Beach bathing water 'filthy'.Byline: MICHAEL McHUGH Michael Hudson McHugh, AC QC, (born 1935) is a former justice of the High Court of Australia; the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Judicial Activity ONE of Northern Ireland's top beaches failed bathing water standards because of pollution, it was revealed yesterday. Portrush Curran (East) Strand in Co Antrim attracts thousands of holidaymakers every year but missed the European Bathing Waters Directive's strict requirements. Portballintrae, Co Antrim, also failed because of problems with the sewer network. Friends of the Earth interim director Lisa Fagan said: "This standard allows for 50,000 sewage bacteria per teaspoonful tea·spoon·ful n. pl. tea·spoon·fuls Abbr. t. or tsp. The amount that a teaspoon can hold. Noun 1. of water, yet the bathing waters at Portrush East Strand and Portballintrae exceeded this measure. "Any sample of bathing water that fails the 1976 standard can only be described as filth Filth See also Dirtiness. Augean stables held 3,000 oxen, uncleaned for 30 years; Hercules’ fifth labor: washes out dung by diverting a river. [Gk. and Rom. Myth. ." A spokeswoman for Northern Ireland Water Northern Ireland Water Limited is a water company in Northern Ireland. Formerly an Executive Agency (the Northern Ireland Water Service) within Northern Ireland's Department for Regional Development, it became a government owned company on 1 April 2007. said the pollution at Portrush didn't involve the company. All but two of Northern Ireland's bathing waters passed the directive's mandatory requirements. Ms Fagan added: "The Department of the Environment continues to measure our bathing water against the lenient 1976 standards but they have yet to tell the public how our bathing waters measure up against the tough new standards that are being proposed. "Those results, when exposed to public scrutiny, will intensify pressure on the Minister [Edwin Poots Alderman Edwin Poots MLA is a Northern Ireland politician and a Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley. He is one of three DUP MLAs for Lagan Valley. ] to prosecute polluters including NIW NIW National Interest Waiver NIW Network Installation Wizard (Microsoft) NIW Naval Inshore Warfare NIW Night In Weather NIW Network Install Wizard ." A total of 11 out of 24 bathing waters met the more stringent Blue Flag guideline standards, an improvement on last year. Ulster Unionist councillor Norman Hillis Cllr Norman Hillis is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland. Hillis was educated at Coleraine Academical Institution and the former Coleraine Technical College and has been active in the business community of Portrush where he has been president of the resort’s said: "It is quite serious for us to not have a Blue Flag. People book their holidays from Europe and go on that basis." The failure at Portballintrae was down to problems with the sewer network. Improvements to the system to allow wastewater to go to Bushmills treatment works are scheduled for completion next year and improvements to the treatment works at Bushmills are scheduled to be complete during 2011. Mr Poots highlighted continued wet summers will bring new challenges in the management of local bathing waters. He said: "Unusually heavy rainfall events continue to cause unexpected summer time flooding and this is making continued improvements in bathing water quality very difficult." CAPTION(S): FAILING GRADE Curran Strand in Portrush |
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