Swim ban lifted at two Dublin beaches after water quality deemed ‘excellent’
A prohibition notice previously in place at two popular Dublin beaches has been lifted after bathing water quality was confirmed as “excellent”.
Fingal County Council said sampling results returned on Sunday morning for Rush North Beach and Rush South Beach showed the water at both locations was “excellent”, allowing the restrictions to be lifted.
The beaches had been subject to a “Do Not Swim” notice, which was expected to remain in place for up to two months, following concerns over a potential wastewater overflow at the Tower Bay Wastewater Pumping Station.
The restriction was introduced following advice from Uisce Éireann after two pumps at the facility failed on June 7. While one pump was successfully reset, the second could not be restarted and required replacement.
The council confirmed that, following consultation with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Health Service Executive (HSE), it was agreed the prohibition notice could be lifted and replaced with a “prior warning notice”.
A spokesperson for Fingal County Council said: “With respect to the current level of risk of an overflow from the Tower Bay Pump Station, Uisce Éireann has clarified that the pump station operating without the backup of an operational standby pump, still has capacity to pump and manage all normal operational flows, and that the pumpstation operating has not overflowed on any occasion in 2026.”
The local authority added that the measure is “strictly precautionary”, and that if any overflow were to occur, a prohibition notice would be reintroduced.
Meanwhile local residents and public representatives had previously expressed frustration at the timing of the restrictions during the peak summer bathing period.
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