Pirrama Park in Pyrmont will soon become a swimming spot, partly thanks to the installation of a new real-time water-quality monitor that will continuously check to see if the harbour water is clean enough for swimming. With the Coliminder monitor currently in trial mode, it’s too early to tell if the water is safe for swimming, but the City of Sydney is confident that soon Sydneysiders will be able to take the plunge.

“While there have been marked improvements, the harbour is still greatly impacted by stormwater and sewage, especially during times of high rainfall,” said City of Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore in a statement. “The new water-quality monitor will allow Sydney Water to keep an eye on the variable quality without having to manually collect samples and return to their labs, which can take three days.”

The city has recently upgraded the area’s wastewater system to stop stormwater from entering what was once one of Sydney’s most polluted tracts of water. When Pirrama Park was built in 2010, the city constructed the framework for a pool in anticipation of the day the spot could be used for swimming.

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Similarly, sandstone steps to the water were installed at Beare Park in Elizabeth Bay in 2008 in the hopes it would one day be clean enough for swimming. If the Pirrama Park trial of the water-quality monitor is a success, the city plans to install monitors at other potential harbour swimming sites, including Beare Park.

When compiling its Sustainable Sydney 2050 plan, the City of Sydney commissioned an architect to design different types of swim spots in Sydney Harbour. If Pirrama Park and Beare Park prove successful, and the harbour’s water is clean enough, more swimming spots are likely to be created.

There is not yet a planned date for swimming to start at Pirrama Park.