A DO NOT Swim notice has been issued for another beach in Dublin – bringing the total number of beaches where swimming is prohibited to five.
Fingal County Council said that it was now unsafe to swim in the the Velvet Strand Beach in Portmarnock, due to an overflow at the Portmarnock Strand Pumping Station.
A technical failure at the station led to raw sewage being discharged near Martello Tower in Sutton, according to Councillor Brían McDonagh.
The notice will be in place until Monday at the earliest, when results of water tests taken today by the council will be available.
Velvet Strand had been under an advisory notice since Tuesday along with beaches in Claremont and Sutton, due to an overflow from another pump station.
Do Not Swim notices are already in place in Balbriggan Front Strand Beach, Skerries South Beach, Loughshinny Beach and Rush North Beach.
The notices were put in place due to “suspected sewage discharge from waste water treatment”.
Fingal said that the notices are done as a “precautionary measure” when the quality of the water is believed to have deteriorated.
Fine Gael senator James Reilly said that the closure of the beaches was “unacceptable”.
“I have been in contact with Irish Water and Fingal Council seeking a solution to the current problems with sewage on the beaches in Fingal,” said Reilly.
As a doctor, I am very concerned about the potential health hazards to our people and young children in particular.
I am calling on Irish Water to give a clear explanation as to what has gone wrong, how they intend to deal with the problem and the timeframe involved in fixing it.
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