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Sydney Beach Safety Historical Data
Data Science and Analytics
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About
Historical data detailing the water quality of Sydney's iconic beaches, coupled with correlating historical weather observations. This resource allows users to investigate the impact of environmental factors, particularly rainfall, on beach safety and bacterial levels over three decades. The data was originally curated from the New South Wales State Government Beachwatch website.
Columns
The data is divided into two separate files:
water_quality.csv and weather.csv.water_quality.csv columns:
- region: The broader area of Sydney City (e.g., Northern Sydney).
- council: The local City council responsible for monitoring water quality (e.g., Northern Beaches Council).
- swim_site: The specific name of the beach or swimming location.
- date: The date of the water quality measurement, spanning from 1991 to 2025.
- time: The time of day the sample was collected.
- enterococci_cfu_100ml: Enterococci bacteria levels, measured in colony forming units (CFU) per 100 millilitres of water.
- water_temperature_c: Water temperature measured in degrees Celsius (Note: many values are recorded as NA).
- conductivity_ms_cm: Conductivity readings in microsiemens per centimetre (Note: many values are recorded as NA).
- latitude: Geographical latitude coordinate.
- longitude: Geographical longitude coordinate.
weather.csv columns:
- date: Date of weather observation.
- max_temp_C: Maximum temperature recorded in degrees Celsius.
- min_temp_C: Minimum temperature recorded in degrees Celsius.
- precipitation_mm: Rainfall measured in millimetres.
- latitude: Geographical latitude coordinate.
- longitude: Geographical longitude coordinate.
Distribution
The primary water quality file contains approximately 124,000 valid records and is available in CSV format, weighing 13.12 MB. The dataset is structured into two main files, one tracking water conditions and the other tracking historical meteorological conditions. Specific record counts for the weather data file are not explicitly stated, but the water quality file is well-populated across all its essential fields.
Usage
This resource is ideal for environmental studies, public health analysis, modelling the relationship between precipitation and beach pollution, and assessing long-term trends in water safety across different Sydney council areas. It supports inquiries into whether water quality has declined over the measured period and how rainfall specifically impacts E-coli bacteria levels.
Coverage
Geographic coverage is focused exclusively on Sydney, Australia. The time period spans over three decades, running from 1991 up to 2025. Data availability is detailed for numerous swim sites across areas like Northern Sydney and Sydney Harbour. The data is expected to be updated annually.
License
CC0: Public Domain
Who Can Use It
Environmental researchers studying marine health, data journalists tracking public safety issues related to beach closures, local council planners managing beach infrastructure, and researchers modelling climate impacts on urban water systems.
Dataset Name Suggestions
- Sydney Beach Safety Historical Data
- Water Quality and Rainfall History (Sydney)
- Sydney Coastal Environmental Monitoring
- Beachwatch Data 1991-2025
Attributes
Original Data Source:Sydney Beach Safety Historical Data
QUALITY