Bathing Water Profile - Rossnowlagh (2016) Bathing Water: Rossnowlagh Bathing Water Code: IENWBWC010_0000_0200 Local Authority: Donegal 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: Ballintra and Ballyshannon. 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 Donegal Bay (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 River Erne. 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 Bundoran 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.