Rush South Beach fares poorly in bathing report

FINGAL County Council said it plans to put in place an advisory notice warning people not to swim at Rush South Beach for the duration of this year’s bathing water season.

It follows the publication last week of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Bathing Water Quality in Ireland report for the year 2014, which identified the North Dublin beach as having

‘poor’ water quality.

Rush was one of only seven bathing waters in the country, and the only one in Dublin, to be classified with this status.

A spokeswoman for the council said a beach management plan for Rush South Beach has been submitted to the EPA dealing with the sources of pollution and the measures to improve water quality.

“The council will continue to monitor water quality at Rush South Beach along with the other identified beaches in accordance with an EPA approved schedule throughout the bathing season,

? she told Northside People.

“Results will be posted at the beach noticeboard and on the EPA Splash website.

?

Fingal has a total of nine identified bathing waters – Balbriggan Front Beach, Skerries South Beach, Loughshinny Beach, Rush South Beach, Portrane Brook Beach, Donabate Balcarrick Beach, Portmarnock Velvet Strand Beach, Sutton Burrow Beach and Howth Claremont Beach.

The water quality status – based on water quality results for the 2011-2014 period – is

‘Excellent’ at four beaches (Portrane Brook Beach, Donabate Balcarrick Beach, Portmarnock Velvet Strand Beach, Sutton Burrow Beach);

‘Good’ at two beaches (Skerries South Beach and Howth Claremont Beach);

‘Sufficient’ at two beaches (Balbriggan Front Beach and Loughshinny Beach); and

‘Poor’ at Rush South Beach.

Local councillor Malachy Quinn (SF) said councillors on the previous Fingal County Council (2009-2014 term) raised their concerns in relation to the problem in Rush.

“The people of Rush have waited too long for a fully functioning waste water treatment plant,

? he said.

“The development of a waste water treatment plant must be at the heart of the (Fingal) County Development plan for the area.

“Rush must be prioritised. We cannot have the town hitting the headlines again as a location in Fingal, and nationally, that fails to reach mandatory Environmental Protection Agency standards on the quality of bathing water in the State.

?

Dr Matt Crowe, director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Assessment, said overall, the quality of the country’s bathing waters continues to be very good.

“New standards introduced in 2014 provide a much higher level of protection for bathers,

? he said.

“Disappointingly, seven identified bathing waters have been assessed as being of poor quality.

“The relevant local authorities and Irish Water have put management plans in place to tackle the main pollution risks at these beaches.

?

Meanwhile, Irish Water has welcomed the EPA’s report and said projects are already underway to bring the sites, classified as

‘Poor’, up to the required standards as soon as possible.

Jerry Grant, head of asset management at Irish Water, said the report highlights the need for a national water utility that can

“strategically approach the obvious deficits in our wastewater treatment infrastructure

?.

“Irish Water will raise funding and make investment where it is needed most to deal with this problem, thereby protecting the environment and allowing for growth,

? said Mr Grant.

“It is not acceptable in a modern economy that so many of our towns are discharging raw sewage directly into the environment and that so many of our waste water treatment plants fail to regularly operate to environmental standards.

?