Fuente: EEA, https://www.eea.europa.eu

Publicado 28/05/2024

«The vast majority of bathing water sites in Europe met the European Union’s most stringent ‘excellent’ bathing quality standards in 2023, according to the latest annual bathing water assessment published today. This represents 85% of Europe’s popular bathing waters. As much as 96% of all officially identified bathing waters in the EU met the minimum quality standards, with only 1.5% rated as ‘poor’.

The highest share of excellent bathing waters is found in Greece, Croatia, Cyprus and Austria. In Belgium, Bulgaria, Luxembourg, Malta, Austria and Romania, all officially identified bathing waters met at least the minimum quality standard in 2023.

The bathing quality of coastal water is generally better compared to inland water. In 2023, 89% of coastal bathing sites classified are of excellent quality, compared to just under 79% of inland bathing waters.

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Since the adoption of the Bathing Water Directive in 2006, the share of ‘excellent’ sites has grown and has now stabilised at around 85% of all sites achieving excellent status over the last few years. The share of bathing waters with poor water quality has dropped in the past decade and is now stable since 2015. However, health risks in swimming in unsafe bathing waters persist at certain sites.

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El artículo se puede leer completo en este enlace: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/newsroom/news/europes-bathing-waters-remain-safe

En cuanto al informe que se menciona se puede consultar aquí

«European bathing water quality in 2023

rom the Atlantic to the Mediterranean, most of Europe’s bathing waters are of excellent quality for swimming when assessed against the two specific health relevant parameters (Escherichia coli – or E. coli – and intestinal enterococci) as required under the Bathing Water Directive (EU, 2006). This briefing provides information on the quality of Europe’s bathing waters, and is complemented by a map viewer to help citizens take informed decisions on where to bathe. The briefing is published in the context of the Zero pollution action plan and is based on analysis of data reported by EU Members States for the 2020-2023 bathing seasons.

Key messages

  • Bathing is safe in most of the EU’s bathing waters. In 2023, at almost 22,000 locations, 85% of bathing waters were rated excellent, while 96% of waters met the minimum quality standards required for compliance with the Bathing Water Directive, a slight increase compared with the previous year. However, 1.5% of the EU’s bathing waters are of poor quality, indicating that management measures are not always adequate or in place.
  • Although most of Europe’s bathing waters are classified as being in excellent condition, pollution of surface and groundwater remains significant, and may be exacerbated by the changing climate. Improving water resilience for people and for the environment in coming years will be key.
  • The quality of coastal bathing waters is generally better than that of rivers and lakes. In 2023, around 89% of coastal bathing waters in the EU were classified as excellent, compared with just under 79% of inland bathing waters.
  • Increased heavy rainfall linked to climate change could impact bathing water quality negatively, potentially increasing health risks for bathers.

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