Bathing Water Profile - (2016)

Bathing Water: Rossnowlagh Bathing Water Code: IENWBWC010_0000_0200 Local Authority: County Council River Basin District: North Western Monitoring Point: 186120E, 367273N

1. Profile Details:

Profile Id: BWPR00340 Toilets Available: Yes Year Of Profile: 2016 Car Parking Available: Yes Year Of Identification 1992 Disabled Access: Yes 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 Rossnowlagh (Ros Neamhlach) Beach is located on the South Coast of Donegal, approximately 6 km from extent: and . The beach is situated in a rural area and not directly beside any towns or villages; but has become built up with an extensive network of houses and caravan parks. It is located in the (Erne) Coastal waterbody (NW_010_0000) within the North Western River Basin District. The designated bathing area is approx. 0.9054km2 and the extent along the water is approximately is 2150m

Main features of the Bathing Type of Bathing Water: Rossnowlagh beach consists of a long sandy beach; confined by the Coolmore Water: cliffs to the South and extends up to Inishfad at Durnesh Lake to the North. The Bay is West facing into the Atlantic Ocean and gets a strong wash of water from the Atlantic onto the beach.

Flora/Fauna, Riparian Zone: The beach and catchment makes up only a small area. The riparian zone is semi-natural with reinforced banks at the extensive caravan sites and some scattered on off housing development in the catchment behind the beachfront. Rossnowlagh Beach is in the Donegal Bay SPA is a very large, marine-dominated, site. This includes extensive stretches of sandy beaches, especially from the Murvagh peninsula southwards to Rossnowlagh and at the outer part of the estuary of the . The shallow bay waters overlie mostly sandy substrates though reefs occur in places.

Donegal Bay supports an excellent diversity of wintering waterbirds, including the Great Northern Diver, Black-throated Diver and Red-throated Diver. The site is a wintering ground for Common Scoter and holds over 7% of the national total. Other species include the Red-breasted Merganser, Long-tailed Duck, Lightbellied Brent Goose, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Sanderling, Dunlin, Curlew, Redshank and Greenshank. Gulls are regular in autumn and winter, especially Black-headed Gull and Common Gull. Overall, the habitat quality is high and the site provides good feeding and roosting habitat for the listed species.DonegalBayprovides good quality habitat for Common Seal, a species that is listed on Annex II of the E.U. Habitats Directive. While there are no imminent threats to the birds, a concern is that an increase in the level of recreational activities, especially water-based sports, could cause disturbance to them. Bird populations may also be disturbed by aquaculture activities.

Water Depth: There is a medium sloping gradient off Rossnowlagh Beach with the water depth reaching 1m approx 20m from the water line.

Tidal Range: The water line within the designated area is approximately 2150 meters. Tidal ranges are in the mesotidal range (2-4m) in normal tidal conditions.

Land Use: Land use immediately surrounding the designated bathing area consists of a number of caravan parks and on off houses and some agricultural land. There is no town in the catchment.

Local Sites of Interest: Rossnowlagh is situated approx. 6km from Ballyshannon, home to the Rory Gallagher Festival and which is a large town with all the modern facilities of shops, restaurants, hotels, pubs and other amenities. Ballyshannon also has a swimming pool and leisure centre along the riverbank. Main features of the Bathing Water:

Rossnowlagh is situated in a scenic area of South Donegal with sea cliffs to the south end of the beach, which has a Franciscan Friary on top. The Friary has a Visitor Centre and contains the Donegal Historical Society Museum which houses a small collection including stone age flints and old Irish musical instruments. The Friary also has beautiful gardens which are open to visitors. To the south-west further along the cliffs in the distance stands the ruined Kilbarron Castle which is accessible via Creevy. Areas of historic interest include many megalithic tombs, which are scattered throughout the area.

Additional Information: Beach and Maritime Craft Bye Laws were implemented at Rossnowlagh 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: Parking is available in two car parks behind the beach and some parking is allowed on Bathing Water: Rossnowlagh Beach outside the car free zone which is delineated with buoys, toilets (seasonal), information boards, recycling, refuse bins. There are two lifeguard stations (seasonal) along the beach. During the lifeguarded periods, extra facilities provided by the lifeguards include: emergency information, telephone access, first aid equipment and rescue equipment. There are a number of mobile vendors in the area during the summer and there is a shop and a surf shop behind the beach front. The Sand House Hotel also stands along the beach front between the lifeguard stations.

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 4,000 people with a large proportion if users using the water for surfing and a variety of recreational water sports. Throughout the season approximately 75,000 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 Rossnowlagh beach include swimming, kayaking, boating, windsurfing, sailing, surfing, power boating and jet skiing (outside the designated area which is defined in the Maritime Craft Bye Laws), diving and other land based activities on the beach. A number of surf schools use the beach, especially during the summer period.

Contributing catchment Rossnowlagh Beach is located in a rural area in South Donegal on the R231 between Ballintra and details: Ballyshannon. The beach is situated facing West looking out into the Atlantic Ocean. The beach itself has a small catchment area running off the surrounding area and hills to the shore.

Contributing Catchment: The contributing catchment of the designated bathing area for Rossnowlagh Beach is approximately 1.566km2 in area.

Water Bodies draining to Bathing Area: There is one small, unnamed stream flows through the catchment and flows out onto the South end of the beach. All the water from this small catchment enters the Donegal Bay (Erne) Coastal Waterbody (Code NW_010_0000).

Land Cover and Land Use:

Topography: The catchment consists of a small area of mainly low-lying land. There is a network of small roads running behind the beach to caravans, houses and different access points to the beach. There is one large lake to the North East of the catchment called Durnesh Lake, which is a Special Protection Area and a National Heritage Area (Code 000138).

Land Use: Land used for pastures (36%), agriculture and natural vegetation (32%) makes up the majority of the catchment with another 20% being attributed to discontinued urban fabric. The most widespread agricultural activity in the site is livestock grazing, with sheep and cattle being grazed throughout the year in many areas of grassland.

Soils, Subsoils, Bedrock: The catchment bedrock is predominantly comprised of Shale Formation (98%). The main soil types for the catchment area are surface water and ground water gleys (50%) and Aeolian Undifferentiated (18%). The main subsoils are metamorphic till (39%), blown sand (18%), and sandstone till (16%).

Formal Designations: Rossnowlagh Beach catchment is located within an area of formal designation, Donegal Bay Special Protection Area (SPA) (Code 004151) and beside Durnesh Lough National Heritage Area (NHA) and Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (Code 000138).

Population Centres: Rossnowlagh Beach is in a rural area with the population consisting mostly of caravans and on-off scattered rural housing hosting a population of 161 (CSO, 2011). During the summer months the population explodes to approximately 1000 during the tourist season.

Rainfall: The closest weather station to the designated beach is at Ballyshannon Weather Station at Finner (IG 842 606), which is approximately 10km 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 113.6, 58.9, 79.6, 103.6 and 45.7 respectively. Details of the rainfall data can be obtained throughwww.met.ie Contributing catchment details:

Monitoring point details: The monitoring point for this bathing water is located at the grid reference point IG 861 672.

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 Rossnowlagh Beach since 2003 has shown consistently good water quality at all times. From the 2010 bathing season, Rossnowlagh 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 4 and 20 respectively. The Rossnowlagh 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: Rossnowlagh Waste Water Treatment Plant is located approximately1km from the beach. Combined wastewater from the area is treated in a new treatment plant to secondary stage prior to discharge to the sea north east of the beach. The plant is designed to treat 4 times its current loading to allow for future development and the increase in demand during the summer season. The coastal waterbody (NW_010_0000) to which Rossnowlagh WWTP discharges has yet to be determined for it’s water quality status.

Source: Rossnowlagh Waste Water Treatment Plant Type: Waste Water Treatment plant Short Term Pressure: No

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 Wastewater Treatment Systems Type: Septic Tank Short Term Pressure: No

Description: Approximately 36% of the catchment is pastures and 31% is agriculture and natural vegetation. 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 Rossnowlagh Beach is located on the South coast of Donegal with strong North Atlantic wave of macroalgae: 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 , though non of marine phytoplankton: have been recorded at Rossnowlagh Beach. The previous incidents have occurred when algal blooms have washed into the Bay and have taken 2-4 days to disperse 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 Rossnowlagh 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