As the weather continues to heat up, hopeful swimmers in Western Sydney were turned away from the new Penrith Beach due to pollution.
Penrith Beach opened in mid December, 2023 to cater for locals who would normally have to travel great distances to visit beaches on the east coast.
However, since its opening the beach has been closed a handful of times due to water pollution from rainwater.
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With temperatures set to soar into the high 30Cs in Sydney on Friday, residents in Penrith would have been disappointed to hear the beach was shut due to contamination, however it has since re-opened as of 1.30pm on Thursday.
“Sydney has become used to these types of inconvenient beach closures — up and down the coast and across inland and harbour swimming spots,” a spokesperson for the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure said.
“We’re grateful to everyone for their patience in the last 24 hours while we made sure the beach was safe for swimming.”
The spokesperson added that the latest water quality testing showed it has “returned to its usual high standard”.
“The team at Penrith Beach is testing the water quality daily, reporting both with signs at the beach and through Beachwatch.”
Last week, more than 20 beaches across Sydney were reported as being contaminated after sustained rain caused stormwater pollution, according to Beachwatch.
Experts told 7NEWS there is on average 10 times more bacteria in these waters due to heavy rainfall.
This bacteria could lead to illnesses such as gastroenteritis.
Updates on swimming condition and beach pollution can be found on the Beachwatch NSW website.
