Lifeguard patrolled Lake Parramatta set to reopen for summer swimming

For the first time since the 1940s, Lake Parramatta is to be opened for swimming.

As of Saturday (24th January), the small reservoir will officially become a designated swimming spot, with a patrolled area marked out with buoys.

Lifeguards from Australian Lifeguard Service, contracted by Parramatta City Council, will patrol the lake between 9am and 5pm on weekends and public holidays until mid-March.

Once home to the largest inland freshwater lifesaving club in Australia, the lake, located about 2 kilometres north of the Parramatta CBD in Lake Parramatta Reserve, has been known as an unofficial swimming spot for years.

Parramatta Council undertook safety assessments for the lake prior to agreeing to its official reopening for swimming.

Parramatta Lord Mayor Scott Lloyd explained “the Lake Parramatta Reserve is a significant natural area within western Sydney and I am pleased that Council has voted to move forward with this proposal.”

Safety measures have included creating safe entry and exit points, specifying a designated area for swimming, safety signage around the Lake, having lifeguards present at peak times and maintaining a regular water quality monitoring program.

Previously swimming had only been permitted in Lake Parramatta as part of an organised event which requires pre-approval from Council.

Commenting on the official reopening of the lake for swimming, Lord Mayor Lloyd told Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph that there was a “buzz in the community” around the plan to make the lake “swimmable” again.

For Australian Lifeguard Service (ALS), the paid lifeguard arm of Surf Life Saving Australia, this will be its furthest provision of lifeguard services away from the coast.

ALS NSW Coordinator Brent Manieri told The Daily Telegraph “we’re excited about bringing our expertise and skills to an inland location and our lifeguards are looking forward to protecting the people of Parramatta in the same way we keep people safe on the beaches.

“Many of the same safety precautions you need to take at the beach also apply to inland waterways.”

ALS lifeguards will use the same equipment and expertise seen at the beach, including rescue boards and tubes. They can also provide first aid and advanced resuscitation techniques.

Reopening Lake Parramatta as a public swimming location is also part of the Parramatta River Catchment Group’s Our Living River initiative, which aims to make the Parramatta River and its catchments swimmable by 2025.

The Our Living River website, which encourages the community to vote for their favourite swimming spot, shows Lake Parramatta as the most popular swimming location along the Parramatta River catchment.

Click here for more information on recreation at Lake Parramatta.

For more information on the Our Living River initiative visit www.ourlivingriver.com.au.

Click here to visit the Australian Lifeguard Service website.

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