Nine out of ten European beaches praised for water quality

Nine out of ten European beaches have been praised for their water quality in a recent report by the European Environment Agency and the European Commission.

The UK also performed particularly well, with more than four-fifths of UK bathing spots found to have 'excellent' water quality.  511 sites, or 83 per cent of our beaches, achieved the top grade, while 97 per cent met mandatory EU standards.

Across Europe, nine out of ten beaches were credited for meeting minimum standards of water quality and more than three-quarters were graded as excellent. Among the best locations were Cyprus, Croatia, Malta and Greece, which were found to have the cleanest beaches. More than 90 per cent of sites in these countries met the most stringent requirements to reach the 'excellent' grade.

Of Europe's most popular destinations, such as Spain, Italy and Portugal, over four fifths of beaches and bathing spots were found to have excellent levels of water quality. European nations that didn’t perform so well were the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Latvia, Luxembourg, and Belgium, according to the European bathing water report.

Water monitoring over the past 20 years has shown that the quality of water has certainly improved. The number of coastal bathing waters failing to meet mandatory standards has dropped from nine per cent in 1990 to less than two per cent last year. Additionally, the number of inland bathing spots which did not comply with the rules fell from 12 per cent in 1990 to two per cent in 2011.

Professor Jacqueline McGlade, executive director of the European Environment Agency, said: "The quality of water at beaches and other bathing spots is one of the most important environmental concerns of European citizens.

"But in several countries there is still a problem with pollution from agriculture and sewage, so we need to see more efforts to ensure safe and clean water for the public."

Posted by Joseph Hutton