# Melbourne councils unite to make Yarra River swimmable by 2050

> Four Melbourne councils and Melbourne Water are working to restore the Yarra River to swimming standards within 24 years, following the success of Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen.
- Title: Melbourne councils unite to make Yarra River swimmable by 2050
- Summary: Four Melbourne councils and Melbourne Water are working to restore the Yarra River to swimming standards within 24 years, following the success of Paris…
- Keywords: yarra river, melbourne water, river restoration, swimming, melbourne councils, water quality, paris seine, berlin, copenhagen, news, politics, Melbourne
- Source: Abc — https://abc.net.au/news/2026-10-19/melbourne-city-yarra-river-swim-water-access-2050/107282890
- Published: 2026-10-19T04:34:18+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: yarra river, melbourne water, river restoration, swimming, melbourne councils, water quality, paris seine, berlin, copenhagen, news, politics
## Four councils unite on river plan
Four Melbourne councils and Melbourne Water have united to push for the Yarra River, also known as the Birrarung, to become swimmable by 2050.
## European cities show the way
City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece said Paris, Berlin and Copenhagen have successfully cleaned their rivers.

> 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.
## Swimming was once common here
Since colonisation, Melburnians enjoyed the Yarra River for leisure. In nineteen eighteen, Alick Wickham broke the world high diving record diving from Fairfield cliffs as more than sixty thousand people watched.
## A swimmer remembers the past
June Noble, now ninety two, swam in the Race to Prince's Bridge three mile swim in nineteen fifty five. She said there was a good crowd of spectators as swimmers went down the river.

> I think people would love to have an event like that to look forward to now because we're such a swimming-focused nation.
## Pollution forced a swimming ban
Swimming was restricted from the nineteen sixties due to pollution and contamination. It is now illegal to swim in the Yarra River south of Gipps Street in Abbotsford.
## Contamination levels are severe
Animal faecal matter, litter and petrochemicals are frequent contaminants. In the Kew stretch, E. coli levels can sit about twenty five times higher than safe levels for swimming, according to Melbourne Water.
## A decade of work lies ahead
City of Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece said it is at least a ten year project requiring upgraded water infrastructure and filtration systems.

> We're a fair way south of the safety levels for swimming ... but it is achievable.
## Key takeaway

Melbourne authorities plan to make the Yarra River swimmable by 2050, drawing on European examples of river restoration after decades of pollution forced swimming bans.