After a short few weeks of campaign pressure from ocean lovers, the NSW Government has officially dropped plans to cut funding for Beachwatch - the long-running public water quality monitoring program that lets us all know when it’s safe to surf.

The news dropped ahead of World Environment Day, and it’s a huge moment for everyone who’s ever wondered what they were duckdiving into after a heavy storm. 

This comes off the back of a fast-moving campaign led by Surfers for Climate, which combined cheeky stunts, grassroots pressure, and an on-the-ground presence at Parliament House to keep this critical coastal service alive.

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re the kind of person who checks the swell, tide and wind, probably keeping one eye on recent rainfall too. You know that after a downpour, paddling out can mean risking it if you don’t know what’s been flushed into the lineup. 

And the reality of stormwater and wastewater treatment systems that are decades, if not over 100 years old, is that when a deluge happens, the system overloads and releases untreated wastewater into, you guessed it, the ocean.

"The campaign cost around $10,000, but it secured over half a million dollars in public funding."

Beachwatch gives us all access to independent, real-time water quality data for Sydney’s beaches and beyond. It’s what lets you make informed decisions before getting salty. Cutting it would have left the public blind to pollution and that’s not a future any of us want. 

Surfers for Climate proved that creative action backed by thousands of ocean-lovers can turn the tide. The campaign cost around $10,000, but it secured over half a million dollars in public funding. That’s a powerful return on investment, and a clear message to decision-makers: don’t mess with what keeps ocean lovers informed.

North Head wastewater treatment plant (Dan Himbrechts/AAP)

We’ve got a two-year reprieve but this isn’t over. To protect Beachwatch long-term, we’ll need to keep the pressure on and make sure permanent funding becomes the norm, not the exception. 

Surfers for Climate is gearing up for the coming years - from ensuring continued funding for Beachwatch and adequate investment in coastal infrastructure to prevent pollution events in the first place, to pushing for a ban on new oil and gas projects in our ocean.

It’s the grassroots support that made this win possible, and the more paddlers, frothers and ocean advocates backing Surfers for Climate, the safer our waves become.

// RY ATKINSON - SURFERS FOR CLIMATE

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