15 of 21 Donegal beaches rated ‘excellent’ by the EPA

 

Three quarters of Ireland’s bathing waters are of “Excellent” quality for a third year in a row.
In Donegal, 21 beaches are included in the survey, 15 of them are rated ‘excellent’.
The Donegal beaches rated ‘excellent’ are Ballyheirnan, Bundoran, Carrickfinn, Culdaff, Downings, Drumnatinny, Fintra, Killahoey, Marble Hill, Murvagh, Naran, Port Arthur, Portsalon, Rossknowlagh and Shroove.
Three, Lisfannon, Portnablagh, and Rathmullen are listed as ‘good’. According to the EPA, Lisfannon and Portnablagh just exceeded the threshold for Excellent quality due to Enterococci counts, while the agency notes Rathmullen showed consistently poorer water quality in 2016 than in previous years for E.coli in particular.
One Donegal bathing area, Lady’s Bay in Buncrana, is listed as ‘sufficient’.
The report says Lady’s Bay appears to exhibit episodic low level pollution, possibly arising from wastewater discharges.
Two beaches, Dooey and Magheraroarty are newly classified with insufficient data for full assessments, but the EPA says they are likely to be rated ‘excellent’.