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Europe’s bathing waters continue to improve: Ninety-four per cent of bathing sites in the European Union meet minimum standards for water quality, according to the European Environment Agency's annual report on bathing water quality in Europe. Water quality is excellent at 78 % of sites and almost 2 % more sites meet the minimum requirements compared to last year's report.
Located in Press room › News
State of bathing water: Heading for your favorite beach? Is the bathing water clean? Europe has a great diversity of beautiful beaches and bathing areas, and each year millions of Europeans spend their weekends at their local beach or their holidays cooling down by the water. As this year's bathing season approaches, many citizens have a keen interest in the quality of bathing waters.
Located in Environmental topics › … › Status and monitoring › State of bathing water
Bathing Water Directive - Status of bathing water: The EU Bathing Waters Directive requires Member States to identify popular bathing places in fresh and coastal waters and monitor them for indicators of microbiological pollution (and other substances) throughout the bathing season which runs from May to September
Located in Data and maps › Datasets
European bathing water quality in 2012: This report provides a comprehensive synopsis of the quality of bathing waters in the Member States of the European Union in the 2012 bathing season. It thereby gives an indication of the areas where the quality of bathing is expected to be good if not excellent during 2013. The report also shows the evolution of bathing water quality from 1990 to 2012.
Located in Publications
Inland bathing water quality in the European Union, 1990-2011: The figure shows the bathing water quality in different European countries over time: 1990, 7 EU Member States; 1991 to 1994, 12 EU Member States; 1995-96, 14 EU Member States; 1997 to 2003, 15 EU Member States; 2004, 21 EU Member States; 2005-06, 25 EU Member States; 2007 to 2011, 27 EU Member States. No inland bathing waters are reported from three Member States (Cyprus, Malta and Romania). The quality classes under the New Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) are jointed with compliance categories under the Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC).
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Percentage of European coastal bathing waters complying with mandatory values (or with at least sufficient quality) and meeting guide values (or with excellent quality) for the year 2011 by sea region: Sea regions arranged by the percentage of compliance with mandatory values (or at least sufficient quality). EU Member States, Croatia and Montenegro. Five Member States (Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg and Slovakia) and Switzerland have no coastal bathing waters. The quality classes under the New Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) are jointed with compliance categories under the Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC).
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Percentage of inland bathing waters in the European Union per compliance category: Trend in percentage of inland bathing waters in the European Union per compliance category
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Bathing water quality in the European Union in the 2010 and 2011 bathing seasons: Bathing water quality in the European Union in the 2010 and 2011 bathing seasons under strict and less strict rules
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Reported bathing waters in Europe per million inhabitants, reported inland bathing waters per 1 000 km2 and reported coastal bathing waters per 10 km of coastline: Specific number of bathing waters per million inhabitants, per coastline and per land area
Located in Data and maps › Maps and graphs
Clean water at majority of EU holiday destinations: Good news if you're planning a beach holiday in Europe this summer: 92.1 % of bathing waters in the European Union now meet the minimum water quality standards set by the Bathing Water Directive. This includes the Serpentine Lake in London, which will host several Olympics events, including the Open Water Marathon Swim and the swimming section of the triathlon.
Located in Press room › News