Bathing Water Profile - Killahoey (2016)

Bathing Water: Killahoey Bathing Water Code: IENWBWC190_0000_0400 Local Authority: Donegal County Council River Basin District: North Western Monitoring Point: 203076E, 437766N

1. Profile Details:

Profile Id: BWPR00333 Toilets Available: Yes Year Of Profile: 2016 Car Parking Available: Yes Year Of Identification 1998 Disabled Access: No Version Number: 1 First Aid Available: Yes Sensitive Area: Yes Dogs Allowed: Yes Lifesaving Facilities: No

Figure 1: Bathing Water 2. Bathing Water Details:

Map 1: Bathing Water Location & Extent

Bathing Water location and Killahoey Blue Flag Beach (Trá na Cille) is located close to the town of (Dún Fionnachaidh) extent: which is located on the northern coast of . It is located in the Sheephaven Bay Coastal waterbody (NW_190_0000) within the North Western River Basin District. The bathing area is designated and is approx. 0.6707km2 and the extent along the water is approximately is 1570m.

Main features of the Bathing Type of Bathing Water: Killahoey beach consists of a sandy beach with a large inflowing estuary Water: including a large mud flat at the east of the beach. These are exposed at times during the tidal phase during the day. The beach is contained to the west by low lying land and sheltered to the north-west by the estuary and land opposite at .

Flora/Fauna, Riparian Zone: Horn Head and Rinclevan (Site code: 000147) Special Area of Conservation (SAC) extends northwards into the Atlantic Ocean from Dunfanaghy, County Donegal. The riparian zone for this bathing water is semi natural. This site is also a proposed NHA (National Heritage Area). It is a diverse coastal site containging a wide range of habitats from high rocky quartzite cliffs in the north to mud flats, sand flats, dunes and a brackish lake in the south. To the north-east of the bathing area maritime plants such as Thrift (Armeria maritime), Sea Campion (Silene maritime) and Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritimum) occur. Two rare bryophytes (Acrobolbus wilsonii and Geocalyx graveolens) have been recorded from Horn Head Cliffs, as have two species of flowering plant listed in the Irish Red Data Book, Corn Cockle (Agrostemma githago) and Scot's Lovage (Ligusticum scoticum). Inland from the cliffs are hills supporting heathy vegetation dominated by Ling Heather (Calluna vulgaris).

In the south-western part of the site is a dune system which is impressive in terms of its size, range of dune types and its relatively undisturbed nature. Of particular note is the area of fixed dunes, a priority habitat listed on Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive, to the north-east of Dunfanaghy village and to the north-east of Trawmore, especially at Lurgabrack. The dominant vascular plant species are Red Fescue (Festuca rubra), Marram (Ammophila arenaria) and Lady’s Bedstraw (Galium verum) accompanied by such species as Red Clover (Trifolium repens), Common Bird’s-foottrefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and Sand Pansy (Viola tricolour curtisii). In addition to the commoner mosses, a number of rarer bryophytes have also been recorded from fixed dunes around Dunfanaghy. These include Thuidium abietinum, Bryum marratii and Distichum inclinatum. Other dune types which occur are marram dunes, embryonic dunes and dune slacks. These dune slacks are characterised by the presence of Creeping Willow (Salix repens). A small area of machair is located in Murroe townland in the south-western corner of the site. Here the machair grassland occurs as a number of sloping surfaces with high dunes to the north-west and extensive dune slack to the north-east. The quality of the machair appears to be rather low.

This site contains a range of coastal habitats, including the priority habitat fixed dune, which are of considerable conservation value. The size of the seabird colony makes this a site of international importance. This was reflected in the designation in 1988 of a Refuge for Fauna at Horn Head. The New Lake is managed as a Wildlife Sanctuary by the Wildlife Service, which contributes to the protection of the important populations of waterfowl in the site. Main features of the Bathing Water:

Water Depth: The depth of the water on the shoreline increases within 10 meters off the shore to a depth of 1 meter and gradually increases with the slope of the shore.

Tidal Range: The water line within the designated area is approximately 1570 meters. Tidal ranges are in the Mesomareal tidal range (2-4m).

Land Use: Land use immediately surrounding the designated bathing area consists of a golf course, residential housing, forestry and agricultural land. A public road runs parallel to the beach and houses are located alongside this road with pubs, hotels and restaurants located in the town to the western side of the beach.

Local Sites of Interest: This northern site is of high conservation value because of the extensive area of relatively unspoilt coastal habitats and the range of plant and animal species that these habitats support. The catchment area is an idyllic location for bird watching and ecological activities having a wide diversity of both plant and animal species. There are a number of sites of designation within the catchment area that include a lake and the bathing water itself. McSwyne's Gun Loop is a walk around Hornhead which has stunning views and passes a cave blow hole. The Dunfanaghy Workhouse is a heritage museum detailing what life was like around the time of the Famine. Narosa and Jaws Watersports operate out if the town on Dunfanaghy for a variety of watersporting interests. Dunfanaghy Stables provide horse riding and treking opportunities in the area.

Additional Information: Beach and Maritime Craft Bye Laws were implemented at Killahoey beach in 2009. These Bye Laws were introduced to regulate and /or prohibit the use of personal watercrafts, recreational crafts, vehicles, horses, dogs, camping, vendors, water sport schools and to protect the beach and dune systems.

Activities available at the Facilities: Facilities available at the beach include car parking, toilets (seasonal), information boards, Bathing Water: recycling facilities, refuse bins and lifeguards (seasonal). During the lifeguarded periods, extra facilities provided by the lifeguards include: emergency information, telephone access, first aid equipment and rescue equipment. There are shops, restaurants, café’s, art gallery etc available in town of Dunfanaghy (Dún Fionnachaidh) approximately 0.25km from the beach.

Visitor Numbers: Visitor numbers to the beach vary throughout the season. The maximum number of visitors to the beach during a high season day has been estimated at approximately 1000 people with approximately half of this number swimming. Throughout the season approximately 15,500 people have been estimated to visit the beach. Visitor numbers are representative of the visitors recorded by the lifeguards that are on duty during the bathing season.

Activities: Activities at Killahoey beach include swimming, kayaking, boating, windsurfing and other land- based activities such as football, horse riding, kite flying etc. It is also becoming a popular centre for canoeing, surfing and shore angling.

Contributing catchment Killahoey Beach is located on the north coast of Donegal within Sheephaven Bay transitional waterbody details: (NW_190_0000), approximately 0.25km to the north east of Dunfanaghy town in North West Donegal. The beach is situated at the mouth of an estuary on the coast of County Donegal in the North Western International River Basin District.

Contributing Catchment: The contributing catchment of the designated bathing area for Killahoey Beach is approximately 2.888km2 in area.

Water Bodies draining to Bathing Area: There are 2 designated water bodies that drain into this designated bathing area, New Lake (NW_38_31) and the Mil Stream (NW_38_2325 and NW_38_1578). The estuary is tidal. The main area of the catchment is a coastal interbasin which has not yet been classified as per the Water Framework Directive.

Land Cover and Land Use:

Topography: The catchment consists of an upland area to the north-east and changes to lower lying land within the main catchment area towards the coast. There are a number of small lakes outside to the south- west of the catchment including the New Lake at Dunfanaghy. village and Dunfanaghy town are the main population centres with on-off housing scattered throughout the remainder of the catchment.

Land Use: Pastures account for 40% of the land use within the catchment. Other land uses include Peat bogs (14%), sparsely vegetated (7%), moors and heath (6%), land principally occupied by agriculture with areas of natural vegetation (6%) and discontinued urban fabric (4%).

Soils, Subsoils, Bedrock: The catchment bedrock is predominantly comprised of Sessiagh-Clonmass Formation (51%) and Ards Quartzite Formation (21%). The main soil types for the catchment area are Surfacewater Gleys/Shallow Groundwater Gleys (29%), podzols-peaty (17%) and lithosols-regosols-acidic (14%). Subsoils include Metamorphic Till (42%), rock (27%) and blown sand (11%). Contributing catchment details:

Formal Designations: Killahoey Beach is within the Horn Head and Rinclevan Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and proposed National Heritage Area (NHA) (Code 001190).

Population Centres: Dunfanaghy town is the nearest centre of population to the beach with a population of 932 persons (CSO, 2011). This population increases significantly during the summer tourist season.

Rainfall: The closest weather station to the designated beach is at Malin Head Weather Station (IC 418 575), which is approximately 45km as the crow flies from the beach. During the bathing water season (2013-2015), the average rainfall (mm) for May, June, July, August and September is 108.7, 63.4, 91.7, 99.6 and 40.8 respectively. Details of the rainfall data can be obtained throughwww.met.ie

Monitoring point details: The monitoring point for this bathing water is located at the grid reference point IC 377 030

Reason for selection of the The location of the bathing water monitoring point is the location where most bathers are expected to use monitoring point: the bathing water. The bathing water monitoring point location chosen is always within the area patrolled by the Lifeguards and is usually the area of the beach most heavily used by the public. This area can vary somewhat on this beach depending on tidal and weather influences and is marked by the Lifeguards flags.

Water quality assessment: The bathing water quality monitoring carried out at Killahoey Beach since 2003 has shown consistently good water quality at all times. From the 2010 bathing season, Killahoey Beach has achieved good water quality status and complied with the EU guide and mandatory values as set out in the Bathing Water Directive (2006/76/EC) and the Quality of Bathing Water Regulations, 2008 (S.I. 79 OF 2008).

In the four year assessment period from 2012 to 2015, the current classification for this bathing water is Excellent Quality. The 95%ile classification of E. coli and Enterococci are 5.5 and 7.7 respectively. The Killahoey Beach bathing water will qualify for Blue Flag Status in 2016 based on water quality. 3. Identified Pressures:

Map 2: Bathing Water Catchment

3.1 Potential pressures in the catchment assessed as posing no risk:

Description: There are a significant number of individual houses located throughout the catchment, which all presumably have some form of on-site effluent treatment system. Source: On Site Waste Water Treatment Systems Type: Septic Tank Short Term Pressure: No

Description: Approximately 3% of the catchment is covered by forestry, which is both coniferous forestry and woodland scrub. Source: Forestry Type: Other Short Term Pressure: No

Description: Approximately 6% of the land use within the catchment is agricultural. Source: Agriculture Type: Run off from agricultural land Short Term Pressure: No

Description: Bird faeces can affect bathing water as it contains high levels of bacteria (much higher than treated human waste).

Source: Seabirds Type: Bird colony Short Term Pressure: No 3.2 Potential pressures in the catchment assessed as posing risk:

Description: Heavy rainfall carries an added risk of pollution from surface runoff. Source: Rainfall Type: Rainwater discharges Short Term Pressure: Yes Nature: Low Risk Frequency: <1/month Duration: < 48 hours Risk Assessment The bathing water vulnerability for short term pollution (STP) events has been examined. The beach Methodology: has been assessed to incorporate the small size of the catchment, the absence of surface water inflows to the beach, and the historical water quality monitoring data over a 10 year period from 2004 to 2013. The STP event was calculated in conjunction with the Information Note on Short Term Pollution (STP) Events specified in the 2008 Bathing Water Quality Regulations (SI No. 79 of 2008) by the OEA Bathing Water Unit 17 May 2013. Risk Assessment Rainfall is not expected to affect the bathing water quality unless there is >20mm of rain in 24hours. Results: Details: Pollution risk is linked to weather systems and rainfall data. Management If heavy rain is anticipated, warning notices will be erected on the beach together with incident Measures: notification to the EPA. The public will be informed of the risk, likely duration and nature of the short term pollution, displayed on the beach notice boards.

After a STP event, a sample shall be taken to confirm that the event has passed; if microbiological analysis shows that no contamination was detected, then the event is not considered to be a STP. If necessary, a replacement sample can be taken in accordance with Regulation 7(4), Schedule 2 of S.I. No. 79 of 2008. If the predicted rainfall does not arrive, the warning notices will be taken down.

In the event that bathing water quality is found to be unsatisfactory, the public will be advised of this by way of public notices at the beach and through the lifeguards until the quality has improved to satisfactory standards.

3.3 Other Risks:

Assessment of the potential for proliferation There has been no known incident of cyanobacteria impacting on the Donegal coastline or it’s of cyanobacteria: marine environment. An event of this kind is considered to be extremely unlikely.

Proposed management measures for Nutrient management would be examined in the potential pressures and risk assessments carried cyanobacteria: out on the catchment to calculate and reduce the potential risks. In the event of a problem with cyanobacteria, samples would be taken to determine the levels of chlorophyll. Depending on the concentration found, bathing conditions would be considered in relation to calm weather without surface wave actions lasting for 24 hours or longer and temporary risk signs would be erected for the duration of the climatic conditions. In the instance of high levels of chlorophyll, bathing would be prohibited, signage would be erected for the duration of the bloom and regular sampling and analysis would take place.

Assessment of the potential for proliferation Killahoey Beach is located on the north coast of Donegal within Sheephaven Baycoastal water of macroalgae: with strong North Atlantic wave action and the continued monitoring of the beach indicates that there are no significant problems with macroalgae on this beach.

Proposed management measures for In the event of a large volume of macroalgae being washed ashore, it would be left for natural macroalgae: dispersion with the tides if it were not causing a nuisance or health concern. If macroalgae deposits became an issue, it would be removed and disposed of by the local authority.

Assessment of the potential for proliferation Marine phytoplankton bloom events have occurred on beaches in County Donegal however none of marine phytoplankton: have been recorded at Killahoey Beach to date hence the risk is considered very low. The sea conditions and currents off Killahoey beach would likely assist in the dispersion of any such bloom should one come close to shore in the area. Proposed management measures for marine If algal blooms develop offshore and their movement can be monitored, attention will be paid to phytoplankton: prevailing winds in the case of the bloom being driven onshore. This will allow for the situation to be monitored closely and action taken accordingly or if necessary. In a serious case in the bathing area, the bloom would be sampled to identify the dominant bloom species. The beach would be closed to the public after consultation with the local authority laboratory and public health professionals. Signage would be erected at access points with an explanation for the closure. Public co-operation would be greatly encouraged.

Additional Information: Information in relation to the quality of the water at each of the 21 designated bathing waters in County Donegal along with their compliance history is available on the EPA’s Bathing Water Website ‘Splash’ available at www.bathingwater.ie.

For information on Blue Flag Beaches please visit www.antaisce.ie.

Information on the Environmental Protection Agency and the work they undertake is available on the EPA website at www.epa.ie.

The Marine Institute is the national agency responsible for Marine Research, Technology Development and Innovation and information is available at www.marine.ie.

For information on Donegal County Council and its services please visit www.donegalcoco.ie.

4 Bathing Water Status From Previous Sampling Years:

2012 2013 2014 2015 Killahoey Good Quality Good Quality Excellent Excellent Quality Quality

5 Contact Details:

Contact: Donegal County Council Email: [email protected] Address: Central Laboratory, The Kube, Magheranan, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal Phone: 074 9122787