Nearly 30 Spanish beaches and rivers are unfit for bathing says Brussels

Nearly 30 Spanish beaches, rivers, lakes and springs are unfit for bathing out of 2,261 coastal and inland water bathing areas analysed in the Bathing Water Quality Report 2021, presented this Friday, June, 3, by the European Environment Agency.

 28 Spanish bathing sites have poor water quality, 10 more than a year ago but 10 fewer beaches and rivers than in 2019. These sites are mainly located in inland areas in Extremadura, Castilla y León and Valencia, among other regions, as reported by 20minutos.

In addition, Spain slightly worsened in the percentage of areas with “excellent” water quality in 2021 compared to the previous year, 87.5 per cent of beaches and rivers have this rating, compared to 88.5 per cent in 2020, above the 85 per cent of the EU average, as revealed by the report prepared by the European Environment Agency in collaboration with the EU Executive.

In Spain, a total of 1,975 bathing areas, both coastal and inland, meet the strictest EU quality standards and have achieved the “excellent” rating, six fewer than a year earlier out of a total of 2,261 rivers and beaches.

The report also reveals that the waters of 177 sites are rated as good, up 1 per cent from a year ago, 32 sites are rated as sufficient, down 3 percentage points year-on-year, and a total of 49 sites are not rated at all.

Bathing waters are classified by quality according to two microbiological parameters defined in the Bathing Water Directive, and 96 per cent of bathing waters at EU level are rated sufficient or better.

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