Madam, - The report "Dublin beach loses its Blue Flag", in your edition of September 10th, as well as recent letters, will undoubtedly have generated concern about the quality of bathing water at Seapoint, Co Dublin.
Your readers will therefore be interested to know that all water samples taken during the 2007 bathing season at Seapoint have now been analysed independently and the results confirm that the water quality there met the very stringent Blue Flag quality standards.
The permitted number of limit breaches was not exceeded. The results also confirm that the water quality at Seapoint has consistently complied with both the mandatory standards and the Irish national regulations for bathing waters.
Concerns about water quality have not been helped by a strong and unpleasant smell in the Blackrock/Seapoint area over recent weeks as a consequence of large quantities of algae in the water.
Algae are naturally occurring benign plants. The council has followed the guidance set out in An Taisce's "Blue Flag Beach Criteria and Explanatory Notes, 2006-2007", which suggest that algae or other vegetation should be left to decay on the beach.
The council has a dedicated team of staff working very hard with the local community and with regular swimmers to maintain the beach at Seapoint. The public is entitled to a fair, accurate and complete picture of all the facts. - Yours, etc,
FRANK AUSTIN,
Director of Environment and Water Services,
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.