Bathing Water Quality

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The percentage of bathing areas in Europe that were sufficiently sampled which comply with the mandatory values and the guide values in the Directive 76/160/EEC on Bathing Water Quality has increased from 1992 to 2002 for coastal and inland bathing waters (figure 1a and b). In 2002, only The Netherlands has reached 100% compliance with the mandatory standards in coastal waters, even though the legislation has been in place for almost 25 years and despite the investment and improvement in waste water treatment. In some cases the installation of sewage treatment works has not achieved 100% compliance and has identified the importance of diffuse pollution (e.g. Morecambe Bay, UK (Jones et al 1999). In addition, for some of the parameters listed in the directive robust, analytical methodology still has not been developed (e.g. for monitoring viruses). Compliance, therefore, with the mandatory standards (total coliforms, 10,000 per 100ml and faecal coliforms, 2,000 per 100ml) does not necessarily mean that there is no risk to human health. In fact, a number of studies have shown that the concentration of faecal streptococci in bathing water is a more useful indication of the likelihood of illness than faecal coliforms (eg. Cabelli, 1983 and Kay et al, 1994). There is a guide value in the directive for faecal streptococci (100 per 100ml) but Kay et al (1994) found there was a significantly increased risk of gastroenteritis when faecal streptococci was greater than 40ml per 100ml and so even reaching the guide value does not necessarily protect human health.