Water quality excellent at most of Europe’s bathing sites
28 May 2014 02:15 PM
The water at
Europe’s beaches, rivers and lakes was generally of high quality in 2013,
with more than 95 % of these sites meeting minimum requirements. Coastal
performed slightly better than inland bathing waters, the data
shows.
All the bathing sites in Cyprus
and Luxembourg were deemed ‘excellent’. These countries were
followed by Malta (99 % excellent), Croatia (95 %) and Greece (93 %). At the
other end of the scale, European Union Member States with the highest
proportion of sites with a ‘poor’ status were Estonia (6 %), the
Netherlands (5 %), Belgium (4 %), France (3 %), Spain (3 %) and Ireland (3
%).
The annual bathing water quality report from the European
Environment Agency (EEA) tracks the water quality at 22 000 bathing sites
across the EU, Switzerland and, for the first time, Albania. Alongside the
report, the EEA has published an interactive map showing how each bathing site
performed in 2013.
Environment Commissioner Janez
Potočnik said: "It's good that the quality of European
bathing waters continues to be of a high standard. But we cannot afford to be
complacent with such a precious resource as water. We must continue to ensure
that our bathing and drinking water as well as our aquatic ecosystems are fully
protected."
Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive
Director, said: “Europe’s bathing water has improved over
the last two decades – we are no longer discharging such high quantities
of sewage directly into water bodies. Today’s challenge comes from
short-term pollution loads during heavy rain and flooding. This can overflow
sewage systems and wash faecal bacteria from farmland into the rivers and
seas.”
Local authorities monitor the
samples at local beaches, collecting samples in the spring and throughout the
bathing season. Bathing waters are can be rated ‘excellent’,
‘good’, ‘sufficient’ or ‘poor’. The ratings
are based on levels of two types of bacteria which indicate pollution from
sewage or livestock. These bacteria can cause illness (vomiting and diarrhoea)
if swallowed.
Bathing water ratings do not
consider litter, pollution and other aspects harming the natural environment.
While most bathing sites are clean enough to protect human health, many of the
ecosystems in Europe’s water bodies are in a worrying state. This is
evident in Europe’s seas – a recent assessment found that Europe’s
marine ecosystems are threatened by climate change, pollution, overfishing and
acidification. Many of these pressures are set to increase.
Bathing water: key
findings
-
While more than 95 % of bathing
sites met the minimum requirements, 83 % met the more stringent
‘excellent’ level. Just 2 % were poor.
-
The proportion of sites passing
the minimum requirements in 2013 was roughly the same as 2012. However, the
proportion of ‘excellent’ sites increased from 79 % in 2012 to 83 %
in 2013.
-
At coastal beaches, water
quality was slightly better, with 85 % of sites classified as excellent. All
coastal beaches in Slovenia and Cyprus were classified as
excellent.
-
Inland, bathing water quality
seems to have been slightly lower than the average. Luxembourg was the only
country to receive ‘excellent’ for all its inland bathing sites,
with Denmark close behind with 94 % excellent. Germany achieved excellent
quality at 92 % of almost 2 000 inland bathing sites.
For more
information:
European Environment Agency bathing water
site
European Commission bathing water site