Melbourne's Yarra River to Become Swimmable by 2050

Melbourne's local councils and water authority are joining forces to make the Yarra River swimmable by 2050, drawing inspiration from successful river restoration projects in Europe.

The ambitious plan involves four Melbourne councils and Melbourne Water working together to clean up the Yarra River, also known as the Birrarung. The goal is to make the river safe for swimming, a feat achieved in Paris with the restoration of the Seine River, which reopened for public swimming for the first time since 1923.

A Long Swimming History

Melburnians have a long history of enjoying the Yarra River for leisure, dating back to before colonisation when local First Nations people used the river. In 1918, Alick Wickham broke the world high diving record with a dive from the cliffs at Fairfield into the Yarra River, watched by over 60,000 people.

June Noble, now 92, has fond memories of swimming in the river as a child. She participated in the Race to Prince's Bridge three-mile swim in 1955.

"I didn't do much preparation; I just thought that the river would take me down and it was a very exciting day really," she said.

"There certainly was a good crowd of spectators as we went down the river."

However, industrialisation and population growth led to the degradation of the waterway, and swimming was eventually banned across much of the river.

Big Task Ahead

City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece said that progress abroad was encouraging, citing examples of successful river restoration in Paris, Berlin, and Copenhagen.

"We have seen the way other cities around the world have done just this; Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen," he said.

"The Seine River in Paris has had over 1,000 years of people dumping sewerage and waste in it. They've managed to clean that river up and make it swimmable."

However, making the Yarra River swimmable will be a significant undertaking. Mr. Reece estimated that it's "at least a 10-year project" that will require upgrading water infrastructure and filtration systems.

Melbourne Water chair Pat McCafferty acknowledged that the river is currently contaminated with animal faecal matter, litter, and petrochemicals.

"We're a fair way south of the safety levels for swimming ... but it is achievable," Mr McCafferty said.

"There'll be treatment process, things like wetlands as well that naturally clean up the water, so there's all sorts of different mitigations that can be put in place."

The project is yet to be costed, with more investigation needed into what measures to implement to restore the waterway. Once restoration and mitigation measures are in place, there are plans to identify locations along the river for designated swimming zones, which the public will have input into.