Bathing Water Quality Remains High Around the EU

BRUSSELS, June 16, 2011 -

The quality of bathing water across
Europe declined slightly between 2009 and 2010, but the overall
quality was still high. More than nine out of 10 bathing water
sites now meet the minimum requirements.

Cyprus was the star performer, with 100% of its bathing water
sites meeting strict guide values, followed by Croatia (97.3%),
Malta (95.4%), Greece (94.2%) and Ireland (90.1%). The results are
from the annual Bathing Water Report from the European Environment
Agency (EEA) and the European Commission, which compare water
quality in more than 21,000 coastal and inland bathing sites across
the EU-27. The Commission has also adopted new signs and symbols
that will be used to inform the public on bathing water
classification and on bathing restrictions (see link below).

Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik said: “I am glad to
see that the quality of Europe’s bathing waters remains high,
although there is room for improvement. Clean water is a priceless
resource, and we should not take it for granted. I would encourage
Member States to ensure we turn the slight decline we experiencing
last year into an upward trend.”

Professor Jacqueline McGlade, Executive Director of the European
Environment Agency, said: “Clean water for swimming is
very important for EU citizens, and this information will allow
them to demand the highest quality water in lakes, rivers and
beaches. Public participation is essential for the continued
monitoring of Europe‘s bathing water, especially as
the effects of climate change become more visible.“

The report provides a comprehensive overview of the quality of
bathing water in EU Member States throughout the 2010 bathing
season, so swimmers can find areas where water quality is expected
to be good during 2011. It also shows trends in bathing water
quality since 1990.

The analysis brings together data from more than 21,000
designated bathing waters across Europe, approximately 70% of them
coastal sites and the rest inland bathing waters. Sites are
classified as compliant with mandatory values, compliant with the
more stringent guide values, or non-compliant.

High bathing water quality despite varied results in 2010

In 2010, 92.1% of Europe’s coastal bathing waters and 90.2% of
inland bathing waters met the minimum quality standards. Only 1.2%
of coastal bathing water and 2.8% of inland sites were
non-compliant. The remainder are unclassified due to insufficient
data.

In general, coastal bathing water quality deteriorated between
2009 and 2010 - the number of bathing water bodies meeting the
mandatory values fell by 3.5%, while those meeting guide values
fell by 9.5%.

Inland water quality has also dropped. The number of rivers and
lakes achieving the guide values fell by 10.2%, although compliance
with the mandatory values was almost stationary. Rivers were
particularly problematic, with only 25% of river bathing waters
achieving guide values.

Background

Bathing water in Europe needs to comply with standards set in
the href="ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-bathing/index_en.html">
Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) adopted in 2006, which
updates and simplifies previous legislation. The directive was to
be transposed into the national law by March 2008, although Member
States have until December 2014 to implement it. During the 2010
bathing season 20 Member States monitored and reported bathing
water quality according to the new provisions.

European citizens can find out about the water quality at their
favourite swimming spot by checking the Water Information System
for Europe (WISE). The site allows users to download data and check
interactive maps, from the European level down to the individual
monitoring station level. People can also report the state of their
local water using the Eye on Earth website.

For more details see:

href="www.eea.europa.eu/themes/water/status-and-monitoring/state-of-bathing-water-1">
The 2011 EU Bathing Water Report, and data and map viewers

href="ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-bathing/index_en.html">
European Commission bathing water site

href="ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-bathing/signs.htm">
Download the new symbols

For media inquiries: European Commission, Mr Joseph Hennon, Spokesperson for Environment, Phone : +32(0)2-295-35-93, Mobile : +32(0)498-953-593, joseph.hennon at ec.europa.eu, Ms Monica Westeren, Phone: +32(0)2-2950668, monica.westeren at ec.europa.eu, European Environment Agency, Mr Arthur Girling, Press officer, Mobile: +45-29-60-43-30, arthur.girling at eea.europa.eu, Ms Iben Stanhardt, Phone: +45-23-36-13 81, Iben.stanhardt at eea.europa.eu