Austria's bathing waters among the best in the EU
Bathing season is coming up. The current bathing water report of the European Environment Agency shows that 97.7% of the bathing waters in Austria are classified as "excellent" in 2020. Not a single water body is classified as "poor".
Every year, the quality of over 22,000 bathing waters in the EU, Albania and Switzerland is assessed on the basis of the EU Bathing Water Directive. The current bathing water report includes lakes, rivers and coastal waters. Since 2013, the number of waters qualified as "poor" has been decreasing.
Austrian bathing waters
In Austria, 100% of bathing waters met the quality requirements of the Bathing Water Directive and 97.7% had excellent water quality. A total of 261 Austrian bathing waters were assessed.
Detailed information is available at the bathing sites database hosted by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES). All domestic bathing sites comply with the strict EU requirements.
EU Bathing Water Directive - a success story
Since the 1st EU Bathing Water Directive came into force in 1976, the quality of bathing waters in Europe has steadily improved thanks to investments in infrastructure and wastewater management. Of the approximately 9,600 bathing waters regularly tested from 1991-2020, only 56% met the high European standards in 1991. This percentage rose to 83% in 2020.
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