Can you help identify bathing spots across Kilkenny?

Every year, local authorities must identify official bathing areas so that they can be monitored for safety, water quality and their level of use.  

To help with this process, Kilkenny County Council are asking people who swim in local waterways to tell them if they think they should maintain existing designated bathing waters designations or give a new official bathing area designation to areas that are commonly used for swimming, but not identified at the moment.

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In some cases, the official bathing areas are also the areas where local authorities focus their resources providing lifeguards during the summer season. 

Laws require that the local authority prepares detailed descriptions or profiles for each of the identified bathing water sites that describe not just the bathing area but also areas in the surface waters catchment area that could be a source of pollution.

The profiles include an assessment the risk of pollution and what action would be taken if pollution occurs.

If you are a regular swimmer and want to help your local authority decide which bathing areas should be classified as such, it might be helpful to consider the following:

1) How your swimming area has been used up to now;
2) How many people use the site;
3) What facilities exist at the site and how accessible it is;
4) Any safety issues

If you wish to propose your favourite beach/river etc as a new bathing water site or comment on an existing site please email: environment@kilkennycoco.ie

Closing date for submissions is 28/9/2023.