OFFICIAL INVESTIGATION INTO MAKING THE YARRA RIVER SWIMMABLE LAUNCHED
13 Aug 2025
In the light of the recent success in Paris with the Seine, City of Melbourne councillors passed a motion to investigate council actions supporting a swimmable Yarra River (Birrarung) before 2050.
The Swimmable Birrarung initiative represents a largescale infrastructure project. The goal involves making it healthy, thriving and swimmable again from source to sea, where, on summer afternoons, you can escape the scorching heat of the CBD by hopping in for a dip from North Wharf or Birrarung Marr. But more than just about swimming, it’s about improving the health of a crucial part of the city; 70 percent of Melbourne’s drinking water comes from the Birrarung’s catchment area. Amidst the ongoing climate crisis, it’s critical to improve the river’s resilience and biodiversity and connect people with it once again.
The move aligns with a wider global trend of cities transforming formerly industrial waterways. Cities worldwide are creating safe and inviting spaces to swim. The Seine in Paris, Rotterdam’s harbour, and New York’s Hudson and East Rivers serve as leading examples.
Since forming in 2020, Regen Melbourne and a committed group of researchers, environmental advocates, Indigenous leaders, engineers, entrepreneurs and environmentalists have been hatching a plan to make Melbourne’s Birrarung (Yarra) River swimmable. Now they’re ready to put all that research into action.
Environment portfolio lead Cr Davydd Griffiths brought the motion forward. Rising community and political support for river swimming access drove the proposal. The motion seeks a detailed investigation into council capabilities and inter-government collaboration opportunities. It will also identify potential trial swimming locations along the riverway.
At the council meeting, Cr Griffiths emphasised the project’s significance for Melbourne.
“It would be recognition that we as a city have the capacity to take on large projects and see them through to fruition, and that’s what I’d like to see happen in this case,” he said. “Whatever we can do to improve the Birrarung will be good for all the people of Melbourne.”
The goal of a Swimmable Birrraung isn’t just to have a single spot in the CBD where swimming is safe – it’s to build an interconnected corridor of swimming places for Melbournians to enjoy, and to embed inner-city swimming into the fabric of the city. To return the river as closely to its pre-colonial health as possible, clear of pollution and thriving with animal life.
Council teams will report back by the end of 2025 on cost, timelines and possible trial sites.
