Killahoey (2016)
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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 Dunfanaghy (Dún Fionnachaidh) extent: which is located on the northern coast of County Donegal. 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 Horn Head. 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. Portnablagh 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.