Bulgaria is one of only five countries in the EU with over 90% of beeches meeting European guide values for bathing water purity, according to a new EU report.

[size=85:2mv29dpd]novinite 11 June 2010

EU Report: Bathing Water in Bulgaria 'Excellent'

The annual report on bathing water quality is produced by the European Environment Agency and the EU Commission and refers to the 2009 bathing season.

EU Report: Bathing Water in Bulgaria 'Excellent'

The countries where the highest percentage of swimming spots in 2009 met the guide values for water were Greece (99.8 %), Cyprus (99.1 %), France (95.7 %), Malta (93.1 %), Bulgaria (90.3 %) and Portugal (90 %).

Bulgaria has only 1 beach not complying with mandatory requirements, with countries like France, Italy, Denmark and Poland having a comparatively high percentage of non-complying waters.

Usually associated with its Black Sea beaches, Bulgaria can also boast 100% compliance with mandatory standards of its inland swimming waters.

“Mandatory” and “guide” values are set by the EU Bathing Water Directive (76/160/EEC) in a bid to ensure the pleasant and safe experience of tourists relishing European waters. Compliance with mandatory values classifies swimming waters as “good” or “sufficient”, while compliance with the higher guide values classifies them as “excellent”.

The overall compliance has been increasing since the 90s, though the report marks a slight decrease from 2008 to 2009.

A new Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC) will require member-states to abide by even more stringent criteria for water purity by 2016.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, where i live in the north east, you could not call them beaches really, they are little areas of sand which could hold no more than 50 couples, the sewage is dumped in the sea from all frontal hotels, so mmmmmmmmmmmmm. and the blue flag system in the uk knows that the overflow loads into the sea are not recorded, but are supposed to be. its a case of being in the right place in the right time. sceptical, yes i am.

There was an article on the TV recently about this in the UK and it seems that in order to get a blue flag wasn't difficult when the water was tested on these so called blue fag beaches the contamination was found to be quite hight but within the exceptable limits to qualify for the blue flag I think the reporter then went on to say that the limits could be quite dangerous :Shocked: