Get involved
Collaboration is the key to success
Council support, most importantly, and the support of government agencies will make it easier and more cost-effective for government, the private sector and the community to deliver the bold Urban Plunge® vision for Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains.
We're here to support you
Opening a new swimming spot is complex, and each site is unique. That's why the Urban Plunge program supports partners every step of the way to create safe new swimming and water-based recreation sites, and to make existing ones better.
Establishing your site
We can help local councils and other government agencies to establish swim sites by providing:
- advice on navigating the steps involved, including required approvals and assessments
- access to technical expertise in water and environmental monitoring, including field staff and NATA-accredited lab services
- introductions to existing partners within NSW Health, NSW Environmental Protection Authority and the Department of Planning and Environment to support activating your site
- access to our RiverWatch predictive model.
Activating your site
We can help local councils and other government agencies with:
- site designs and infrastructure
- operational risk management process, including considerations such as expected usage, regulatory signage design, supervision requirements, equipment and facilities
- developing a water safety plan.
Urban Plunge Events
Urban Plunge 2022 Tech Summit
Urban Plunge Tech Showcase 2023
When: November 28th
Sydney Water’s Urban Plunge Tech Showcase 2023 is all about enhancing waterway health. This free event will be held from 9am to 1pm on the 28th of November, at The Connection event space at Rhodes.
You will have the opportunity to meet pioneering companies showcasing cutting edge technologies that support healthy waterways, both, on the land and in the water. You’ll also get to see some of the tech in action, with demonstrations throughout the day.
Johnstons Creek Naturalisation
Urban Plunge Webinar Series
The Urban Plunge Webinar Series cover a range of opportunities and challenge our waterways are facing. We love our waterways and as urbanisation accelerates and weathers conditions become more extreme it has never been more important to protect our waterways.
These webinars bring together experts from across Australia and the world, working across a variety of fields including design, architecture, engineering and science. Our webinars cover,
- How great design can open up the potential for swimming under a range of different conditions
- Showcase innovative, home-grown Sydney Water projects that aim to enrich the health and amenity of our waterways.
- We ask, Can the Platypus Save Our Rivers? And hear about lessons learnt across Australia
Urban Plunge Tech Summit 2022
Our inaugural Urban Plunge Tech Summit was a highlight of 2022. The program of speakers and the exhibition brought together people from across Australia and the globe that share our vision of revitalising urban waterways to become swimmable again. The summit promoted best practice, real life projects and showcased new technology to tackle barriers to swimming and water based recreation.
Find out more and watch the presentations here
Prospect pop-up swim spot
When: From 26 November
Where: Andrew Campbell Reserve, William Lawson Drive, Prospect NSW 2148
Our Prospect pop up pool was our 2022 summer of swimming highlight, creating a place for local communities to cool off and have some fun over the summer holidays closer to home. This event attracted people to the site, many for the first time. It started a conversation with communities and decision makers about the desire for more swimming and water recreation opportunities closer to home. We also asked people what they liked about the parklands at Prospect Reservoir and what would make it better.
Whilst the pop up swim site has been packed away, the parklands at Prospect Reservoir is open to the public and a great place to explore.
Need more reasons to get involved?
We're doing all we can to support councils, NSW Government agencies and their partners as they consider whether to start a new Urban Plunge project or move into the design and delivery stages with an existing project. We invite you to join us for site visits, webinars and workshops. Contact us to find out more about working with Urban Plunge.