The water quality at Trá na mBán in An Spidéal has been downgraded from ‘sufficient’ to ‘poor’ in the latest EPA report on bathing waters.
The main sources of pollution are urban waste water, run-off from agriculture, and discharges from septic tanks.
Waste water collected in An Spidéal is discharged into Galway Bay without treatment at a discharge point less than 150 metres from the bathing water.
Uisce Éireann is building a new treatment plant to treat the waste water from the village which is due to be completed shortly.
The EPA says Galway County Council will continue to implement the Good Agricultural Practice Regulations and address issues with septic tanks.
Meanwhile, Trá na bhForbacha has been upgraded from ‘good’ to ‘excellent’ in the latest report.
The bathing water in Na Forbacha has improved from ‘poor’ in 2016 to ‘sufficient’ for 2017 to 2019 inclusive, ‘good’ for 2020 and 2021, and now ‘excellent’.
Galway County Council investigated potential sources of pollution including waste water treatment plants, septic tanks and run-off from agriculture and put measures in place to reduce the risk to water quality.
This included increasing the requirements for waste water discharge, surveying septic tanks and carrying out agricultural inspections in the catchment.
