A swimming ban is in place at Sandycove in Dublin following a water quality test conducted on Monday.
The initial results from the sample – conducted in Sandycove Harbour – showed a high level reading of E. Coli.
As a precaution, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has placed a prohibition notice advising members of the public not to swim at Sandycove.
This is right next to the popular Forty Foot Bathing Area.
Local Fianna Fáil Councillor, Cormac Devlin said it is unfortunate that this is the third such swimming ban this year, albeit in a different location.
“I would urge daily and regular swimmers to respect the signage banning swimming and take precautions as E. Coli can cause severe stomach and intestinal problems. I hope the cause of this latest outbreak can be found and resolved as quickly as possible.”
E. Coli is a faecal coliform and indicator organism because it occurs in the intestinal flora of both animals and humans.
Contamination allows the organism to spread to water environments where its presence indicates faecal contamination.
The cause of these high levels are as yet not known and an investigation has commenced. The water at Sandycove has been re-sampled and the results are expected back shortly.
If the re-sample results are acceptable, the temporary prohibition notice will be removed.