Bathing Water Profile - Culdaff (2016)

Bathing Water: Culdaff Bathing Water Code: IENWBWC230_0000_0200 Local Authority: County Council River Basin District: North Western Monitoring Point: 254278E, 450007N

1. Profile Details:

Profile Id: BWPR00329 Toilets Available: Yes Year Of Profile: 2016 Car Parking Available: Yes Year Of Identification 1994 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 Culdaff Blue Flag Beach is located close to the village of Culdaff (Cúil Dabhcha), which is located on the extent: north east coast of the Peninsula in . It is located in the North Atlantic Seaboard Coastal waterbody (NW_230_0000) within the North Western River Basin District.

The bathing area that is designated is approx. 0.2166km2 and the extent along the water is approximately is 900m

Main features of the Bathing Type of Bathing Water: Culdaff beach consists of a sandy beach with two rock outcrops at the south-east Water: of the beach. These are exposed at times during the tidal phase during the day. The beach is contained to the west by sand dunes and to the north-west by the Culdaff River.

Flora/Fauna, Riparian Zone: The North Inishowen Coast comprises an excellent variety of coastal habitats including high rock cliffs, offshore islands, sand dunes, salt marshes, a large intertidal bay and rocky shingle and sandy beaches. The Riparian zone is semi natural and modified with a car park. 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 this habitat supports. Of particular note is the presence of good examples of EU Habitats Directive Annex I priority habitats, fixed dunes and machair, sea cliffs, vegetated shingle banks, dry heath and intertidal sand and mud flats. The diversity of bird species is of particular note, with wintering waterfowl, breeding seabirds and breeding waders present. Important populations of three EU Birds Directive Annex I species occur including the Barnacle Goose, the Peregrine and the Chough.

Water Depth: The depth of the water on the shoreline increases within 2 meters off the shore to a depth of 1 meter and rapidly increases to greater than 2 meters with the slope of the shore. Adjacent to the rock outcrops there are deeper scoured out areas visible.

Tidal Range: The water line within the designated area is approximately 900 meters. Tidal ranges are in the mesotidal range.

Land Use: Land use immediately surrounding the designated bathing area consists of car parking facilities, picnic area, play ground, sports facility and agricultural land. A public road runs behind the beach and a pub and houses are located to the eastern end of the beach to the far side of the road.

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 historical significance within the catchment area that include megalithic tombs, high crosses and standing stones. There is a pier to the north of the beach beyond the Culdaff river estuary.

Additional Information: Beach and Maritime Craft Bye Laws were implemented at Culdaff beach in 2009. Main features of the Bathing Water:

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, 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 etc available in Culdaff village approximately 1.5km 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 300 people with approximately half of this number swimming. Throughout the season approximately 6,000 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 Culdaff beach include swimming, kayaking, boating, windsurfing and other land- based activities such as football, kite flying etc. It is also becoming a popular centre for rock climbing, canoeing, surfing and shore angling and people come from all over just to walk along the beautiful golden sands of the “Long Strand”.

Contributing catchment Culdaff Beach is located in the north of the Inishowen Peninsula, approximately 1.5km to the north east of details: Culdaff town in North West Donegal. The beach is situated at the mouth of Culdaff Bay 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 Culdaff Beach is approximately 64km2 in area.

Water Bodies draining to Bathing Area: The Culdaff River flows in a North West direction from its headwaters towards Culdaff village, approximately 3km from the village the river changes direction and flows toward the north-east and enters the sea to the northern end of Culdaff beach. The Culdaff River is tidal to a point just above Culdaff village. There are three tributaries that join the Culdaff River called the Carrowmore, Sruhanamenagh and Tirraboy Rivers. The Carrowmore River rises in Crockrawer and flows in a north-easterly direction until they join the main Culdaff River. The Sruhanamenagh River flows in a similar direction with its headwaters rising in the Sheskibane area. The Tirraboy Rivers rises in the Carrowblagh area and flows west to join the Culdaff River. The catchment codes are NW_40_1089, NW_40_719, NW_40_720, NW_40_1074, NW_40_990 and NW_40_1097 which drain into the Northern Atlantic Seaboard (NW_230_0000).

Land Cover and Land Use:

Topography: The catchment consists of an upland area to the south-west and changes to lower lying land as the main river channels flow towards the coast. There are a number of small lakes in the south- east including Black Lough, Effish Lake, Callybear Lough and Drumlee Lough. Culdaff and Gleneely villages are the main population centres with on-off housing scattered throughout the remainder of the catchment.

Land Use: Peat bogs (39%), Pastures (38%) and Land Principally occupied by agriculture with areas of natural vegetation (13%) account for 90% of the land use within the catchment.

Soils, Subsoils, Bedrock: The catchment bedrock is predominantly comprised of Grit (35%) and Fahan slate (22%). The main soil/subsoil types for the catchment area are blanket peat (49%) and Metamorphic Till (39%).

Formal Designations: Culdaff Beach is located within the North West Inishowen Coastal Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and National Heritage Area (NHA) (Code 002012).

Population Centres: Culdaff village is the nearest centre of population to the beach with a population of 955 in the Culdaff electoral district. This population increases significantly during the summer tourist season. Gleneely Village, which is within the catchment area, has a population of 824 for the electoral area (CSO, Census 2011).

Rainfall: The closest weather station to the designated beach is at Malin Head Weather Station (IC 418 575), which is approximately 15km 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 542 500. 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 Culdaff Beach since 2003 has shown consistently good water quality at all times. From the 2010 bathing season, Culdaff 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 2.4 and 9.5 respectively. The Culdaff 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: The catchment comprises of Pastures (38%) and Land Principally occupied by agriculture with areas of natural vegetation (13%). No intensive agricultural activities are taking place within the catchment. The catchment area is predominantly metamorphic till and blanket peat soil types. Source: Agriculture Type: Run off from agricultural land Short Term Pressure: No

Description: The main municipal wastewater treatment system is located within Culdaff village at grid reference 253070 449351. Combined wastewater from part of the Culdaff catchment is currently treated to Primary stage in a horizontal flow primary settling tank prior to discharge to the estuary of the Culdaff River. The tank was installed in 1971 to serve a population of 21 and has not received any major refurbishment since. The agglomeration has a PE of 490 for this treatment plant. There are no pumping stations or storm overflows in the system. The majority of housing in the Culdaff catchment is serviced by on-site wastewater treatment systems. The coastal waterbody (IE_NW_230_0000) to which Culdaff WWTP discharges to has been categorized as ‘not at risk’ under the Water Framework Directive. Source: Culdaff Waste Water Treatment Plant Type: Waste Water Treatment plant Short Term Pressure: No

Description: This wastewater treatment unit serving a County Council Housing Scheme. The housing scheme treatment plant consists of a secondary treatment package plant containing two rotating biological contactors, a settlement area and an outfall pipeline to the estuary. This scheme has its own sewer network. It has a Certificate of Authorisation under the Waste Water Discharge (Authorisation) Regulations, 2007 (S.I. No. 684 of 2007). Source: Culdaff Housing Scheme Type: Waste Water Treatment plant Short Term Pressure: No

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

Description: Water is abstracted in both Culdaff and Gleneely village from two separate boreholes and treatment is carried out on site. Source: Water Treatment Plant / Abstractions Type: Other Short Term Pressure: No

Description: There are two quarries located within the catchment to the north west of Gleneely village. Source: Quarries Type: Industrial discharges Short Term Pressure: No

Description: The second municipal wastewater treatment system in the catchment area services the village of Gleneely. The plant is located to the west of the village at grid reference 253685 444019. The plant installed was an “Eco Pure 2000” and is an extended aeration type plant with aeration zones and settlement zones. The plant design specified a final polishing filter in order to achieve 20/30 standard in the treated effluent. The scheme was originally constructed in 2002. The agglomeration has a PE of 350 for this treatment plant. Source: Gleneely Waste Water Treatment Plant Type: Waste Water Treatment plant Short Term Pressure: No

Description: Approximately 10% of the catchment is covered by forestry, which is both coniferous forestry and woodland scrub. Source: Forestry Type: Other 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 Culdaff Beach is located on the North coast of Inishowen with strong North Atlantic wave action of macroalgae: 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 Culdaff Beach to date hence the risk is considered very low. The sea conditions and currents off Culdaff 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 Culdaff Good Quality Good Quality Excellent Excellent Quality Quality

5 Contact Details:

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