DAERA Minister Andrew Muir announced the 2025 results for Northern Ireland's bathing water classifications following the expansion of the programme in May. Due to the incorporation of seven new places, there are now a total of 33 identified bathing water sites.
The classifications at these sites are based on the bacteriological standards measured and 24 of these locations met the 'excellent' rating. A further five met the 'Good' standards, three were deemed 'Sufficient' and one bathing water failed to meet the minimum desired grade.
Announcing the results Minister Muir said: "I am glad to see many sites meeting the excellent standard but acknowledge there is still a lot more to do to improve water quality and achieve consistency and excellent performance across all sites.
"We have all seen the devastating scenes at Lough Neagh. I am therefore disappointed but sadly not surprised that Rea's Wood in Lough Neagh failed to meet the minimum standards. The site was plagued with blue green algae for the third season and unfortunately there has been 'advice against bathing' at the site since July."
"It is really concerning that the blue green algae in Lough Neagh has on occasions spread to our North Coast during the last three seasons. As recently as last week at Portstewart, my officials have had to issue 'advice against bathing.' I am glad to be able to announce that we have been able to lift the 'advice against bathing' at both Portstewart and Rea's Wood.
"I want to thank our Bathing Water Operator partners who have worked with us in getting the messages out to the public quickly and consistently throughout the season."
The Minister also expressed his satisfaction in seeing an upgrade in class at three sites, including Ballyholme, which had underperformed for many years.
He said: "It is encouraging to see that three sites have improved in classification this year: at Brompton, Cushendall and Ballyholme. At the first two sites, this improvement may be due to the increase in data available, but Ballyholme has been classified as 'Good' for the first time since this system was introduced in 2015.
"I am committed to continuing to work with agencies and local councils in improving both water quality and the information and advice that we offer to the public through the Better Beaches Forum led by my officials."
The 2025 results for the 33 identified bathing waters are as follows:
DAERA announced they have introduced a new interactive Bathing Water Quality Dashboard enabling the public to make more informed decisions about where and when to swim across Northern Ireland's 33 bathing waters. The dashboard highlighted the water quality at each site via an interactive map and is available to fully explore here.
"I am also about to launch a new Bathing Water Review and I want to seek the views of all stakeholders in how we further improve the advice my Department can give around water quality issues," Minister Muir added.