Rossnowlagh
Donegal County Council
No active EPA restriction shown
EPA alert data last synced 19 Oct 2026, 13:36.
Current restrictions and beach signage take priority over annual classifications and individual sample results. Conditions can change between samples.
EPA annual assessment
Rossnowlagh is classified as achieving Excellent Water Quality in 2025 based on the assessment of bacteriological results for the period 2022 to 2025. Rossnowlagh has achieved an Excellent Water Quality rating for the four consecutive years 2022 to 2025. Annual water quality ratings are generally calculated using monitoring results over a four-year period and are assessed against stringent bacterial limits to protect bather health.
Annual water quality history
Recent water samples
| Date | Sample status | E. coli | Intestinal enterococci |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Sep 2026 | Excellent | <10 | <1 |
| 26 Aug 2026 | Excellent | <10 | <1 |
| 19 Aug 2026 | Excellent | 148 | 54 |
| 12 Aug 2026 | Excellent | 30 | 3 |
| 29 Jul 2026 | Excellent | 10 | 4 |
| 15 Jul 2026 | Excellent | 20 | 12 |
| 8 Jul 2026 | Excellent | 10 | <1 |
| 24 Jun 2026 | Excellent | 20 | <1 |
| 10 Jun 2026 | Excellent | 10 | <1 |
| 3 Jun 2026 | Excellent | 10 | 20 |
| 27 May 2026 | Excellent | <10 | <1 |
Facilities & access
About this bathing water
Rossnowlagh is west facing consisting of a long sandy beach confined by the Coolmore cliffs to the South and extends up to Inishfad at Durnesh Lake to the North. Rossnowlagh Beach is in the Donegal Bay SPA and is a very large, marine-dominated, site. There is a wide and diverse variety of wildlife including birds and seals. Activities at Rossnowlagh beach include swimming, kayaking, boating, windsurfing, sailing, surfing, power boating, jet skiing, diving and other land based activities on the beach. The designated bathing area is approx. 0.9054km2 and the extent along the water is approximately is 2150m. There is a medium sloping gradient off Rossnowlagh Beach with the water depth reaching 1m approx. 20m from the water line.
Official information
Managed by Donegal County Council.
Open EPA beach profile