The quality of bathing water is constantly increasing in Europe, according to a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) published on Monday. Among the 22,295 bathing places controlled in 2019, 84.6% are of “excellent” quality and since 2013, the number of sites in this category has increased by 2.2 points, to 87.4% for coastal areas and 2.6 points to 79.1% inland, reported the EEA.
This hierarchy is the result of the search for bacteria which indicate pollution caused by wastewater or livestock. The water quality can be "excellent", "good", "sufficient" or "poor", depending on the levels of fecal bacteria detected. Poor quality water, if swallowed, can have consequences such as stomach upset and diarrhea.
Albania water me go pupil
Albania has the highest number of sites with insufficient water quality, 5.9%, but the construction of water reprocessing plants has made it possible to divide their number by more than six in four years. The quality of coastal sites is generally better because of their self-purification capacity, the agency said.
"In addition, many inland bathing water sites in central Europe are located on relatively small lakes and ponds and low-flow rivers, which, especially in summer, are more sensitive than areas coastal short-term pollution caused by heavy summer rains, "said the report.
Cypriot Water Champion
With 99.1% of excellent quality water, Cyprus tops the ranking which includes the EU, the United Kingdom, Albania and Switzerland. Eminent tourist destinations, Greece, fourth behind Austria and Malta, reached 95.7%.
Tied with Denmark, Italy and Spain are eighth, with 88.4%, while France with 79.5% of excellent quality water ranks eighteenth, below the European average.
Cocoric'eau
In France, 2.2% of the sites are of poor quality. For the EEA, this is due in particular to the large proportion of bathing sites inland but also the existence of sites both on the Mediterranean Sea, less polluted, and the Atlantic Ocean.
"European results show better quality in the Mediterranean which is explained by light or no rain during the summer, more sun (the sun's rays kill bacteria) and deeper water", explained expert Peter Kristensen in water quality at the EEA.
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