a day ago
Wicklow Blue Flag beaches: why doesn't this popular spot have one?
These beaches are considered to have the best water quality, facilities and safety cover for beach-goers and swimmers, but there's one popular beach missing.
While the water at Bray's South Promenade beach has been give the all-clear, having been found to have water quality rated as 'excellent' in the latest tests, the beach last flew a Blue Flag in 2021.
The An Taisce Blue Flags programme demands excellent-rated water quality for over four years and in Wicklow, the flag flies proudly only over Greystones South, Brittas Bay North, and Brittas Bay South.
While Bray tends to obtain consistently 'excellent' water quality results, after it was stripped of its Blue Flag, one of the six samples taken saw a drop in quality. As the water quality is measured over an average over four years, it meant it would be at least four years before Bray would be given its Blue Flag again.
When contacted to explain the long wait for the return of a Blue Flag in Bray, Wicklow County Council said: 'The statistical evaluation of bathing water quality conducted over four years for the Blue Flag assessment has stricter standards compared to the usual bathing water regulations. While Bray South Prom performs very well with regards to Bathing Water Standards by and large, one or two exceptionally high test results within any given four-year period can lead to a failure in the Blue Flag assessment.'
In addition to sewage treatment and bathing water quality, criteria for obtaining a Blue Flag include other areas of environmental management, such as waste management, coastal planning and protection, as well as public facilities.
