“People who swim at beaches, lakes and rivers,” are being asked to tell the Council if they think “existing designated bathing waters” should be maintained or new ones identified.”
Local authorities must identify official bathing areas in their area every year so that they can be monitored for safety, water quality and their level of use.
To help with this process, Cork County Council are asking people who swim at beaches, lakes and rivers to tell them if they think they should maintain existing designated bathing waters designations or give a new official bathing area designation to areas that are commonly used for swimming, but not identified at the moment.
Local authorities are required under the Bathing Waters Directive and the Bathing Water Quality Regulations to identify bathing waters on an annual basis. Water quality at all designated bathing waters must stringent microbiological standards to protect the health of people who bathe there.
“These laws require that the local authority prepares detailed descriptions or profiles for each of the identified bathing water sites that describe not just the bathing area but also areas in the surface waters catchment area that could be a source of pollution. The profiles include an assessment the risk of pollution and what action would be taken if pollution occurs.
In some cases, the official bathing areas are also the areas where local authorities focus their resources providing lifeguards during the summer season,” says the Council.
“If you wish to propose your favourite beach/river etc. as a new bathing water site, comment on an existing site please forward your submission to [email protected]
Closing date for submissions is June 9.
