved a "good" or "very good" rating. Seventy-nine percent of all NSW swimming sites, including rivers, lagoons and tidal pools, were rated "good" or "very good". Open surf mostly passed. Enclosed waters did worse.
Where Sydney's low grades landed
The grade did not move for Coogee. It stayed at the bottom of the ocean-beach list for Sydney. Twelve other Sydney swimming spots received a "poor" rating in the 2026 report, including Bayview baths, Frenchmans bay, Kyeemagh baths and Rose Bay beach. Foreshores beach beside Sydney airport and Gymea Bay baths were the only two Sydney sites rated "very poor".
How the testing works
The report is produced under the NSW Beachwatch program, which monitors water quality in New South Wales. Beachwatch and its partners check and report whether beaches are safe for swimming. NSW Environment The program's coverage has widened over time. The 2023-24 State of the Beaches report covered 218 swimming sites along the NSW coast. NSW Environment The Beachwatch Program quality assurance report for State of the Beaches 2025 summarises outcomes for the 2024-25 period.
What we know about Coogee
Site-level listings provide additional background for Coogee. The sanitary inspection category — a rating of pollution risk from surrounding land, drains and pipes — for Coogee Beach is Moderate. There are 5 pollution sources that may contribute to faecal contamination, meaning waste from humans and animals, at the Coogee Beach swim site. Rose Bay and Terrigal beaches are routinely graded as 'Poor' in the Beachwatch program's State of the Beaches report. In the prior cycle, Shelly Beach in Manly ranked among the Sydney swimming sites most polluted with faecal matter, while Bronte Beach was listed among popular Sydney ocean beaches with poor grades for faecal pollution in 2024.
The broader context here is persistence rather than a single-year spike. Coogee holding its grade year on year points to structural catchment pressures, or ongoing runoff and drainage pressures from the surrounding area, at an otherwise open-ocean site. The wider Sydney "poor" cluster sits largely in baths, bays and tidal pools with limited flushing. That pattern fits the statewide gap between 97% "good" or "very good" for ocean beaches and 79% for all swim sites combined. Ocean exposure dilutes short-term inputs. Enclosed sites retain them.
Looking at what this means for compliance and public communication, the stability of the ratings creates its own pressure. A repeat low grade at a high-profile ocean beach draws attention even when most ocean sites rate well. The continued "poor" ratings at Rose Bay and Terrigal, and the two Sydney "very poor" ratings at Foreshores beach and Gymea Bay baths, keep focus on stormwater, sewer overflows and local catchment sources rather than surf-zone conditions alone. The question for the next cycle is whether site-specific investigations narrow those inputs or whether the same locations recur.
