Bathing waters in Northern Ireland
One of our responsibilities is to ensure our coastal waters are of high enough quality for the general public to bathe in. Water Quality Inspectors collect the water samples on our behalf. The samples are then analysed by the Water Management Unit based in Lisburn.
The 2010 bathing season in Northern Ireland started on 1 June 2010.
The season runs from June through to mid-September during which water quality will be assessed on 20 different occasions. Bathing Water Quality information is updated weekly during the bathing season and displayed in the format of colour-coded posters. These posters will be displayed on this page. These posters are circulated to all beach operators for public display
The 2010 Bathing Water Quality posters can be viewed below:
- 2010 Northern Ireland (North Coast) Bathing Water Quality Poster (.PDF 55Kb)
- 2010 Northern Ireland (Antrim Coast) Bathing Water Quality Poster (.PDF 53Kb)
- 2010 Northern Ireland (North Down) Bathing Water Quality Poster (.PDF 55Kb)
- 2010 Northern Ireland (South Down) Bathing Water Quality Poster (.PDF 54Kb)
The 2009 Bathing Water Quality posters can be viewed below:
- 2009 Northern Ireland (North Coast) Bathing Water Quality Poster (.PDF 57Kb)
- 2009 Northern Ireland (Antrim Coast) Bathing Water Quality Poster (.PDF 54Kb)
- 2009 Northern Ireland (North Down) Bathing Water Quality Poster (.PDF 58Kb)
- 2009 Northern Ireland (South Down) Bathing Water Quality Poster (.PDF 57Kb)
2009 EC Bathing Water Directive Compliance for Northern Ireland
A summary of the 2009 EC Bathing Water Directive compliance is provided in the table below. The data supporting this assessment is available and can be viewed on the Bathing Water Quality Data page.
Summary
22 out of 24 (91.7% compliance) of Northern Ireland's identified bathing waters achieved the mandatory water quality standards of the EC Bathing Water Directive (pass, good water quality).
11 out of 24 (45.8% compliance) achieved the tighter guideline requirements of the Directive (pass, excellent water quality).
The 2 bathing waters which failed the water quality requirements of the Directive (fail, poor water quality), are Portrush (Curran) East Strand and Portballintrae (Salmon Rock).
Table of Northern Ireland Bathing Water Directive Compliance
| Identified Bathing Water | 2009 EC Bathing Water Directive Compliance | 2008 EC Bathing Water Directive Compliance |
|---|---|---|
| Magilligan (Benone) | pass, (excellent water quality) | excellent |
| Magilligan (Downhill) | pass, (excellent water quality) | good |
| Castlerock | pass, (excellent water quality) | good |
| Portstewart | pass, (excellent water quality) | excellent |
| Portrush (Mill) West | pass, (excellent water quality) | good |
| Portrush (Curran) East | fail, (poor water quality) | good |
| Portrush (Whiterocks) | pass, (excellent water quality) | excellent |
| Portballintrae (Salmon Rock) | fail, (poor water quality) | good |
| Ballycastle | pass, (excellent water quality) | good |
| Waterfoot | pass, (good water quality) | excellent |
| Carnlough | pass, (good water quality) | good |
| Ballygalley | pass, (good water quality) | good |
| Brown's Bay | pass, (good water quality) | good |
| Helen's Bay | pass, (good water quality) | excellent |
| Crawfordsburn | pass, (good water quality) | good |
| Ballyholme | pass, (good water quality) | poor |
| Groomsport | pass, (good water quality) | excellent |
| Millisle | pass, (good water quality) | good |
| Ballywalter | pass, (good water quality) | good |
| Tyrella | pass, (excellent water quality) | excellent |
| Murlough Co. Down | pass, (excellent water quality) | excellent |
| Newcastle Co. Down | pass, (good water quality) | good |
| Cranfield (Nicholson's Strand) | pass, (excellent water quality) | excellent |
| Cranfield | pass, (excellent water quality) | excellent |
