Waste overflows affect beach water

Water at Seapoint in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown county, was fund to have about 52 times more coliforms – bacteria found in human and animal waste – on August 5 than it did in July.

The tests, carried out to determine whether the beach was up to blue flag standards, revealed that the water contamination was also beyond the limits imposed by more relaxed national regulations.

Despite missing blue flag and national targets, the beach is still said to be within European limits for safe bathing, though there have been reports of illness among bathers.

The council said the Dun Laoghaire west pier pumping station had overflowed due to “unprecedented heavy rainfalls”.

The council told the Irish Independent that “what is pumped through the pumping station during an overflow is waste water – that is a combination of domestic and commercial effluent diluted by significant quantities of rainwater”.