UISCE Éireann is to monitor Rosscarbery Bay in a bid to prevent E-coli and other pollutants impacting the beaches at Owenahincha and the Warren.

The Marine Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) gave UÉ consent to begin coastal monitoring in the bay which will continue throughout the summer season.

In August 2022, an overflow from a wastewater treatment plant was blamed for a spill that resulted in children swimming in raw sewage before a No Swim notice was issued and a Red Flag warning raised at The Warren.

In the intervening years​, a local action group has been urging the council and UÉ to resolve the problem.

They believe that the septic tank-type set up that serves as a wastewater management system for Rosscarbery and Owenahincha does not have the capacity to deal with the amount of sewage going into the system, especially during the busy summer months.

Uisce Éireann is on record as saying agricultural run-off could also have contributed to the problem.

Minister of State for Nature, Biodiversity and Heritage, Christopher O’Sullivan (FF) confirmed on Wednesday that the coastal monitoring had been given the green light.

‘The community of Rosscarbery and the general area around the Warren and Owenahincha have been concerned for many years about the bathing water,’ he said. ‘Because of repeated failures it has failed to retain its Blue Flag status, which is very important for a tourism town​.

‘It’s vital that the community is fully informed of what those polluting events are, and this further testing will help get to the bottom of the problem.’

Structured monitoring will be carried out during the bathing season from June 1st to September 15th, with samples submitted to UCD for microbial source tracking. The data will then be shared with Cork County Council’s environment department, and the local community.