As at: March 2010

The Bathing Map

Bathing is trump and it’s great fun

Pack your swimsuit…
Bathing at natural water bodies is among the most popular leisure activities in Germany. Bathing places on rivers and lakes and along the Baltic and North Sea coasts are usually well frequented during the summer months. To safeguard this enjoyment and pleasure in the long term, it is necessary to minimize and prevent health risks.

It is possible for pathogens to find their way into rivers and lakes from sewage works and combined sewer overflows, and in certain circumstances these may cause illness in bathers, with fever, vomiting and diarrhoea. Nutrients, in particular phosphorus and nitrogen compounds, are often imported into water bodies. These substances may favour mass development of algae (algal blooms). Blue-green algae in particular form toxins and allergens that can cause skin rashes or, less frequently, poisoning.

To ensure that health risks due to water are minimized and kept under control, officially registered bathing places on inland and coastal waters in the European Union are monitored regularly during the bathing season. In Germany, this is the responsibility of the Länder. It goes back to Directive 2006/7/EC of European Parliament and Council concerning the management of bathing water quality and repealing Directive 76/160/EEC and the ordinances of the Länder derived from this. In spring of each year, the European Commission publishes a report on the quality of bathing waters in the previous year, which is based on the national bathing water reports of the EU Member States (so-called bathing water quality atlas). The latest EU report is available from the website of the Directorate-General for the Environment.

The revised EC Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC of 15 February 2006) entered into force on 24 March 2006. It was transposed into national law within a period of two years, i.e. by 24 March 2008, and will gradually replace the provisions of the old directive. Germany started to monitor bathing waters according to the more stringent new European legislation during the 2008 bathing season.

The revised Bathing Water Directive contains the following improvements:
It mentions only two microbiological parameters and sets more stringent limit values for coastal waters. Under the Directive, so-called bathing water profiles will be developed and operators of bathing waters will have to become actively involved in adequate management measures. Special emphasis is placed on better information for the public.