From Europes coastal waters to its inland bathing sites, most swimming waters are safe, according to the latest assessment of European bathing water quality for the 2024 swimming season. Over 85% of monitored locations met the EUs most stringent excellent bathing water quality standards, while 96% of all officially identified bathing waters in the EU met the minimum quality standards.
The assessment and the interactive map, compiled by the European Environment Agency (EEA) in cooperation with the European Commission, show where swimmers can find well-managed bathing sites in Europe. The assessment inspects water suitability for bathing, focusing on monitoring bacteria that can cause potentially serious illnesses.
Overall, over 22,000 bathing water sites across all 27 EU Member States, plus Albania and Switzerland, were assessed. In five countries - Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece, Austria, and Croatia - 95% or more of bathing waters were of excellent quality. Only 1.5% of the EUs bathing waters were found to be of poor quality.
The quality of coastal bathing waters is generally better than that of rivers and lakes. In 2024, around 89% of coastal bathing waters in the EU were classified as excellent, compared to 78% of inland bathing waters.
Steady improvements over recent decades
Bathing water quality in Europe has improved significantly over recent decades largely due to EU legislation. The combined effect of systematic bacteriological monitoring under the EUs Bathing Water Directive and large investments in urban wastewater treatment plants has led to a drastic reduction in pathogens that were previously being released. Thanks to these continued efforts, bathing is now also possible in many urban areas.
While most of Europes bathing waters are in excellent condition from a bacteriological perspective, chemical pollution of surface and groundwaters remains significant and may be exacerbated by the changing climate. Improving water resilience for people and for the environment is therefore crucial.
Other challenges to water quality like toxic cyanobacterial blooms, which are not part of monitoring prescribed by EU bathing water rules, frequently result in bathing warnings and restrictions.
Background
Overall water quality is monitored and assessed under the EUs Water Framework Directive and covers a broad spectrum of chemical pollutants in surface and groundwater. Chemical pollutants are not covered by bathing water monitoring even when they exceed legal thresholds that are in place to prevent environmental damage.
The assessment for todays briefing is based on the monitoring of bathing sites across Europe that were reported to the EEA for the 2024 season. This includes sites in all EU Member States, Albania, and Switzerland.
Alongside this years Bathing Water Briefing, the EEA has also released an updated interactive map showing the performance of each bathing site. Updated country fact sheets are also available, as well as more information on the implementation of the Directive in assessed countries.
For more information
2024 Assessment on Bathing Water Quality