The quality of bathing water in Ireland is high, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has said, with just over two weeks to go to the start of the official bathing season.
The report found that 97% of designated bathing locations met or exceeded the minimum standard, with 77% deemed 'excellent' - a slight decrease from 117 for 2022.
However, five beaches failed - the Front Strand at Balbriggan, Loughshinny Beach, and Sandymount Strand, all in Dublin, Lady's Bay in Buncrana, Co Donegal, and Trá na mBan at An Spidéal in Co Galway.
Discharges from wastewater overflows and sewage misconnections were the main reasons for the poor bathing water quality.
Heavy rainfall can result in wastewater overflows, increased run-off from agriculture, and urban debris washed onto Irish beaches where it contaminates the bathing water.
Wastewater Compliance Senior Manager at Uisce Éireann Niall Horgan said the company has "plans in place or delivered already" to address the issues.
Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, he said a new wastewater treatment plant was completed at An Spidéal last year which has "eliminated the previously untreated discharge of raw sewage" and will lead to "significant improvements" in bathing water quality for the coming season.
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Despite "a number of pressures" on bathing waters in Balbriggan, Mr Horgan said work is under way and due to be completed just ahead of this bathing water season to provide "additional capacity within the network and pumping stations in the Balbriggan area".
He said Uisce Éireann has been working on a project since 2023 at Lady's Bay in Buncrana which will "provide additional stormwater storage in the network and eliminate two stormwater overflows and upgrade a number of kilometres in the network there, all leading to further improvements in the bathing water quality".
Last summer was wetter than average. Record rainfall in July and storms in August resulted in significantly more beach closures than previous years.
Pollution incidents were up by one-third, while the number of prior-warning notices telling swimmers of short-term pollution issues shot up to 228 from just 42 a year earlier.
By mid-September, the end of the bathing season, the water at just five beaches out of a total of 148 monitored were classified as "poor".
Local authorities must put up public notices at the five beaches for this year's bathing season, warning swimmers of the risk of microbiological pollution that could result in tummy bugs and rashes, and advising people not to swim there.
Director of the EPA's Office of Evidence and Assessment Dr Eimear Cotter Dr Cotter reaffirmed the notice not to swim in the five locations classed as poor.
Speaking to RTÉ's Six One she said last summer was very wet and led to more "run off" from urban areas and agricultural land running into bathing waters and having a short-term impact on water quality.
"While beach closures play an important role in protecting bathers' health, local authorities need to improve their understanding of the pressures which can impact beaches in the context of changing rainfall patterns".
Consequently, she said people are always advised not to swim in areas where there has been heavy rainfall for up to 48-hours afterwards.
She said the issues at play need to be fixed to "increase the resilience of our waters."
"We need ongoing management by local authorities of those good, excellent waters and the ones that need attention.
"We need ongoing investment from Uisce Éireann in terms of our waste water treatment infrastructure, and we need the public to actually be aware in terms of responsible dog ownership, for example.
"If we can do those things that we know about, we can then be in a better position to tackle what comes with climate change," she said.
She called for the building of climate resilience into the management of bathing waters to reduce the risk of pollution following heavy rainfall.
"This needs action by all sectors including Uisce Éireann, local authorities, and agriculture to reduce overflows from urban wastewater systems, and runoff from urban areas and agricultural land".
The main pollution sources at Balbriggan include misconnections into storm water networks, sewage flowing into streams and ending up on the beach, as well as fouling by dogs, birds, and other animals.
However, Uisce Éireann is completing a pumping station upgrade at Balbriggan and is continuing to identify and fix problems in the sewer network.
Meanwhile, programmes to address misconnections, dog and bird fouling, and inspections of domestic wastewater treatment systems and farms, are planned by Fingal County Council.
The sources of pollution at the other four locations that failed are similar to those at Balbriggan.
The EPA said the relevant local authorities and Uisce Éireann have plans to improve water quality at those beaches.
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EPA Programme Manager Mary Gorry said that local authorities take samples all year round and they are classified by the agency.
"The standard is very high because the aim is to protect people's health and make sure they're not swimming in water that could make them ill," she told RTÉ's Morning Ireland.
"Wastewater is probably the biggest [issue], where you have either stormwater overflows or poorly treated wastewater.
"You also have things like missed connections from maybe houses where the connections are going to a surface water or into a sewer.
"We have problem sometimes with dogs and dog owners not cleaning up after their dogs on beaches and then agricultural run off."
Bathers are advised to check www.beaches.ie and signage on beaches for information about the latest water quality and swimming restrictions.
The official bathing season starts on 1 June and runs until 15 September.
