Swimming has been prohibited at several beaches in Dublin and Wexford due to increased levels of bacteria in their waters caused by heavy rainfall.
Blackrock Baths and Corbawn Strand, Dublin have been issued with swimming prohibition notices since Monday, with a further update to be given on Saturday following the results of further testing of the waters.
Similarly, Sandycove has had a swimming prohibition notice since the beginning of the week running until Saturday, with contamination from animals or birds being the likely cause for the increased levels of bacteria.
In Wexford, Courtown beach was issued with a “do not swim” notice on Thursday by the local authority, which is due to last for five days. While the likely cause for the pollution is described as “currently unknown”, investigations are under way and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and HSE have been notified.
Bathers along the west and southwest coast are also casting a wary eye towards the sky this weekend, with many beaches here being assigned “swimming is not advised” and “bathing prior warning” notices.
A local authority will issue a “bathing prior warning” notice if heavy rainfall is forecast and if it thinks that the beach in question is vulnerable to its water quality deteriorating.
Many beaches in Mayo have been assigned these notices, including Keem beach, Achill Island, Clare Island, Louisburgh and Mulranny beach. People using such beaches are advised to avoid swallowing or splashing water, to wash their hands before handling food and to avoid bathing if they have an open cut or wound, are pregnant or have a weakened immune system, to reduce the risk of illness.
A number of other beaches in the Maritime County have been assigned a “swimming is not advised” notice, which is also issued when there is a risk of deterioration of water quality due to expected heavy rainfall. Such beaches include Belmullet beach, Termon beach (near Belmullet), Srah beach (also near Belmullet), and Tránaun beach, Inishturk.
In the southwest, beaches in Kerry have also been affected with beauty-spots such as Ventry, Fenit and Ballybunion (South) being issued with a “bathing prior warning notice”, while other beaches such as Waterville have been assigned a “swimming is not advised” notice.
Each local authority is responsible for testing its bathing waters for bacteria, in particular Escherichia coli (E-coli), a bacterium found in both human and animal faeces, and intestinal enterococci, bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, both of which may also indicate the presence of viruses.
The public are encouraged to check beaches.ie, the national bathing website and its Twitter account @EPABeaches, before going to the beach to make sure that there are no reported swim restrictions.