Brussels, 23/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Last year, 92.1% of bathing waters in the European Union met minimum quality standards imposed by EU legislation, according to the latest annual report on bathing water in Europe published on Wednesday 23 May by the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission. Minimum values are those values that are binding under Directive 2006/7/EC, and are not the highly stringent guide values. Nonetheless, the report brings good news for this bathing water year and athletes at the Olympic Games will not have to worry as the Serpentine lake in London, where several competitions are to be held, meets mandatory bathing water standards for the fifth year running.
Although the score of 92.1% is identical to that notched up in 2010, the report, which covers 22,000 bathing sites in the sea, lakes and rivers throughout Europe, notes improvements in 2011. Thus, 77.1% of sites were found to have excellent quality, i.e. complying with the most stringent guide values, an improvement of 3.5 percentage points on last year's data. Also, some 93.1% of coastal bathing waters were classified as “sufficient” or complying with the less stringent mandatory values - a 1% increase. Under 2% of bathing waters did not comply with the standards.
Janez Potocnik, European Environment Commissioner, was pleased to note that “the quality of Europe's bathing waters generally remains high, and has improved since last year”. Nonetheless, he considers one must not exult at this score, saying: “We must continue our work to ensure our waters are appropriate for all legitimate uses - from bathing to drinking - and that the overall aquatic ecosystem is in good health.” Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the EEA, specifies that “in several countries, there is still a problem with pollution from agriculture and sewage, so we need to see more of an effort to ensure safe and clean water for the public”.
For 2011, the champions are Cyprus, Malta, Greece and Croatia, all with more than 90% of bathing water sites meeting the most stringent guide values (excellent water quality), and the remaining 10% keeping to the binding values. On the other hand, the percentage of sites complying with strict guide values is relatively low in several member states (the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Latvia, Luxembourg and Belgium), especially for inland waters.
Water quality at Europe's most popular summer destinations was generally good - with more than 90% of bathing water sites meeting the mandatory values. Spain, Italy and Portugal had more than 80% of sites with excellent water quality.
The overall quality of bathing waters in the EU has markedly improved since 1990. The number of coastal bathing waters not complying with the Bathing Water Directive's provisions fell from 9.2% of sites in 1990 to 1.5% in 2011. The number of inland bathing areas not complying with mandatory values decreased from 11.9% in 1990 to 2.4% in 2011, which is among the lowest percentages to date. The 2012 annual report is a blend of the reports provided by the 27 EU member states, Croatia, Montenegro and Switzerland for the previous season. (AN/transl.jl)