The sun may be shining above, but thousands of people around Dublin may not be able to enjoy it to its fullest, as four beaches have been closed by officials due to high levels of pollution.
Beaches in Rush, Balbriggan, Skerries and Loughshinny have been closed for 72 hours, after routine inspections uncovered pollution due to āsuspected sewage discharge from waste water treatmentā.
It is understood that pumps housed in the foul sewer pumping station at Hampton Cove, Balbriggan, failed on Saturday June 4, and the pump station has been on overflow for some time.
The resulting pollution may have harmful effects on human health, thus officials took the decision to prohibit swimming at the specified locations.
The closure of the beaches is ill-timed, as the fine weather is prompting thousands of people to be out and about over the Bank Holiday weekend. The local economy is likely to suffer significantly if both locals and tourists are forced to stay away from the water.
Furthermore, the upcoming Skerries water festival and the Rush Harbour festival are also likely to be disrupted due to the pollution issue.