Ireland, being a nation surrounded by water, has a lot of seawater — and our beaches are subjected to a European standard known as the Blue Flag award. Alongside criteria such as education, litter, and safety, the Blue Flag also covers water quality. Under this heading, beaches must meet the following:

• Full compliance with water quality sampling and frequency requirements
• Full compliance with the standards and requirements for water quality analysis
• No industrial, wastewater, or sewage-related discharges affecting the beach area
• Compliance with Blue Flag requirements for the microbiological parameters faecal coli bacteria (E.coli) and intestinal enterococci/streptococci
• Compliance with Blue Flag requirements for physical and chemical parameters
• Sampling at least every 30 days during the bathing season, with a minimum of five samples taken

To achieve excellent water quality status under the Blue Flag, the limits are 250 cfu/100ml for E.coli and 100 cfu/100ml for intestinal enterococci — and both parameters must be met. If you feel that the water you swim in is contaminated, call us. We can come out and take a sample using the correct methods, then determine how it compares to the relevant standards.