Although the seas of Europe may be tempting, it is only after you see their lakes and rivers that you will believe them.
Bulgaria, Greece. Romania A recent report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) and the European Commission. The top three ranked sites in the inland sector were all equal, with each receiving 100 percent top ranking.
The report is published every year and ranks the cleanest water for swimming among the EU countries, Switzerland, and Albania. It uses data based on annual assessments of bacterial contaminants such as Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci. Because bacteria can enter water from sewage discharges and agricultural runoffs, local and state authorities test thousands spots of water, including rivers, beaches, and swimming pools.
“We should all be pleased that the vast majority (if not all) of our bathing areas are clean enough for swimming. The health of our bathing waters has improved steadily thanks to a systematic approach under EU rules. It shows that monitoring and coordination at the European level benefits every one of us,” Leena Ylä-Mononen, the EEA executive director, said in a statement. “Of Course, there’s more to be done to improve the quality of our water and its resilience to new challenges brought by climate change and excessive use.”
The report shows that coastal sites receive a higher proportion of excellent grades than sites in inland waters. 89 percent received top marks, while only 78 percent for sites in inland waters.
Only a small number of sites in Bulgaria, Greece, or Romania were tested. Perhaps this contributed to their perfect scores. In Bulgaria, Pchelina Reservoir, along with two other inland lakes, were tested. Meanwhile, Lake Ciuperca in Romania received the highest marks.
Greece could be famous for its sea beachesIt is worth swimming in the lakes and rivers throughout the country. Both Bulgaria and Romania are blessed with Black Sea coasts. However, their mountainous inland regions have lakes that are well worth swimming.
Austria and Finland also scored highly in terms of the cleanliness of their inland lakes, at 95.8 per cent and 93.8 per cent, respectively. Both countries had much more inland bodies tested than any other country (260 for Austria and only 225 for Finland).
