27 years strong for Bundoran’s Blue Flag Beach

5th June 2014 – At a ceremony in Skerries, County Dublin, Bundoran’s Main Beach has once again been awarded the Blue Flag ensuring bathers a safe and clean environment in which to swim and enjoy one of the seaside town’s top free amenities. County Donegal again retained its 13 Blue Flags which leaves the County at the top of the rankings with the most Blue Flags in the country.
 

 
The Blue Flag is one of the world’s most recognised eco-labels and only beaches that meet specific criteria relating to water quality, beach management, environmental information and safety services achieve this accolade. The Main Beach in Bundoran has been awarded the Blue Flag for each of the 27 years that the system has been in place.
 
Bundoran Tourism Officer Shane Smyth said ‘I’m delighted that once again the Main Beach has been passed fully compliant with water quality and other standards this year. When people see the Blue Flag flying they can be assured that the beach and water has undergone and passed stringent testing. It is vital that visitors to Bundoran and locals alike can be assured that they have a safe and pleasant place to bathe and to enjoy the fabulous amenities that Main Beach offers. I’d like to pay tribute to the council workers who work year round to make sure that the beach is kept up to Blue Flag standard – without them we would not be celebrating our 27th year of having a Blue Flag.
 
Seamus Neely, County Manager commented that, “Donegal County Council will continue to work closely with local communities in maintaining and retaining the Blue Flag and Green Coast awards for Donegal and will re-double our efforts in 2014 to ensure that these prestigious awards are retained. The Council would also appeal to all beach users to enjoy this wonderful and valuable resource. All visitors to the County’s beaches are asked to minimise their negative impact on the beach environment and always take the belongings and rubbish home.”
 
The classification of the bathing water is now based on water samples from a four year period instead of the monitoring results from a single bathing season, and gives stronger focus to the protection of public health and promotes a proactive approach to the management of bathing water quality.