In almost all bathing waters in Bavaria, there are no health concerns in terms of water quality. But there are also two exceptions.
The bathing season has started with warm temperatures. But what about the quality of the bathing water? The European Environment Agency shows few concerns when it comes to water quality in Germany. This is shown by a current report from the authority which is based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Swimmers don’t have to worry about harmful bacteria this summer. 90.2 percent of analyzed German bathing lakes, rivers and coastal waters have excellent water quality. But there are also exceptions, for example in Bavaria.
For the annual report, the Environment Agency analyzed data from 2022 on a total of 21,973 bodies of water in the 27 European Union countries as well as in Albania and Switzerland, including 2,292 in Germany. The decisive criterion was the contamination of the water with fecal bacteria, which can lead to diseases in humans. The pollutants are Enterococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, which mainly come from sewage and agriculture.
Exceptions in Bavaria: the authorities advise a ban on bathing
With a value of just over 90 percent of bathing waters of excellent water quality, Germany is almost at the level of the previous year. In the European comparison, this again means a place in the upper middle field. But there are also exceptions among the many bathing lakes with very good water quality. It is true that only 315 out of a total of 22,000 bodies of water examined were found to have poor water quality this time around.
In Germany, as in the previous year, there were a total of 14, or 0.6 percent. These include two lakes in Bavaria: the Garchinger See near Munich and one of several bathing areas at Lake Freigericht-Ost in northwest Bavaria on the border with Hesse.
Bad values also in Bremen and Saxony-Anhalt
The Achterdieksee in Bremen, the Hinbergsee in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and the Neustadter See in Saxony-Anhalt can show similar poor values. The Environment Agency advises shower bans, warnings, or other actions for places with poor water quality.
Waters in Cyprus, Austria, Greece and Croatia perform best out of the 29 countries, followed by Denmark, Malta, Bulgaria and Romania, before Germany comes in at number nine. At the bottom end of the scale, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Estonia are at the bottom with values below 65%.
