Bathing Water Quality
County Wexford – Beautiful Beaches with Excellent Bathing Water Quality!
County Wexford has a coastline of around 125 miles in length of which 75 miles is made of sandy beach. Indeed Wexford can boast of some of the finest stretches of strand in Ireland e.g. Curracloe and Rosslare. The beaches are crowded with locals and visitors alike during fine summer days.
Under the European Union Directive on Bathing Water Quality (76/160/EEC) Local Authorities in Ireland may designate bathing areas which then must be subject to Bathing Water Quality Monitoring during the bathing season from mid May to the end of August each year. Samples must be taken every two weeks with a minimum number of seven during the bathing season.
Each sample obtained must be analysed for the following microbiological and physico-chemical parameters:
- Total coliforms
- Faecal coliforms
- Mineral oils
- Surface active substances
- Phenols
- Transparency
- Colour
- Tarry residues.
Over the bathing season, water quality at each area must comply with the mandatory standards specified in the above Directive for certain parameters. In addition guide values have also been specified, which are more stringent than mandatory values. These guide values can be regarded as quality objectives, which all bathing sites should endeavour to achieve. Under Irish Law additional national standards have also been established for a number of parameters.
The various standards are set out as follows:
| Total Coliforms/100ml | Faecal Coliforms/100ml | Faecal Streps/100ml | |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU Guideline Values | 500 | 100 | 100 |
| EU Mandatory Values | 10,000 | 2,000 | 0 |
| National Values | 5,000 | 1,000 | 300 |
Wexford County Council has designated bathing areas at Ballymoney, Courtown North Beach, Curracloe (including Ballinesker), Duncannon, Morriscastle and Rosslare Strand. All of the beaches enjoy excellent water quality meeting all of the above standards including the stricter guideline standard. Courtown, Curracloe, Duncannon and Rosslare Beaches have all achieved the Blue Flag Award for beaches almost every year since the award was introduced to Ireland in the early 1990s.
For more information contact the Environment Section in Wexford County Council at 053 9176500 Extensions 6312/6313/6316/6452/6475
