Brittas Bay in County Wicklow, one the most popular in the country, has failed to comply with water quality standards, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
The watchdog said Ardmore in County Waterford and Brittas Bay South failed the bacteriological standard while Brittas Bay North did not comply with the requirement that detergents be absent in the waters.
The EPA report was based on an examination of 131 bathing areas, both seawater and freshwater, throughout the 2002 bathing season.
It found that 97.7% complied with the minimum standards laid down under EU legislation, but this dropped to 84.7% when much stricter guideline standards specified by the EU were applied.
Beaches all over the country will be awarded blue flags today (Thursday) but Brittas Bay will be left out.
The county's premier beach failed the rigourous quality testing programme on three points during 2002.
Wicklow County Council is very disappointed at the loss but is adamant that the water is still perfectly safe to bathe in.
Water at the South Beach, Brittas Bay, failed a test for the presence of coliforms in mid May 2002.
According to senior executive officer in the council's environment department, Philip Duffy, the water on the beach failed during a time of stormy conditions. 'We feel the result was not typical of the beach,' he said.
Both beaches failed the water transparency test. Visibility in the water is supposed to be two metres however but the water in Brittas Bay was below that standard on several occasions last summer.
'The problem with Brittas Bay, where the beach is shallow and sandy, is that if conditions are rough sand is churned up and transparency is reduced,' Philip Duffy explained.
Both beaches also had foam in the water. The foam is partly naturally occurring however it may also come from detergents.
'We don't know where this foam is coming from. It could be from ships, oil spillages or naturally occurring in the sand. We are looking at all the rivers in the area and searching for possible solutions,' he said.
The blue flag is based on many other criteria in the guidelines, including parking, toilets and litter control, which the Brittas Bay beaches passed with flying colours.
'Everything we have control over, we have passed. As far as we are concerned the water quality is fine.
'It has failed cosmetic tests on how the water looks. We're confident and happy that it is safe. Even though the beaches don't have blue flags we will continue to test the water and post notices if there is a problem.
'We're concerned and disappointed and we will be endeavouring to win back the flags next year,' Mr Duffy said.
© Wicklow People
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