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For many Australians, sdy pools represent one of the most enduringly popular pastimes: stripping down to cossie or boardies and plunging straight into the sea on a hot summer day. But despite this fondness for swimming in the ocean, not all water bodies are created equal. Some can be dangerous, and others are unsuitable for a range of reasons, including rough conditions and poor water quality.

While councils have a duty of care to ensure the public is safe and healthy when they open their waterways, this doesn’t mean reopening unsafe swimming areas. Instead, they should focus on cleaning up old and unsafe swimming pools, rather than wasting money trying to reopen damaged ones.

This is not to say that councils should be allowed to ignore public safety, but they should also be able to set their priorities in line with community need. For example, if an unsafe pool is located in an area that does not have good public transport options, it is not appropriate to spend taxpayers’ dollars restoring it when it could be better spent on a bus route.

When it comes to building new pools, choosing a reputable builder is essential to ensure you receive high-quality work and a fair price. Start with online research, looking at builders’ websites, portfolios, and customer reviews. You can also ask friends, family, and neighbours for recommendations. Look for a builder that offers transparent pricing and flexible payment schedules. Also, ask about their membership in industry associations, as this can indicate a commitment to professional standards.

Among Sydney’s ocean pools are some of the most beautiful and historic, such as Wylie’s Baths in Coogee, established by champion swimmer Henry Alexander Wylie in 1907. In Coogee, the cliff-top McIver’s Ladies Baths was built in 1906, the first such place dedicated to women swimmers. These tidal pools were created to allow recreational and competitive swimmers to swim comfortably away from strong waves, which posed a serious threat to life at the time.

The new North Sydney pool is another example of a mismanaged project, with council infighting, claims of pork-barrelling and lack of transparency, heritage concerns and health concerns. As a result, the original opening date of this pool has been pushed back and will probably not happen until 2025. It has also been beset by delays and cost overruns.

This is a hugely expensive and wasteful project that could have been done far more efficiently, and for less. In the meantime, locals have been relegated to sitting on bean bags along the grassy poolside, meant to invoke nostalgia for the old pool, which was demolished in 2017. The cafe is not much better, with machines often not working and a menu that seems to change at the drop of a hat. The only saving grace is the view of the CBD skyscrapers. This is a pool that could have been so much more.