Tourists in Europe are Swimming in Raw Sewage Despite Blue Flags
Published on by Esther Rasenberg, Water News Europe in Government
Due to summer peaks, illegal discharges and bad functioning wastewater treatment plants
(WWTP’s) tourists on several European coasts are swimming in raw sewage.
Brown foam, bandages, condoms and toilet paper are causing health risks for holiday makers.
According to the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive, which came into force in 1991, all sewage has to be treated before discharging it into surface water. This spring the European Environment Agency (EEA) reported 96% Europe’s bathing waters met the minimum requirements set out under EU rules in 2016. But with the summer season coming to its peak a different picture can be seen.
On several coasts in Spain, Bulgaria, Ireland and France the discharge of raw sewage has been reported.
Read more: Water News Europe
Media
Taxonomy
- Wastewater Disposal
- Water Pollution
- Treatment
- Sewage Treatment
- Environment
- Pollution
- Coastal
- Water Quality Monitoring
- Impact
2 Comments
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As a international water publisher, I believe that you should be much more precise with the words you are using within this article. As a first flash, it seems tremendously alarmistic and not based on reality and closed to what yellow press can report on circumstancial situations, I am afraid. In a country expecting almost 80 million people for this 2017 and where an important percentage of its economy is based on turism, most of it spreading across the coast, I invite you to analyze the statistics of the EU. So, I am sorry but this article sounds very dissapointing and is not based on accurate data, reality, is not thought-ponderated on putting in a balance what 1% represents is comparasion with the other 99% and some kind of accurateness and impartiality.
http://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/travel/a9872239/european-country-best-beaches-world/
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You seem to confuse "raw sewage" with not achieving "excellent water quality".
2 Comment replies
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Unfortunately this has nothing to do with confusion. During the summer raw sewage is illegally discharged into the sea on several locations in Europe. You can read more about it if you click on the links in the article.
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Exactly! tittle of this article is quite luckless
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