A recent report by the European Environment Agency (EEA) is good news for water-goers: the majority of swimming sites have “excellent” water quality. From inland swimming holes to ocean access points, the EU features clean H20 almost everywhere. Let’s take a closer look at the data.
From the seas to the hills, European swimmers get pure H20
The EEA and the European Commission performed the study to help swimmers find the cleanest bathing waters. To do that, the report focused on monitoring bacteria instead of general water quality. The results showed that swimmers can enjoy clean, healthy H20 across the EU.
Data from 2023 showed that 85% of the EU’s 22,000 bathing waters achieved an “excellent” rating. 96% of sites achieved a minimum quality rating, as specified under the Bathing Water Directive (BWD). Only 1.5% of waters were rated poor quality.
Typically, coastal waters were cleaner than inland spots. 89% of ocean sites were ranked “excellent,” while less than 79% of inland locales achieved the same.
The report credited the results to the BWD’s focus on urban wastewater treatment plants, which significantly reduced organic pollutants and pathogens. Due to these efforts, water, once off-limits to swimming, is now safe and clean.
The EEA report’s top-10 countries with the cleanest waters:
- Cyprus
- Austria
- Croatia
- Greece
- Bulgaria
- Denmark
- Malta
- Germany
- Italy
- Lithuania
Leena Ylä-Mononen, Executive Director of the EEA, stated, “It is encouraging to see once again that European citizens can reap the benefits of over 40 years of strong investments in improving the quality of our bathing waters to make them as clean as possible.”
“Continued regular monitoring by the Member States of our coastal waters, rivers and lakes and other freshwater will be crucial for our health and wellbeing and for the environment as climate change is leading to more extreme weather like heavy rains which can negatively impact water quality.”
