Specially adapted drones used in Sydney water testing blitz

A crack team of Sydney Water staff is running a testing blitz on our waterways, with recent downpours causing rapid stormwater runoff and increasing the risk of contamination.

The pilot program is targeting nine popular swimming and fishing spots across the harbour and coastline, with 200 samples to be collected over the summer months.

There are nine different locations, from the east, Lower North Shore, south and Northern Beaches.

While most of the sampling is done by boat, previously hard to reach areas and coastlines where the surf is rough can now also be accessed by a specially-adapted drone, fitted with a hose.

Water Minister Melinda Pavey said it was one of the largest investments in scientific studies of our waterways in 20 years.

"These drones can get into really hard places that we can't get our boats into, sample that water, and make sure the runoff is doing what it's supposed to do, during these high-intensity events," Ms Pavey said.

Gurney Crescent Baths, Rose Bay Baths, Oatley Bay Baths, Foreshore Beach, Carss Point Baths, Hayes Street Beach, Tambourine Bay, Yarra Bay and Clontarf Baths have been chosen as focus points for the survey.

Sydney Water's head of laboratory services Julia Bartlett said they were chosen for a broad range of different natural influences, like tides, currents and runoff.

"Really what we're trying to understand is what sort of impact is occurring at these sites, particularly after rainfall," she said.

"Sydney Harbour has never been cleaner, but we can do more - we'll use whatever technology we can use to make sure we take those learnings and improve our management where we can," Ms Pavey said.