Bathing ban remains in place pending E. coli testing

Cork County Council will announce today if a swimming ban for Youghal beach over E. coli fears will be lifted or stay in place.

Test results on a second sample taken from Youghal Front Strand will be issued today, following the decision on Monday to prohibit bathing on the popular beach due to a first sample indicating the presence of E coli. Youghal Front Strand was first sampled on July 21 as part of the council’s routine regular testing programme, looking to detect E. coli and Intestinal Enterococci.

A raised E. coli result of 636 units/100ml of bathing water was reported, with the local authority notifying the HSE of the elevated E. coli result before carrying out a further sample of Youghal Front Strand on July 23.