Nearly all of Northern Ireland's 24 designated bathing waters adhered to European Union quality standards in 2009 despite the high levels of rainfall during the summer.

Only two of the country's bathing areas - Portrush Curran (East) Strand and Portbalintrae (Salmon Rock) - failed to meet requirements set out in the 1976 EC Bathing Water Directive. According to Northern Ireland environment minister Edwin Poots, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is pursuing enforcement action in relation to a serious pollution incident at Portrush East.

Meanwhile, Portbalintrae failed to meet the required standard due to problems with the local sewer network, although improvement work is being carried out to enable the transfer of waste water to the Bushmills Waste Water Treatment Works. Poots also revealed that 11 of Northern Ireland's bathing waters also met the guideline standards, which is a pre-requisite for Blue Flag status.