The legislation governing the quality of bathing waters for the 2010 season is set out in the Quality of Bathing Waters Regulations, 1992 (S.I. 155 of 1992) and amendments, which transposed the EU Directive 76/160/EEC concerning the quality of bathing water. The purpose is to ensure that bathing water quality is maintained and if necessary improved so that it complies with specified standards designated to protect health and the environment. A new Directive on bathing water (Directive 2006/7/EC) came into force on 24 March 2006 and will repeal the existing 1976 Directive with effect from 31 December 2014. The 2006 Directive establishes a new classification system for bathing water quality based on four classifications ‘poor’, ‘sufficient’, ‘good’ and ‘excellent’ and generally requires that a classification of sufficient be achieved by 2015 for all bathing waters. Transitional measures are in place until the new Bathing Water Quality Regulations 2008 (SI No. 79 of 2008) are fully implemented.
A total of 131 designated bathing areas are monitored during the bathing season, of which 122 are seawater and nine are freshwater bathing areas on lakes. This accounts for about 0.6 per cent of the reported bathing waters of the EU. Seawater bathing areas increased from 65 in 1991 to 122 in 2001 and freshwater bathing areas increased from 5 in 1992 to 9 in 1994.
The responsibility for sampling (or arranging the sampling) at the designated bathing areas lies with the relevant local authorities. Sampling at these bathing areas must be undertaken on a fortnightly basis during the bathing season, which traditionally extends from the 1 June until the end of August each year. Monitoring commences two weeks before the start of the season. The minimum number of samples to be taken during the season is seven. The frequency of bathing water sampling may be reduced to a minimum of four times during the bathing season when a bathing area is compliant with at least the EU mandatory bathing water standards for the two previous years and when no new factor likely to lower the quality of the water has arisen.
Local authorities are required to ensure when any bathing water sample fails the EU mandatory bathing water values that the public are made aware of this fact by means of information notices posted at the bathing area. Local authorities are required to take the necessary measures to ensure that the standards are complied with.
The Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE), within the EPA, follows up on the cause of any bathing area failing the minimum EU mandatory values and the measures being taken by the relevant local authority to bring the bathing area into compliance.
Local Authorities are required to report the results of sampling to the EPA at the end of each bathing season. From the 2009 bathing season onwards, the EPA has requested the relevant local authorities to submit sampling results via an electronic reporting system to allow for their timely availability from the Splash, the bathing water quality information website, for the public. The EPA is responsible for compiling the bathing water quality results from the relevant local authorities and reporting this information to the European Commission each year. The EPA national bathing water report previously published annually has been replaced by Splash, the EPA bathing water quality information website, which provides an overview of bathing water quality at national, river basin district, local authority and bathing area levels.
The Waste Water Discharge Authorisation Regulations came into effect on 27 September 2007 providing a system for the licensing or certification of all discharges to the aquatic environment from sewerage systems owned, managed and operated by local authorities. This provides a process for the EPA to place conditions on the operation of such discharges to secure improvements in the quality of effluents from urban waste water treatment.
Check out the EPA bathing water quality information website Splash.
Read the Bathing Water Quality Report for 2010.
Download the Bathing Water Map for 2010. It shows the location of each designated bathing area and the compliance status of each site.
