The European Environment Agency publishes a list of the best bathing waters, but the best ones come as a surprise
When bathing, you can observe the blue flag beaches, an award granted since 1987 by the Environmental Education Foundation, taking into account water quality, safety and facilities, among others. But what if the best bathing waters weren’t on the beach?
Every year, the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission publish a review of the best bathing waters in Europe. The results of the 2021 report were released this month, including 21,551 officially identified bathing areas across the EU, as well as 119 in Albania and 189 in Switzerland.
In the period 2015-2021, the proportion of bathing waters in excellent condition in Europe remained stable at 85-88% for coastal bathing waters, but only 77-81% for inland bathing waters, something that seems unlikely but has an explanation. .
The quality of coastal locations is generally better than inland locations due to the greater self-purification capacity of coastal areas in recent years. In addition, many inland bathing areas in Central Europe are located in relatively small lakes and ponds, as well as in low-flowing rivers, which, especially in summer, are more susceptible than coastal areas to pollution caused by heavy summer rains or droughts.
The 2006 European Bathing Water Directive promoted policies that meant that organic pollutants that previously reached the sea were greatly reduced thanks to urban water treatment plants. However, this did not prevent natural disasters like the Mar Menor in Spain.
The percentage of European bathing water of at least ‘sufficient’ quality increased from just 74% in 1991 to over 95% in 2003 and has remained fairly stable since then. One of the main requirements of the Directive is to ensure that all bathing areas are of at least “sufficient” quality by 2015. In the 2021 bathing season, this minimum quality standard was met in 95.2% of all bathing areas in the EU.
In short, sea waters in Europe are getting cleaner. However, when looking for the cleanest European waters to bathe in, the winning country, oddly enough, has no beach.
Austria
According to the study, Austria has the cleanest bathing waters in all of Europe, where 97.7% of the sites studied are excellent and few are good or fair. Proximity to the Alps and cleanliness policies made this possible.
malt
Photograph: Juan Antonio Segal
The island of Malta pocketed the second position. 96.6% of Malta’s bathing waters are rated as excellent quality. The list is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea and its waters are famous for their intense blue color.
Greece
95.8% of Greece’s bathing waters meet the standards set for excellent water. As in Malta, the Greek coast and the islands of the Aegean and Ionian Seas have a privileged position in the Mediterranean.
Croatia
Photograph: dronepicr
Croatia ranks fourth with 95.7% of its bathing water meeting established standards. In this count are the islands off the coast of Dalmatia, famous for their blue waters.
Cyprus
Photograph: dronepicr
93.3% of Cyprus’ waters are excellent for bathing, according to the report. The island is another tourist center for its beaches, landscape and rich history.
And in Spain?
Spain ranks 13th on the list of places with the cleanest waters in Europe, below Portugal and Italy, but above the European average. 87.4% of bathing water in Spain is considered to be of excellent quality.
Of all the bathing areas evaluated in the report, the Galician coast has the highest number of areas classified as excellent (400 bathing resorts), followed by the beaches of the Andalusian Mediterranean (233) and Catalonia (214). Unfortunately, there is still a small percentage of water of unacceptable quality.
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