Galway Beaches

It has emerged that two beaches in Galway are among the four in Ireland said to be unsafe for bathing and/or swimming in.

Two Galway beaches are among four in the country which have failed to pass basic European standards for water quality.

A new report from the Environmental Protection Agency has deemed the sea water at Clifden and Na Forbacha, unsafe to swim or bathe in.

The presence of traces of human or animal waste material in the water was the main reason that the beaches were found to be unsafe.

The EPA has called on Galway county council to improve the operation of the Clifden Waste water treatment plant, which it cited as the most significant source of contamination of bathing waters.

Meanwhile the Bathing place at Portumna, Tra Chaladh bhFuinnse and Spiddal main beach failed the EU Guide limits for faecal coliforms.

Galway city council complied fully with all EU bathing water standards for its beaches.

Source: Galway News

I'm surprised it took them this long to make a statement about Furbo beach. I've heard rumours of open sewerage pipes for years.

It makes me awful concerned about the rest of Galway and the state of the water.

PopeBuckfastXVI

Galway in sh*tty water shocker...

po0k

You'll find similar cases in other counties too.
You can judge a society by how it treats its prisoners and waste.

cornbb

That sucks, has really spoiled my idyllic delusions about lovely Galway bay. At least they didn't say anything about Silverstrand/Rusheen Bay/Salthill, where I actually use the water. So I can continue to bury my head in the sand for a while...

galah

I think the raw sewage pipes reach just that little bit longer into the sea, closer to the city (my inner cynic tells me that ;-))

But talking about water (so slightly related) - I watched the news last night about the terrible cyclone in Burma, and how they fly in 'water treatment' tablets to purify the water - surely they could have offered us those as well during the crypto season?

Just wondering...

Webbs

cornbb wrote: »

That sucks, has really spoiled my idyllic delusions about lovely Galway bay. At least they didn't say anything about Silverstrand/Rusheen Bay/Salthill, where I actually use the water. So I can continue to bury my head in the sand for a while...

Not really sure why you should be so concerned when all the others around the Bay have been passed by the EPA?

According to the EPA, the Furbo problem is unclear as there aren't any open sewer points near to the beach and the results are likely to be a result of the wet summer and overspill or whatever from septic tanks and/or agricultural land near by.

cornbb

galah wrote: »

I think the raw sewage pipes reach just that little bit longer into the sea, closer to the city (my inner cynic tells me that ;-))

But talking about water (so slightly related) - I watched the news last night about the terrible cyclone in Burma, and how they fly in 'water treatment' tablets to purify the water - surely they could have offered us those as well during the crypto season?

Just wondering...

I'd imagine those treatment tablets would be more suitable for short-term emergency treatment of local water supplies rather than effective long-term, large-scale treatment of the water mains for a large population. Either that or the corporation are cheap ignorant bastards...

cornbb

Webbs wrote: »

Not really sure why you should be so concerned when all the others around the Bay have been passed by the EPA?

According to the EPA, the Furbo problem is unclear as there aren't any open sewer points near to the beach and the results are likely to be a result of the wet summer and overspill or whatever from septic tanks and/or agricultural land near by.

I'm not really concerned I guess (I wouldn't want to be, I go in the water usually 3-4 times a week) but I'm slightly uncomfortable that Spiddal/Furbo are so close to where I usually use the water. It won't stop me from going in and enjoying myself though.

Krieg

What about 'Dead mans beach'?