From Palm Beach to Freshwater, Narrabeen to Mona Vale, the Beaches’ coastline is dotted with stunning rock pools, 15 in all. Carved into rock and fed by the ocean, they offer unfettered access to seawater in environments free from rips and marine critters.
Rockpools are a quintessentially salty summer experience and highly popular. Many of us jump in for exercise, fun, and – particularly in recent weeks – a refreshing cool-down. Locations such as the family favourite double pool at South Curl Curl, the Insta-famous Fairy Bower, the secluded swimmer’s gem at Bilgola or Dee Why, one of oldest, established back in 1915.
We often take the pristine water for granted. But have you considered how these pools remain so clean, despite the hundreds of folk who also use them?
The prime waterfront location of local rockpools means larger swells naturally flush out water. But mother nature’s cleaning system is less dependable during smaller swells, and that’s where Council’s rockpool team comes in.
Two teams of beach cleaners – one each for north and south – follow a long-established weekly rock pool cleaning schedule. In quieter months – May to August - cleaning takes place fortnightly.
As the most natural, North Curl Curl pool has sufficient natural flushing (although access and surrounds are cleaned as required by Council). Dee Why, because of its’ high usage, has an extra drain and flush after the weekend.
Cleaning means closing a pool, which as a rule occurs at low tide to make it easier to empty. Crews often work at night and before sunrise, except at Fairy Bower and Fairlight, where cleaning happens during the day.
After draining the water, crews power-wash off sand, seaweed and algae build-up from the pool floor, ramps, stairs, and railings. Occasionally a full drain is not possible – for instance when sand or weed blocks drainage valves, low tide is higher than average or surf is rough. When this happens, it can take a day to flush out some of the algae from the clean and the second day after a clean is generally the best time for swimming.
If there are no issues, the pool opens again once sufficient water from the ocean has filled the pool.
Signs will let you know dates and times of a planned pool clean, with the aim to get swimmers back in the pool as soon as possible.
You can check the roster for your favourite pool on our website.