Ireland plans to monitor bathing waters

New regulations proposed by the Irish Government would mean that Irish local authorities would have to monitor bathing waters from 2011.

The regulations are currently in draft form and open to public comment. They have been put together to ensure that Ireland’s coastline waters comply with the EU’s bathing water directive, which has been in effect since 2006. The outlined regulations set strict new standards for bacteria levels in bathing water.

To be able to achieve the highest rating under the new standards, bathing water will have to meet quality tests approximately twice as strict as those currently used under Ireland’s Blue Flag scheme, which identifies the country’s top beaches.

John Gormley, Ireland’s environment minister, said: “This will provide a clear and simple mechanism to assess and report the true quality of our bathing waters and to communicate the position to the bathing public.

“Information must be updated and made available promptly to the public.

“Bathers will be in a better position to make informed decisions about bathing or not bathing on a particular day or at a particular location.”

Gormley wants the regulations to be enshrined in law by 24th March to meet the EU’s deadlines.

The proposed regulations dictate that all of the country’s bathing waters will be monitored for bacteria such as E-coli. Samples will be analysed every year by both local authorities and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA). The water will then be given a classification by the EPA of excellent, good, sufficient, or poor, with the results reported back to the EU.

If bathing waters do not meet the sufficient level, then local authorities will have to permanently advise against swimming in those waters.