A deadly bacteria that can cause serious illness and death has been found in popular swimming spots ranked as excellent in annual water quality classifications. Prof Morris noted the most recent bathing water quality reports showed 96pc of officially designated bathing waters met the minimum required standard. “These findings highlight the need to consider revision of current EU bathing water quality monitoring criteria.”PIER researchers used 111 water samples of 30 litres each from 50 locations in Galway, Cork and Fingal. Water quality often drops after heavy rain, but the PIER team found STEC present regardless of weather conditions. Calls have been growing for more thorough testing of the country’s bathing waters as the popularity of water-based activities and year-round swimming increases.

Source: Irish Independent June 01, 2021 10:30 UTC