Bathing Water Profile - Marble Hill (2016)

Bathing Water: Marble Hill Bathing Water Code: IENWBWC190_0000_0200 Local Authority: Donegal County Council River Basin District: North Western Monitoring Point: 206473E, 436636N

1. Profile Details:

Profile Id: BWPR00336 Toilets Available: Yes Year Of Profile: 2016 Car Parking Available: Yes Year Of Identification 1992 Disabled Access: No Version Number: 2 First Aid Available: Yes Sensitive Area: No Dogs Allowed: Yes Lifesaving Facilities: No

Figure 1: Bathing Water 2. Bathing Water Details:

Map 1: Bathing Water Location & Extent

Bathing Water location and Marble Hill Blue Flag Beach (Cnoc an Mharmair) is located close to the village of (Port na extent: Bláiche) 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 approximately 0.4415km2 and the extent along the water is approximately is 1330m.

Main features of the Bathing Type of Bathing Water: Marble Hill beach consists of a sandy beach with two rock outcrops at the east of Water: the beach. These are exposed at times during the tidal phase during the day. The beach is contained to the west by high lying land and to the north-west by the small stream that flows onto the beach.

Flora/Fauna, Riparian Zone: Sheephaven SAC (Special Area of Conservation Code: 001190) is a north- facing bay and also a proposed NHA (National Heritage Area). It is situated north of the town of on the north-west coast of Co. Donegal. Extensive areas of intertidal sands and muds occur at some strands surrounding the catchment area itself. Marble Hill Strand is a north-east facing beach on the west side of the bay. There sediment here is fine well-sorted sand, and the communities present are representative of the shores moderately exposed to wave action to sheltered from wave action. The rare hermit crab Diogenes pugilator is present in this area. Large areas of sand dune occur at Marble Hill bathing area. The fore-dunes are dominated by Marram (Ammophila arenaria), with abundant Red Fescue (Festuca rubra) and herbs such as Dove’s-foot Crane’s-bill (Geranium molle) and Clovers (Trifolium spp.) occurring on the fixed dunes behind. The woodland area at Creeslough Wood consists of a range of deciduous trees, such as Oak (Querces sp.), Holly (Ilex aquifolium) and Hazel (Corylus avellana), but mostly comprise Downy Birch (Betula pubescens). Ards Forset Park includes areas of deciduous woodland and conifer plantation. Rhodedendron (Rhododendron ponticum) is widespread in parts of the wood. Two rare species of Myxomycete fungus have been recorded from Ards, namely Cribraria rufa and Stemonitopsis hyperopta.

The SAC is often inhabited with a population of Barnacle Geese and this flock numbers up to 300. Barnacle Goose is listed on Annex I of the EU Birds Directive. Other Annex I species associated with the site includes the Chough, Peregrine and the Common Tern. This site is of particular conservation significance for the presence of good examples of several habitats listed on Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive and for the important bird populations it supports.

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. Adjacent to the rock outcrops there are deeper scoured out areas visible.

Tidal Range: The water line within the designated area is approximately 1330 meters. Tidal ranges are in the Mesomareal tidal range (2-4m).

Land Use: Land use immediately surrounding the designated bathing area consists of residential housing, forestry and agricultural land. A public road runs adjacent to the beach and houses and a caravan park are Main features of the Bathing Water:

located alongside this road; a hotel is located at the upper western end 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. Ards Forest Park is located to the South of the catchment area with part of the forest located within the catchment boundary.

Additional Information: Beach and Maritime Craft Bye Laws were implemented at Marble Hill 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 roadside car parking, toilets (seasonal), information Bathing Water: boards 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 has been a no bin system (pack it in, pack it out) in place at this beach since 2010. There are two pop up café’s/shops by the beach during the summer. There are shops, restaurants etc available in Portnablagh village approximately 1km and the town of (Dún Fionnachaidh) approximately 3km 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 1,000 people with more than half of this number swimming. Throughout the season approximately 18,000 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 Marble Hill 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 canoeing, surfing and shore angling and people come from all over just to stroll along the beach itself. There are a number of surfing schools which use the beach during the summer period for lessons.

Contributing catchment Marble Hill Beach is located on the north coast of Donegal within Sheephaven Bay transitional waterbody details: (NW_190_0000), approximately 3km to the north east of Dunfanaghy town in North West Donegal. The beach is situated at the mouth of a small stream 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 Marble Hill Beach is approximately 5.461km2 in area.

Water Bodies draining to Bathing Area: The small stream (NW_38_1572) that flows on to the beach flows in a northerly direction from its headwaters towards the beach and enters the sea in the middle of Marble Hill beach to Sheephaven Bay (NW_190_0000). The stream is not tidal however it has been assigned poor status from the EPA classification. There are no tributaries that join the stream. Sessiagh Lough (NW_38_61) is also within the catchment.

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 in the south-west including Sessigh Lough and Lough Clananny. Portnablagh village and Dunfanaghy town are the main population centres with on-off housing scattered throughout the remainder of the catchment.

Land Use: Pastures (42%) and transitional woodland-shrub (25%) account for the majority of the catchment area.

Soils, Subsoils, Bedrock: The catchment predominantly is comprised of Sessiagh-Clonmass Formation which accounts for 80% of the bedrock within the area. Metadolerite is also found accounting for 9% of the bedrock within the catchment. The main soil types for the catchment area include Surface Water Gleys/Groundwater Gleys/Acidic (26%), Lithsols/Regosols/Acidic( 23%) and Podzols/Peaty soils (18%). Rock (40%) and Metamorphic Till (34%) are the predominant subsoil material within the catchment.

Formal Designations: Marble Hill Beach is located within the Sheephaven Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and proposed National Heritage Area (NHA) (Code 001190).

Population Centres: There are 286 people living in the catchment area of Marble Hill Beach. In the electoral division of Ards, there are 753 people (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 Contributing catchment details:

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 064 366.

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 Marble Hill Beach since 2003 has shown consistently good water quality at all times. From the 2010 bathing season, Marble Hill 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 9.2 and 19 respectively. The Marble Hill 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 Wastewater Treatment Systems Type: Septic Tank Short Term Pressure: No

Description: Approximately 25% of the catchment is made up by transitional woodland - shrub, which is both coniferous forestry and woodland scrub.

Source: Forestry Type: Other Short Term Pressure: No

Description: There is a very small proportion of the land use within the catchment that 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 Marble Hill Beach is located on the north coast of Donegal within Sheephaven Bay with strong of macroalgae: 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 Marble Hill Beach to date hence the risk is considered very low. The sea conditions and currents off Marble Hill 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 atwww.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 Marble Hill 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