Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash
The EC says that the “majority” of bathing water sites in Europe met the European Union’s most stringent ‘excellent’ water quality standards in 2022, according to the latest annual Bathing Water report published last week. The assessment, put together by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in cooperation with the Commission, highlights where swimmers can find the cleanest bathing sites in Europe this summer.
The quality of water at coastal sites, which makes up two-thirds of total bathing spots, is generally better than that of inland river and lake sites. In 2022, 88.9% of the EU’s coastal bathing sites were classified as being of excellent quality as compared to 79.3% of inland sites.
In 2022, 95% of bathing waters in Cyprus, Austria, Greece, and Croatia met the ‘excellent’ quality standard. Moreover, in Malta, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, and Luxembourg, all assessed bathing water waters met at least the minimum standard of sufficient quality in 2022.
Since the adoption of the bathing water directive in 2006, the share of ‘excellent’ sites has grown, and has stabilised in recent years, between 85–89% for coastal and 77–81% for inland bathing waters. In 2022, it represented 85.7% of all bathing waters in the EU. The minimum water quality standards were met at 95.9% of all bathing waters in the EU.
The share of bathing waters with poor water quality has dropped in the past decade and has been stable since 2015. In 2022, bathing waters with poor water quality constituted only 1.5% of all bathing waters in the EU. This shows that the health risk of swimming in bathing waters is slowly decreasing in Europe.
Bathing water quality at coastal waters is generally better compared to inland waters, due to the more frequent renewal and higher self-purification capacity of open coastal waters. Moreover, many inland bathing waters of central Europe are located at relatively small lakes and ponds, as well as at rivers with a low flow. Compared to coastal areas, these inland waters are more susceptible to short-term pollution caused by heavy summer rains or droughts, especially in the summer.
More than 1,800 European bathing waters, or 8%, are located in cities over 100,000 inhabitants, mostly in Greece, France, Italy and Spain. They play an important role in quality of life in cities as well as having ecosystemic benefits.
