Oct. 6, 2014, 3:30 p.m.

Illawarra beaches have received a glowing report card from the state government.

Enjoying Wollongong City beach all to himself, William Horspool 4 of Mount Saint Thomas. Picture: ANDY ZAKELI

Illawarra beaches have received a glowing report card from the state government, with almost every beach in the region praised for its cleanliness.

The latest State of the Beaches report from Beachwatch, ranking 249 beaches around the state, rated 20 of the Illawarras 21 beaches as good or very good for cleanliness.

Only the Entrance Lagoon Beach was rated as poor'.

The Beachwatch 2013-14 report rated ocean beaches, estuarine beaches and lagoon or lake swimming spots.

Overall, 83 per cent of all swimming locations were graded very good or good compared to 81 per cent in 2012-13; 97 per cent of ocean beaches were ranked in the top two categories; and 71 per cent of estuarine beaches were ranked highlycompared to 67 per cent in the last report.

According to Beachwatch, some of the cleanest beaches in the Illawarra include Stanwell Park, Austinmer, Woonona, Warilla, Shellharbour, Seven Mile Beach and Werri Beach.

Each beach was placed in the lowest category for microbial presence, meaning swimmers have less than a one per cent chance of contracting gastrointestinal illnessand less than 0.3 per cent chance of contracting fever and rashfrom using those beaches.

Link:

Illawarra beaches among cleanest in state