More than 85 pc of Spanish beaches deemed excellent

The majority of Spain’s residents and visitors are fortunate enough to live close enough to somewhere they can bathe in crystal clear waters or lie on a perfectly clean bed of sand.

According to the EU quality of water report for 2015 published earlier on this week, a total of 87.1% of the beaches in this country have registered an excellent quality of water.

This is higher than the European average of 85.8%, and the 85.6% recorded in 2014 for Spain.

The report has also revealed that the number of Spanish beaches containing water unsuitable and unapt for bathing has dropped from 37 to 29 in the last year.

With regards to the quality of water of our rivers and lakes, 51.9% have water of excellent quality. However, the average in Europe is 81%, although the figure for Spain has gone up from the previous year of 49.6%. The number of unclean rivers that are unfit to bathe in has also been reduced from 30 to 29.

Looking at the EU as a whole, 96% of waters have been categorised as “acceptable” for bathing, while 84% are “excellent”.

The countries that have scored more than 90% for the quality of their beaches, rivers and lakes are: Luxembourg (100%), Cyprus (99.1%), Malta (97.7%), Greece (97.2%), Croatia (94.2%), Italy (90.6%), Germany (90.3%) and Austria (90.2%).

Unfavourable waters

The European Commission has claimed that it should be prohibited to bathe in a total of 29 beaches and 29 rivers in Spain, and it has recommended the permanent closure of a further 31 areas in the country. This is 2.9% of the total for Europe.

Spain has the third highest figure for zones unsuitable for bathing, with 20, only behind Italy and France, which have 32 and 24 respectively.

And a warning has been given after certain waters in Spain, Italy and the Netherlands have deteriorated significantly in the last 12 months to become unsuitable for bathing.

The beaches and rivers in Spain deemed unsuitable for bathing by the EU include:

Playa de la Coruña de la ría de Barranán, Galicia
Playa Regueiro, Galicia
Playa Peralto, Galicia
Playa Area da Vila, Galicia
Playa Camelle, Galicia
Playa A Concha, Galicia
Playa Barallobre, Galicia
Playa Caranza, Galicia
Playa A Cabana, Galicia
Playa Sardineiro, Galicia
Playa Santa Cruz Porto, Galicia
Playa Centrona, Galicia
Playa Sada ou Delicias, Galicia
Playa Penaoural, Galicia
River Saa Pobra Do Brollón, Galicia
River Sil Ribas de Sil, Galicia
River Arzoa Vilardevos, Galicia
Playa Arealonga-Redondela, Galicia
River Pelayo Arenas de San Pedro, Castilla y León
River Tormes Horcajada, Castilla y León
River Cantos Hornillo, Castilla y León
River Arlanzón, Castilla y León
River Alberche Escalona, Castilla-La Mancha
Playa San Antonio, País Vasco
River Anduna Ochagavia, Navarra
River Arba de Luesía, Aragón
River Aguascebas Villacarrillo, Andalucía
Playa Cala Pedrera, Balearic Islands

Source: www.expansion.com