Environment Minister Edwin Poots MLA has welcomed the latest Bathing Water Compliance report that says almost three quarters of our bathing waters have met excellent standards and continue to improve.
Environment Minister Edwin Poots MLA has welcomed the latest Bathing Water Compliance report that says almost three quarters of our bathing waters have met excellent standards and continue to improve.
All 26 bathing waters around our coast have met strict standards for quality. Nineteen of the 26 bathing waters were classified as ‘Excellent’, a prerequisite for the coveted Blue Flag Award; with a further five meeting the ‘Good’ standard and the rest meeting the ‘Sufficient’ standard.
Welcoming the report, Minister Poots said: “This is great news for Northern Ireland’s beaches, especially given the continuing changeable weather and another difficult year we have had with COVID-19. The fact that people have been able visit our fantastic outdoor spaces safely and enjoy our beaches has been reassuring to many. Our beaches contribute to the health and well-being of locals and visitors alike.”
The Minister continued, “Everyone should take pride in these results and be assured that we will continue to work with our stakeholders and partner agencies towards further reducing water pollution and keeping bathing waters clean and safe for everyone to enjoy.”
The 2021 results are:
Excellent Quality
- Magilligan (Benone)
- Magilligan (Downhill)
- Castlerock
- Portstewart
- Portrush (Mill) West
- Portrush (Curran) East
- Portrush Whiterocks
- Portballintrae
- Ballycastle
- Helen’s Bay
- Crawfordsburn
- Groomsport
- Millisle
- Ballywalter
- Cloughey
- Tyrella
- Murlough Co. Down
- Cranfield Bay
- Kilclief
Good Quality
- Carnlough
- Ballygally
- Brown’s Bay
- Newcastle
- Ballyhornan
Sufficient Quality
- Waterfoot
- Ballyholme
Download the 2021 Bathing Water Compliance results.
Notes to editors:
- The bathing season normally runs from 1 June to 15 September. During this time, a comprehensive bathing water monitoring programme is carried out by DAERA staff. This programme has been in place since 1988.
- In 2021, it was not possible to carry out the normal programme because of limitations as a result of COVID 19. However, the DAERA Marine and Fisheries Division team ensured that a compliant monitoring programme was in place and was carried out.
- Comparing the 2021 with the 2020 classifications, the overall classification for 20 locations were unchanged. An improvement in classification was seen at 5 locations; Ballycastle, Ballywalter and Portrush (Curran) East moved from ‘Good’ to ‘Excellent’ whilst Carnlough and Newcastle moved from ‘Sufficient’ to ‘Good’ and Ballyhornan dropped from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Good’. .
- The Better Beaches Report was reviewed and updated in 2020 and will be reviewed again in 2022. Local councils, the National Trust and NIEA have a statutory role as bathing water operators.
- DAERA continues to work with NI Water to improve the water environment through targeted investment in improved sewage treatment and with the agriculture sector to administer a number of agri-environment incentive schemes. Both sectors are also regulated.
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- All media queries should be directed to the DAERA Press Office.
- The Executive Information Service operates an out of hours service for media enquiries only between 1800hrs and 0800hrs Monday to Friday and at weekends and public holidays. The duty press officer can be contacted on 028 9037 8110.