About Balbriggan, Front Strand Beach
Balbriggan Front Beach is a small flat sandy beach with an adjacent working harbour.. View available amenities and tide information at Beaches.ie.
Latest Annual Bathing Water Quality Report
Balbriggan, Front Strand Beach is classified as having Poor Water Quality in 2021 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2018 to 2021 and consequently, an Advice Not To Swim restriction will apply at the bathing water for the 2022 season. Balbriggan, Front Strand Beach had a Poor Water Quality rating in 2020, and a Sufficient Water Quality rating in 2019 and 2018. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health. Fingal County Council reported that the main sources of pollution are sewage discharges and misconnections from domestic plumbing systems, faeces from dogs, birds and other animals, and contaminated surface streams flowing through the town. Fingal County Council carried out misconnection surveys in 2019 and 2020 and repairs were made to drains in the harbour area in 2021. Further misconnections have been identified and work is ongoing to assess the impacts of those on the bathing water. In 2021 Fingal County Council’s dog wardens carried out targeted inspections at weekends. The Green Dog Walker Scheme is promoted to encourage responsible dog ownership as dog fouling is a risk to bathing waters. These initiatives will be continued in 2022. Fingal County Council continue to work with UCD who carry out Microbial Source Tracking on polluted water samples to help with identification of the source of pollution. Fingal County Council will carry out further inspections of domestic wastewater treatment systems and farms in the catchment area in 2022. Irish Water propose to carry out a drainage action plan for Balbriggan and an upgrade of Quay Street pumping station in 2022. The ‘Our Balbriggan’ rejuvenation plan for the harbour, which is currently in the design phase also has potential to improve water quality.
