Push To Make Melbourne’s Yarra River Swimmable Takes Off

Olympic swimmers will take to the Seine River at the Paris Olympics this year for the first time since a ban on swimming in the river came into effect in 1923. Melbourne is keenly watching how the Olympic events –   a 10-kilometer marathon swimming competition and the 1,500-metre swimming section of triathlon races – unfold, as a homegrown movement to make Melbourne’s iconic Yarra River swimmable, aligns itself with a global swimmable cities campaign. 

“We want to see the plants and wildlife of the Birrarung (Yarra River) thrive once again and a river clean enough for our community to swim in,” Yarra City Council Mayor Edward Crossland said in a statement.

Earlier this month, Yarra City Council signed on to the Swimmable Cities Charter and reiterated its commitment to restore the health of Yarra River. 

A Healthy And Thriving Birrarung

“Improving waterway health and increasing habitat restoration will improve biodiversity along the river, providing important habitat for wildlife and resilience against climate change. A healthy, swimmable river will support our community’s connection to nature and provide opportunities for them to cool down in extreme heat,” said Crossland. 

The council said it would work with the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung community to “ensure that we identify culturally relevant indicators for the health and wellbeing of Birrarung.” 

“With significant effort, we can regenerate our urban waterways and respond to the climate and biodiversity crises,” said Mayor Crossland, adding that the council  “aims to achieve a healthy, swimmable Birrarung for all and recognition of the river as a living and integrated natural entity.”

A Swimmable Yarra River

Yarra River’s Melbourne CBD section is out of bounds for swimmers chiefly due to the presence of E. Coli bacteria in the water. Local bylaws make it illegal to swim in the Yarra River between south of Gipps Street in Abbotsford and Port Phillip Bay.

Regen Melbourne started its Swimmable Birrarung initiative in 2021 to make the Yarra swimmable. “Around the world, more urban waterways are becoming swimmable through the efforts of local community, business, industry, and institutional interventions,” Charity Mosienyane, lead convenor of the  Swimmable Birrarung initiative said in a statement.  

Regen Melbourne, one of the founding signatories of the Swimmable Cities Charter, outlined its vision for its Swimmable Birrarung initiative – “to regenerate the Birrarung to the extent that it is healthy, thriving and swimmable again from source to sea”. 

Regen Melbourne outlined its dream for the Yarra River: “Imagine diving from the banks of our Birrarung (Yarra River) into clean waters, in the heart of Melbourne. Looking up and downstream you can see a swimmable corridor between Dights Falls and Nairm / Port Phillip Bay.” Only time will tell if the dream becomes a reality. Melburnians are hoping it will.