Meet the site
The Kurnell Desalination Plant Inlet is a man-made site with a surprisingly good marine community. The Sydney Desalination Plant at Kurnell was completed in 2010 and draws its seawater through four intake structures on the seabed off Tabbagai Gap, with a separate outlet discharging brine. The four inlets stand in an east–west line about 15–20 m apart. Each is round, about 10–12 m across and 5–6 m high, with solid walls rising from the bottom and removable 'prison bar' windows through which the water is drawn in. They sit on concrete-filled fabric bases looped to form a circle, and their removable roof sections carry attachment points and ropes. The seabed is at about 25 m, with the tops at about 18 m; Inlets 3 and 4 are slightly shallower at 23–24 m. Kelp covers the tops, and the underside of the roof overhang is the highlight: thousands of jewel anemones in four or five colours – pink, yellow, blue and others – packed together like a carpet. Around the structures there are large schools of seapike and yellowtail, many small leatherjackets and a few octopuses, and McFadyen has seen a wobbegong on the floor inside Inlet 3, along with kingfish and a fiddler ray on other dives. In February 2025 he had 20 m visibility, enough to see one inlet from the next. The site suits Advanced divers comfortable at 25 m who can plan a nitrox dive around several separate structures; it is a private-boat dive because no charter currently visits. Divers should treat the intakes with respect: they are working infrastructure, and the windows draw water when the plant is running. Also note that the 2008 construction damaged the reef nearby at Tabbagai Point, a reminder of the site's industrial origin.
What you might see
Jewel anemones (multi-coloured), seapike, yellowtail, yellowtail kingfish, leatherjackets, octopus, wobbegong, fiddler ray, kelp
Location
Four cylindrical concrete intake structures of the Sydney Desalination Plant in a 15–20 m east–west line on the seabed off Tabbagai Gap, Kurnell; bottom about 25 m, tops at about 18 m.
Facilities nearby
Departure only: Botany Bay ramps (Kyeemagh, Foreshore Road, Bonna Point at Kurnell) or Port Hacking ramps (Gunnamatta Bay, Lilli Pilli), with parking and toilets; air/nitrox at Abyss (Ramsgate) and Pro Dive Cronulla.
Before you make plans
Conditions, access and operator schedules can change. This is a location guide, not a dive plan. Ask a local operator about current conditions and suitability for your training and experience.
Sources & further reading
michaelmcfadyenscuba.infomichaelmcfadyenscuba.infoRecord updated 26 Sept 2026. Source claims are being reviewed.