Popular Wexford beach was closed after water test results ‘were so far off the scale that it couldn’t be accurate’

By Simon Bourke, Wexford People

The decision to close one of north Wexford’s most popular beaches in August of this year may have been the result of an inaccurate test. Ballymoney Beach was among several in the county to be temporarily closed in the summer with ‘Do Not Swim’ notices issued by Wexford County Council (WCC).

However, at the October meeting of WCC it was revealed that the beach may have been closed in haste.

Raising the issue, Cllr Darragh McDonald questioned the council’s testing policies.

“In my interpretation, our environment section only tested the water and didn’t investigate further up stream,” he said. “Do we have the best equipment available to test water quality at our beaches? Is it on par with the west of the country? A lot of people are concerned about the water quality at our beaches.”

Allaying his fears, director of services Eamonn Hore said the test results from Ballymoney had yielded serious discrepancies.

“An Taisce insists we carry out best practises whether you’re north, south, east, west of the country,” he said. “With Ballymoney, we have gone back to the testers and they have said the results were so far off the scale that it can’t be accurate. So, we’re asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to accept that explanation.”

Mr Hore also revealed that the council hoped to see Duncannon Beach regain its blue flag status next year.

Ballymoney Beach was the subject of a number of ‘Do Not Swim’ notices issued in July and August. At the time, sampling conducted as part of the Council’s normal monitoring of bathing water quality, showed elevated levels of bacteria at a number of beaches, including Ballymoney.