IT'S shaping up to be a hot summer and many Hawkesburians will be choosing to cool down by taking a dip in the Hawkesbury River.
But is it safe to do so?
Dr Ian Wright, water quality expert and senior lecturer at Western Sydney University, is calling on the State Government to make water testing results available to the public so they can make an informed choice about whether or not they swim.
"The water quality varies day to day. We know this because we gained access to years of Water NSW data," Dr Wright told the Gazette.
"The river [water quality] is actually really good. But the thing that is alarming is that every now and then you'll see a spike, showing sharply rising numbers of bacteria, and that is when you shouldn't swim.
"That information should be made public."
Dr Wright wants water quality reporting to be made mandatory, like the service provided by Beachwatch, which provides information about Sydney ocean beach pollution levels.
"I see it as an east versus west equity issue," Dr Wright said.
"I live on the North Shore and I have access to the beaches about which there's good-quality information available.
"The same information should also be made available about our river."
Dr Wright said he thought it was "a really important local issue", particularly leading into summer.
"People are now swimming, and they're taking a risk not knowing what the water quality is like," he said.
"Sydney's water supply basically comes from the Hawkesbury-Nepean River; the whole of Sydney takes the water out, particularly Sydney Water, and what they return is effluent.
"The critical factor for swimming is bacteria, particularly faecal bacteria, and the likely presence of disease-causing pathogens."
Dr Wright said the data showed the Hawkesbury River water quality was generally "really good, much better than a lot of people think," but it was the spikes that were concerning, and these often occurred after rain.
"At the very least government departments should release data as soon as they get it, if there is a problem, and let the health and environment departments, and council, put up notices so people know," he said.
"If you get something that's alarming, you let people know. To me, that's due diligence; it's duty of care."
He said data was collected by Sydney Water and Water NSW but not made public.
"That's unacceptable. That does not happen in the east [of Sydney]. It's just not right," he said.
Dr Wright said he had raised the issue with Member for Hawkesbury Robyn Preston who had shown "a great deal of interest".