Sewage discharges, animal faeces and agricultural run-off were among the problems that led to beaches in Co Galway, Co Donegal and north Co Dublin being deemed to have poor quality bathing water last year by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The watchdog’s Bathing Water Quality in Ireland report found 97 per cent of the State’s bathing waters, 144 out 148, met or exceeded the minimum required standard. A total of 117 (79 per cent) bathing waters were classified as “excellent” last year, up from 115 in 2021.
Three bathing waters were classified as “poor”, up from two in 2021. Local authority management plans have been put in place to address the sources of pollution at these beaches, the EPA said.
The EPA said Front Strand Beach in Balbriggan, Co Dublin, was classified as poor due to sewage discharges and misconnections; faeces from dogs, birds and other animals; and contaminated surface streams flowing through the town.
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Lady’s Bay in Co Donegal was deemed to be poor because of the impact of the Buncrana wastewater treatment plant, combined with stormwater overflows and surface run-off.
Trá na mBan in An Spidéal, Co Galway, was ranked as poor due to the area’s sewer network, run-off from agriculture and discharges from septic tanks.
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Improvements in bathing water quality were recorded at Brook Beach in Portrane, Co Dublin, which was regarded as poor in 2019 but excellent last year. Bathing water at Trá na bhForbacha in Co Galway has also improved from a poor rating in 2016 to excellent last year.
One new bathing water site, Aillebrack/Silverhill Beach, Co Galway, was identified in 2021 and will be classified this year when the required number of samples for the assessment will have been taken. There were no new bathing waters identified last year.
The EPA received 34 pollution incident reports last year. These have the potential to cause a pollution risk and when they occur swimming restrictions are applied at the beach until sampling shows the water quality is safe.
Local authorities also put up 186 “prior warning” notices at beaches last year, advising swimmers that short-term pollution, which lasts no more than a few days, may occur due to heavy rainfall. These warnings are removed when sampling shows the water quality is safe.
Dr Eimear Cotter, director of the office of evidence and assessment at the EPA, said the ongoing improvement in Irish bathing waters is “very welcome” and shows “good management of our bathing areas can give a high level of health protection for swimmers and other water users”.
“Year-round swimming continues to be popular and the EPA looks forward to the outcome of the work, led by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, which is investigating how to protect bathers’ health year-round,” she said.
“Unfortunately, there were no new bathing waters identified in 2022. The EPA urges local authorities to designate more official bathing sites to protect swimmers’ health, which includes designating the large number of beaches and popular swimming spots that they monitor but which haven’t been formally identified as bathing waters.”
