BALBRIGGAN BEACH IN north Dublin has reopened for swimming today after raw sewage was discharged into the sea earlier this week, forcing its closure.

Fingal County Council has said that further tests on the quality of water at the beach and a visual inspection has found that the water at the beach is now safe for swimming.

Tests for E.coli found that levels of 100 units per 100 millilitres were within the 250 unit limit for Blue Flag beaches.

By contrast tests earlier this week found that E.coli readings were in excess of 10,000 units per 100 millimetres.

This followed a malfunction at the Isaac’s Bower Pump Station at the start of the week which along with heavy rain caused an overflow of sewage which led to the discharge into the sea.

The council only became aware of the leak yesterday because of a failure of the alarm and back-up system.

Earlier: Balbriggan beach closed after raw sewage overflow

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