DÚN LAOGHAIRE-Rathdown County Council has defended the quality of bathing water at its Blue Flag beach at Seapoint following complaints from swimmers who claim the water is polluted with sewage.
Swimmers said they felt unwell and experienced foul odours while using the bathing area at Seapoint. The council insists that any odour is due to natural algae and the water quality consistently meets national and European water quality standards.
One swimmer, who wrote to The Irish Times, said he had a sore throat and felt "off colour" after swimming at Seapoint last week and that his symptoms were similar to those experienced by swimmers last August when the local pumping station overflowed following heavy rains.
The council said there have been overflows from the Dún Laoghaire west pier pumping station due to "unprecedented heavy rainfalls" but that tests showed bathing water was "well above" minimum standards.
The council said it has a policy of bringing pumping station overflow incidents to the attention of the public even though laboratory tests showed the water was safe.
"The council therefore does not think it appropriate to discourage bathing in the area."
