Bathing water quality in Europe

Infographic

Prod-ID: INF-27-en

Published 30 May 2017 Last modified 01 Jun 2017

Bathing water quality is improving in Europe. In 2016, the vast majority (85.5 %) of the more than 21,000 monitored bathing sites had excellent water quality. About two thirds of all monitored sites are by the coast and one third in inland rivers and lakes.

Related content

Based on data

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

Related publication

European bathing water quality in 2016 Every summer, European holiday resorts fill up with tourists eager to enjoy the warmer weather and the beautiful natural surroundings of this diverse continent. For many, the summer vacation is synonymous with swimming in the sea or in a lake, so it is natural that water quality is an important factor in choosing a destination. To help citizens make informed choices, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission publish the annual European bathing water quality report. The information contained in this edition - which covers bathing water quality in 2016 in the EU Member States, Albania and Switzerland - indicates where good quality bathing water is likely to be found in 2017.

Permalinks

Permalink to this version: ce39b8cc635d4a7180c7e7450c168e91
Permalink to latest version: INF-27-en

Older versions

27 Jun 2016 - Bathing water quality in Europe

20 May 2015 - Excellent water quality at most of Europe's bathing sites

Geographic coverage

Albania , Austria , Belgium , Bulgaria , Croatia , Cyprus , Czech Republic , Denmark , Estonia , Finland , France , Germany , Greece , Hungary , Ireland , Italy , Latvia , Lithuania , Luxembourg , Malta , Netherlands , Poland , Portugal , Romania , Slovakia , Slovenia , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , United Kingdom

Temporal coverage

2016

Document Actions

For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/media/infographics/excellent-water-quality-at-most-2 or scan the QR code.

PDF generated on 19 Sep 2017, 11:12 PM

Towards healthy and productive seas in Europe and beyond

Marine life, the global climate and our economy and social wellbeing all depend on healthy seas. Despite some improvements, our assessments show that the way we currently use Europe’s seas remains ...

Write to us

Call us

Sound and independent information
on the environment

Sections

Bathing water quality in Europe