In 2021, 95.2% of bathing sites in Europe met the binding minimum quality standards set by EU legislation and 88% of coastal bathing sites in the EU were of excellent quality, as they complied with the stricter guide values, according to the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) annual report published on Friday 3 June for the previous bathing season.
As in previous years, the score for inland bathing sites was lower, with 78% of them rated as excellent.
This report confirms that the quality of bathing sites has improved since the adoption of the Bathing Water Quality Directive (2006/7/EC) and that these figures have stabilised in recent years.
This data is the result of monitoring, throughout 2021, of 21,859 bathing sites in the EU Member States, Albania and Switzerland - 14,584 coastal sites and 7,275 inland sites.
In Austria, Malta, Croatia, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark and Germany, 90% or more of the bathing waters achieved excellence.
In 2021, poor quality bathing water constituted 1.5% of all sites - often due to short-term pollution.
According to the EEA, better assessments of pollution sources and the implementation of integrated water management measures can help improve water quality.
The review of the Bathing Water Quality Directive is underway, with a view to its possible revision in 2023 (see EUROPE 12673/9). The objective is to determine whether the current rules are still adequate to protect public health and improve water quality or whether there is a need to improve the existing framework, in particular by taking into account new parameters.
The report is accompanied by interactive maps. To see them: https://aeur.eu/f/1y3 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)