An annual report on the quality of bathing waters, released by the European Environment Agency (EEA) on Tuesday, showed that 93.5 percent of swimming sites in Croatia meet the highest ("excellent") water quality standards last year.

Every year before the summer season, the EEA publishes a report on the quality of bathing waters in the EU member states, as well as Albania and Switzerland. The report included bathing sites on seas, rivers and lakes.

All the countries monitor their bathing sites according to the provisions of the EU’s Bathing Water Directive. The bathing water is classified as “excellent”, “good”, “sufficient” or “poor”, depending on the levels of faecal bacteria detected. Where water is classified as “poor”, countries should take certain measures, like banning bathing or posting a notice advising against it, providing information to the public, and taking suitable corrective actions.

Out of some 22,000 bathing water sites monitored over the last year, nearly all met the minimum quality requirements under EU rules.

“The quality of our bathing water is a source of pride for Europeans. That quality is due to good cooperation and constant vigilance. We all play a part: industry, local authorities and services, together with citizens,” said Karmenu Vella, European Commissioner for the Environment.

Hans Bruyninckx, EEA Executive Director, said he was pleased with the results, but added: “We cannot be complacent. Keeping our bathing water clean requires sustained attention by policy makers. That is why regular monitoring and assessments of bathing sites remain crucial tasks.”

Last year, 85 percent of bathing sites in EU received the rating of “excellent”, a slight drop from 2016 when 85.5 percent won this rating. Similarly, those meeting minimum “sufficient” standing fell from 96.3 percent to 96.0 percent. The reason for the slight drop was due mostly to the effect of summer rain on test results, as well as changes in testing methodology in Romania and Sweden.

In five countries, 95 percent or more of bathing waters were assessed as being of excellent quality: Luxembourg (all 12 reported bathing waters), Malta (98.9 percent of all sites), Cyprus (97.3 percent), Greece (95.9 percent) and Austria (95.1 percent).

All reported bathing water sites in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Romania, Slovenia and Switzerland achieved at least sufficient quality in 2017.

The three countries where most sites received “poor” water quality ratings were Italy, where 79 sites (1.4 percent) were rated poor, France, with 80 sites (2.4 percent), and Spain, with 38 sites (1.7 percent).

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