Bathing temporarily prohibited at Bundoran’s main beach
Donegal County Council issued the order on Friday for an initial period of 72 hours due to possible elevated levels of E coli in the water at the Blue Flag beach connected with storm water overflow
Bathing has been temporarily prohibited at Bundoran’s main beach over the risk of deterioration in water quality due to storm water overflow.
Donegal County Council issued the order on Friday for an initial period of 72 hours due to possible elevated levels of E coli in the water at the Blue Flag beach.
The local authority has said samples will be taken, the HSE will be contacted and the notice will remain in place until bacterial results are confirmed and returned to normal.
The beach, which stretches for a distance of approximately 500 metres, returned a water quality status of excellent for sampling taken on July 16.
During last year’s bathing season, swimming at the beach was restricted for 16 days due to short-term pollution.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) when heavy rainfall is forecast, local authorities can put up a notice giving a prior warning of potential pollution events to protect bathers’ health. Last year, 79 prior warning notices were issued across the country.
The EPA says that in times of heavy rainfall, rainwater runoff entering sewers can increase significantly. If rainfall is heavy or sustained enough, the capacity of treatment plants and sewers can be exceeded and the excess flow of waste water is released through outlets referred to as storm water overflows.