By Iain Gray
PLANS for a water study into Ballyholme Beach have been welcomed by a local politician.
Councillor Chris McCracken believes the project could sort out the beach’s pollution woes, which regularly see it ranked at the bottom of provincewide tables for water quality.
Although it’s supposed to be the highlight of the North Down coast, its golden sands a beacon for sun-loving tourists and locals alike, Ballyholme Beach has flunked minimum standard tests for the last two years in a row.
In 2023 it was even shut down by authorities after a shocking pollution incident in which amounts of bacteria up to 50 times higher than permissible levels were detected.
But the beach has long-term problems passing water tests – largely thought to be due to contamination from agricultural run-off in the countryside outside Bangor, which travels down streams that flow into Ballyholme Bay.
The new study will be carried out by NI Water along with the Agri-Food Biosciences Institute, the Department for Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA), and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
Mr McCracken hopes the project will identify the root causes of the beach’s pollution problems, allowing authorities to tackle them.
“We know of the detrimental impact of substandard wastewater infrastructure and agricultural runoff when it comes to water quality,” he said. “This Ballyholme study will help to identify the key sources in the area and target action appropriately.
“Significant funding will be key to addressing this issue, both for NI Water and DAERA.
“The department must be enabled to incentivise change in the agricultural sector and have resources for effective regulation, testing and reporting. We have seen from Lough Neagh that there are consequences if water quality issues are left to fester without adequate attention or funding allocations.”
The Alliance councillor added that recent tests had ranked Ballyholme Beach as having either ‘excellent’ or ‘satisfactory’ water quality – both passing grades.
“The results of the last two years have been disappointing and of real concern for the sea swimming and watersports communities who regularly enjoy taking a dip in the bathing waters,” he said.
“These latest results are a move in the right direction and will reassure swimmers of their safety when out in the water.”
